[tumbleweed88]

whats better 3 pawl or 6 pawl?l,are ceramic bearing that much faster?what are real fast hub.any suggestions.

[zoomzoom]

Personally, from my experience, there is really no difference between a well made stainless Steel hub bearing and a ceramic hub. The main application of ceramic bearings are in airplane jet engines, power turbines, high temperature air blowers, and other equipment that has to spin at extremely high speeds ( well over 1000rpm). Ceramic ball bearings have the unique property in that they don't expand when heated, so they won't warp and the bearings won't jam. In a bicycle, you would be hard pressed to be doing anywhere close to even 50rpm even down the steepest hill pedaling as hard as you can, so your bearing warping will never be a problem in a bicycle. A set of well made stainless steel aluminum bearings in a bike hub should spin just as well a ceramic bearing. Ceramic bearings are probably a little bit lighter, but there are better places to save weight on a bike. I must say though, that if I ever saw a set of ceramic hubs and a set of stainless steel or aluminum hubs for the same price and quality, I would buy the ceramic hubs just for the coolness factor. Alas, ceramics are usually quite a bit more expensive.

[M_Wales]

I have read up a lot on wheels and hubs before having one set built and ordered a second set from the same builder. 6 pawls seem to be the standard these days and work much better than 3..

Here's what Boyd Johnson of Boyd Cycling says about Ceramic Bearings.. He's not the only one I have read saying the same thing..

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