Complete Bikeonline guide for choosing MTB - Road - Gravel - E-bike bike bearings

Abec 5 carbon chrome steel bearings

Balls:
Grade 5 Chromium Steel Balls
High precision balls are within 5/1,000,000″ round. These are military level specification, used for precision equipment. R-64 hardness, of the highest grade.

Races:
52100 High Carbon Chromium Alloy Races
Vacuum de-gassed process for the purest chromium alloy steel, hardened to R-62, extremely tough and very durable. Polished to a mirror finish for ABEC-5 precision and noiseless movement.

Retainers:
Graphite/Nylon Ball Retainers
Nylon with graphite retainers are virtually frictionless while providing constant lubrication.

The ABEC-5 Standard:
To meet the ABEC-5 standard, bearing design must pass all tests, which include noise testing at high RPM, extremely close tolerances for I.D. and O.D., roundness of ball, trueness of the races and micro surface finishes of balls and races.

Seals:
Two NBR 70 rubber  LLB Dual-Lip seals with low contact type seal, which rides in a matching groove machined into the bearing.

440C stainless steel bearings

Enduro only uses 440C stainless steel balls and races to provide long life and superior corrosion resistance in applications and environments that may be less than ideal.
440C has the highest strength, hardness, and wear resistance of all the standard 440-series stainless alloys with high carbon content.
As expected it is also the most expensive of the 440 series alloys and requires multiple rounds of treatment processes to achieve its superior mechanical properties. Superior to the more commonly used 440A or 440B that other bearing manufacturers use interested in saving money, 440C stainless steel alloy has a higher Carbon content giving it maximum hardness and corrosion resistance after heat treatment and cryogenic treatment.

When the rain won’t go away, and your bicycle seems more often to be used as a boat rather than a bicycle, you may want to consider 440C stainless steel bearings. While not quite as hard as chromium bearing steel, 440C stainless steel is a good alternative in constant wet conditions, or where sweat and sticky drinks become a problem with components such as headset bearings and bottom brackets.

Enduro Bearings uses LLB type seals and CRC Marine Grease in our 440C Stainless Steel bearings to additionally water proof against the elements.

Balls:
440C Stainless Steel Balls are within 5/1,000,000″ round. These are military level specification, used for precision equipment. R-64 hardness, of the highest grade.
Also Races are made of 440c stainless steel, polished to a mirror finish for ABEC-5 precision and noiseless movement. Nylon with graphite retainers are virtually frictionless while providing constant lubrication

Races:
440C Stainless Steel Races
Vacuum de-gassed process for the purest chromium alloy steel, hardened to R-62, extremely tough and very durable. Polished to a mirror finish for ABEC-5 precision and noiseless movement.

Retainers:
Graphite/Nylon Ball Retainers
Nylon with graphite retainers are virtually frictionless while providing constant lubrication.

The ABEC-5 Standard:
To meet the ABEC-5 standard, bearing design must pass all tests, which include noise testing at high RPM, extremely close tolerances for I.D. and O.D., roundness of ball, trueness of the races and micro surface finishes of balls and races.

Seals:
Two NBR 70 rubber  LLB Dual-Lip seals with low contact type seal, which rides in a matching groove machined into the bearing.


Hybrid HSC Ceramic Bearings

HSC make some of the smoothest bearings available. HSC ceramic bearings are grade 3 silicon nitride (Si3N4) balls, matched with hardened steel races, and low-friction seals and retainers.
The grade of the ball bearings refers to their sphericity; the lower the number, the closer the ball is to being perfectly spherical.
The highest quality stainless steel ball used in bicycle applications is rated at grade 25, and many ceramic hybrid manufacturers use grade 5 ceramic balls.
Advantages over standard steel bearings are lighter weight, lower thermal expansion, less deformation under load, lower friction with reduced start and running torques, and reduced wear for longer life.
Ceramic bearings allow you to cycle faster and for longer, with reduced effort.

Features:
- 3-5 times longer lifetime than steel bearings
- 5-9 watts energy saving with the wheel ceramic bearing upgrade
- Grade 3 Si3N4 ceramic balls - 8 times rounder and 4 times smoother than steel balls
- ABEC 5 - mirror polished alloy steel bearing races lead to extremely lower friction
- C3 clearance - less vibration and smoother riding
- High performance Kluber grease

The HSC Ceramic  ABEC 5 bearings have ceramic balls and steel races.

Balls:
Silicon Nitride Ceramic Si3N4 balls are made from pure Silicon Nitride material with extreme high density from uniform compaction, the micro-structural development of this material during manufacturing is second to none. These high precision grade 5, Si3n4 pure ceramic balls are 5/1,000,000″ from exactly round in sphericity, 60% lighter weight, and 7 times harder than steel.
The balls are Grade 3, Silicon Nitride (Si3n4).  These are the roundest balls you can buy without a military license.

Races:
52100 High carbon Chromium Alloy Races with Cryogenic Treatment:
Cryogenic treatment takes the races down to minus three hundred degree Fahrenheit to normalize the crystalline structure of the material so the races will resist the hardness of the ceramic balls and get the maximum wear potential.
The races are treated with a black oxide coating, which helps prevent rusting in the bearing. The races are then reground to a mirror finish after this treatment. Finally, they are cryogenically treated for strength before assembly.

Seals:
We use Silicone VV seals, which is the lightest drag seal available on the market. VV Seals: two NBR 70 rubber seals with non-contact type seal, which rides in a matching groove machined into the bearing.