Kogel Ceramic Bearings: Spin Easier for $100!

True story... before I worked for Trek, I owned another brand's popular tri bike which sold for over $5000. The crazy thing is that the bottom bracket virtually stopped spinning with just 500 miles of use. 

It had a $25 press fit (PF30) bottom bracket with plastic cups and the plastic race that held the bearings disintegrated. I ended up upgrading to a $100 Praxis Bottom Bracket with metal cups. Problem solved.

​The point is that even though a bottom bracket is a key component to your drivetrain it is often skimped on by manufacturers and or not replaced as needed. The end result is added drag with every pedal stroke.

We have had great success upgrading customers to ceramic bottom bracket bearings from Kogel High-Quality Bearings. With current Trek models, this upgrade cost only $100 for the bearings plus $25 labor. 

Kogel offers a wide range of high-quality bearings including ceramic bottom brackets to fit all bikes with prices ranging from $100 - $190.

Joaquín Herrera, our Estero Service Manager, has taken the lead in this area and introduced our stores to Kogel.  He got to know the owner Ard when he worked in a bike shop in El Paso Texas in 2014. Ard went on to form Kogel.

3 Main Advantages of Ceramic Bearings (From Kogel's Website)

• Rounder and Smoother Ball Bearings: Ceramic balls are harder and can be made rounder and smoother resulting in a smoother rolling ball.
• Better Durability: The harder ceramic ball bearings have a longer life span.
• Less Compression = Less Drag:  Steel is more flexible than ceramic and can compress under a heavy load, such as sprinting, resulting in increased drag.

Take this Simple Test: Lift your chain off your chainrings and spin your bottom bracket. If it doesn't spin a few revolutions easily (see video below) think of the power and speed you are wasting. It is time to get that bottom bracket replaced and perhaps upgrade to ceramic bearings!

Check out the cool time-lapse video of a Kogel BB Upgrade made by John Halstead a tech in our Estero shop.