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Wheels Manufacturing heats up with cryo-hardened Zero ceramic BB’s

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wheels-manufacturing-bb30-to-24-zero-ceramic-bearing-bottom-bracket2

Technically these have been available direct from Wheels Manufacturing for about eight months now, offered in what they’ve called a “soft launch”, but they’re making their formal introduction at QBP’s Frost Bike this week. This means they’re going prime time with broader distribution, and as their reps show them off in below freezing temps, the story of what makes the Zero ceramic bearings special will seem right at home.

Using solid ceramic bearings, the races are cryogenically frozen to make them ultra hard. That increases the smoothness and durability, and then they swap in a single-lip seal rather than the usual dual lip seal to further reduce drag. Here’s the nuts and bolts of it…

wheels-manufacturing-bb30-to-24-zero-ceramic-bearing-bottom-bracket1

The bearings are Grade 3, which they say are the rounded balls you can get unless you’re building for the military. The real secret sauce is the races, which are treated with a black oxide coating, reground to a mirror finish and then cryogenically treated at -300ºF. This realigns the crystalline structure of the metal, making it incredibly hard. This hardness helps it hold up to the ceramic balls’ hardness, thus increasing the lifespan of the entire assembly.

The bottom bracket design itself uses their threaded shell, which pulls both sides into place in perfect alignment, boosting the performance even further. The Zero bearings be available in PF30 Outboard, BB30 Outboard, standard PF30, BB86/92, and Standard BSA BB. This includes the PF30-to-24 and 24/22 designs, allowing Shimano and SRAM GXP spindles to spin freely on PFBB30 frames. Retail is $175.

WheelsMFG.com

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MissedThePoint
MissedThePoint
9 years ago

What’s PF30 outboard and how does it work with BB30 cranks? I guess I’ll go google it.

MissedThePoint
MissedThePoint
9 years ago

I see, PF30 outboard is for PF30 frames and Shimano-compatible 24mm spindles (or GXP 24/22mm spindles). Kind of like the Praxis conversion BB.

Dad
Dad
9 years ago

I love that the best solution for pressfit bottom bracket framesets is a threaded bottom bracket.

Rico
Rico
9 years ago

Cue Chevy Chase…

Seriously though, cool to have another pf30 gxp kit option!

Oli
Oli
9 years ago

“they say are the rounded balls you can get unless you’re building for the military”

Like the guys working on ITER can’t get bearings as round as the one for the military?..

Let’s be honest though, this is just marketing BS. A bike BB is typically spinning at 50-100RPM. The grade of the bearing won’t have any significant effect on efficiency. Being ceramic, they won’t corrode so they can get away with worse sealing. Are there any figures available for how much friction is reduced using this BB and how many watts this equates to?

SamSkjord
SamSkjord
9 years ago

@Oli Not for this BB specifically but Friction Facts tested quite a few, ceramic wasn’t always best. http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/friction-facts-measuring-bottom-bracket-drag-39233/

matt
matt
9 years ago

I love marketing bs, would be very Interested to test one, and funnily enough I work in a tribology lab, with cryogenic facilities, see how these bad boys operate in the real cold! Nonsense about the grade and military too!

Ripnshread
Ripnshread
9 years ago

Its probably been said before but the only thing that makes something “Aerospace”, “Military” or “NASA” grade is if it came with all its paperwork.

The paperwork is basically a chain of custody from where the raw material was obtained all the way to who accepted the final product. At each stage it is fully tested and analyzed to make sure it is what it is supposed to be. All this is really expensive and nothing any cycling company could afford to do.

At the end of the day the product you are getting in most cases is made from the same material, maybe even the same batch, as what the “Military” is using.

Ripnshread
Ripnshread
9 years ago

What companies should say, but most don’t and just cling the the “Military grade hardware” shtick, is that their raw materials vendor is a military contractor.

Larry
Larry
9 years ago

“… All this is really expensive and nothing any cycling company could afford to do.”

Because no one using their own money would pay for chain of custody for a ball bearing. Only people spending other people’s money would choose to pay that expense.

All that said, I have one of these BBs and it is much superior to most of the OEM products.

CXisfun
CXisfun
9 years ago

I’ve had one of these bb’s for some time, albeit with standard bearings, and it’s cured all creaking from my BB and spins great. Highly recommended.

Greg
Greg
9 years ago

“I love that the best solution for pressfit bottom bracket framesets is a threaded bottom bracket.”

x2

dumb
dumb
9 years ago

Cryogenically frozen bearing races?

I ride in hot weather sometimes – will by bottom bracket melt? Sounds sketchy.

bicycle019
bicycle019
9 years ago

I have one of their PF30 outboard BB’s in my road bike (with the angular contact bearings) and it’s a massive upgrade over the creaky pressed in garbage that the bike came with. Super easy to install, and uninstall if needed. Plus the guys at Wheels are easy to deal with and make everything but the bearings in house at their Colorado facility.

Kark
Kark
9 years ago

“I love that the best solution for pressfit bottom bracket framesets is a threaded bottom bracket.”
x3

some other good comments too.

One other thought. I’m guessing that over time contamination is going to create a larger effect on efficiency of a low rpm, low load bearing than the hardness of the races.
so, on first blush I think i’d prefer a better seal ensuring a good environment for a more conventional ‘good’ bearing than a more resilient material having to endure a contaminated environment because the seal(s) are compromised to achieve reduced drag.

iperov
iperov
9 years ago

@I love that the best solution for pressfit bottom bracket framesets is a threaded bottom bracket.@

lol

Ronin
Ronin
9 years ago

@Dad wins – “I love that the best solution for pressfit bottom bracket framesets is a threaded bottom bracket”.

I love marketing…but good job we’s got the internets or I may have brought me some of this; though wouldn’t want to render my investment in BB pressing equipment that I had to buy to upgrade my ride to DI2.

OK, just out of interest, how often to people change their bottom BB’s? Do they just start to complain or does the chain/cassette/cranks drown out the noise until it’s too late? I was out a few days ago on my road bike and the headset just stared to feel grindy and ill. Checked it out when I got back and it wasn’t a pretty site. I’m wondering if it’s the same with BB’s.

Alexander
Alexander
9 years ago

@ronin

You get used to gritty BB’s. You have to check them often to be sure it’s still smooth. At least that is my experience.

My square tapers last about 4 years (cheap shimano UN55). After that they work but a wee bit of play and gritty running.

ifbikes
ifbikes
9 years ago

I installed a wheels pf30 to external shimano bottom brackets, the one that threads in the middle, into a foundry cx bike. It went in smoothly until about half way. Then it took a huge lever added to the end of my external bb tools to thread it all the way together. I’m not sure it’s going to come back out. Good idea, but install was difficult.

I don’t mind bb86, but pf30 and bb30 are the worst.

I agree with @dad, return to threaded bb’s.

don
don
9 years ago

Or just buy a king pf and be done with it. I still have a 1″ threaded king headset from 1992… King is expensive but you never need to buy again. You do need to buy their grease injector because very few shops have them, but if you are like me and have multiple bikes the investment is a no-brainer. I have 3 bikes with the king pf and no creaks, spins like butter and I can flush grease when ever I want in about 3 minutes.

don

yoyo
yoyo
9 years ago

“I love that the best solution for press-fit bottom bracket frame-sets is a threaded bottom bracket.”

x124312543256

joenomad
joenomad
9 years ago

The local Specialized dealer couldn’t tell me which type of BB my ’13 Roubaix had. It was creaking like crazy and was thinking about replacing it. I pulled the FSA crankset off, found out for myself that it was a BB30. Cleaned and greased the bearing and put all back together. Back to being silent again. Other than a plastic dust cap, there isn’t much proctecting BB30 bearings from the elements. I like the idea of the threaded adapter kit.

Padrote
Padrote
9 years ago

the problem is never race or ball hardness, it’s keeping moisture and dirt out.

Mick
Mick
9 years ago

@joenomad… If your dealer can’t tell what BB your bike has…find a new shop… It isn’t hard to visually tell BB30 vs PF30…also, there’s a good likelihood the FSA crank will have a BB30 logo printed somewhere on it…

kaliyuga
kaliyuga
9 years ago

boy… with 25+ comments I was really expecting this to be an armchair engineer bloodbath. Imagine my disappointment to find all of this agreeable back-slapping

ItIsWhatItIs
ItIsWhatItIs
9 years ago

– “I love that the best solution for pressfit bottom bracket framesets is a threaded bottom bracket.”

This is not a “threaded bottom bracket”, it is still a PressFit bottom bracket that happens to connect/overlap inside the BB shell by way of threads.

That being said, this is probably the best way to construct a PressFit BB, meaning the threads helping to keep it secure and with proper alignment on the cups. Praxis, KCNC, THM use this method on some of their BBs… only THM makes them for an asymmetrical BB shell.

JBikes
JBikes
9 years ago

“The bottom bracket design itself uses their threaded shell, which pulls both sides into place in perfect alignment, boosting the performance even further…”

If the PF seats on your frame aren’t in alignment, it’d warp the BB slightly, affecting life. But its a good way to retain the shells in the frame.

gRant
gRant
9 years ago

“Imagine my disappointment to find all of this agreeable back-slapping”

Yeah it’s sickening isn’t it.

I’ve got a 61mm Specialized OSBB shell which is also BB30 but I want to convert it to PF30 so that I can run 68mm spindle length cranks. It has a Praxis M30 BB in it at the moment. Think the Praxis spindle length is 86mm or something. It’s longer than 68mm anyway. Oh it’s also 24mm rather than 30mm which is what the new cranks are that I want to use. So apparently to run a PF30 BB in a OSBB shell which is also a BB30 shell I need 3.5mm spacers either side. So what I’m going to do is get those from Wheels manufacturing and get a PF-41 PF30 compatible Hope BB which has a tube that screws in a protects the bearings from water ingress within the frame. I’m not certain the Wheels manufacturing PF30 BB’s tube screws in. Think it just slots over with the possibility that water can seep in through the gap between the two tubes.

Anyway in short I’d like to thank Specialized for their naff BB shells and can’t understand why they didn’t go wider than 61mm. Not only do I have to overcome this problem to run the cranks that I want to run but I have to figure out the SCS issue too. I want to run lighter wheels without forking out £1500 on Rovals. Specialized are no help what-so-ever when asked whether I can buy an aftermarket SCS hub.

Herewith ends my rant about “standards” and naff bicycle companies

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