Getting your 24mm-spindled cranks into a 30mm bottom bracket on your mountain bike has gotten both easier and lower friction since CeramicSpeed debuted this BB30 to Shimano MTB unit. It fits inside the bottom bracket shell and allows you to run either Shimano or FSA or Rotor cranks.
BB30 is the first of the new wave bottom bracket standards. It calls for a 42mm inner diameter to fit oversized bearings. The width is a traditional bottom bracket size, 73mm. Cannondale developed the standard, and originally, you could only fit their Hollowgram cranks to the bike, limiting choices, but with this unit, you can now have choices and spin happily. Shimano thru-axle cranks will always fit, while check the spindle diameter or FSA or Rotor, as both make cranks with different spindle diameters.
CeramicSpeed utilizes Grade 3 Silicon Nitride balls that possess the best possible surface finish and roundness. In testing, the balls are 400% smoother, 128% harder, and 58% lighter than standard steel balls found in most bike components. They’re more than 100% smoother and 15% harder than standard ceramic balls. The balls are installed into hardened steel races in dust-free clean rooms and then checked again before assembly is complete. Not only is low friction the result, but so is increased bearing life. Like three to five times longer than standard bearings.
The CeramicSpeed bearings are pressed into aluminum cups manufactured by Rotor of Spain. And the bearings are pressed into place at CeramicSpeed in Denmark.
Tech geeks who are also speed fiends obsess over ceramic bearings because the right design can have dramatically less frictional resistance than standard steel bearings. CeramicSpeed is an innovator in bearing technology. They mastered the use of ceramic ball bearings pressed into hardened steel races for both reduced friction and improved durability. You can go faster with less maintenance. Great things both. These are the reasons why pro racers seek out ceramic bearings. CeramicSpeed has the pro teams coming to them, begging for bearings. Even the ones they don’t sponsor might well be buying them in order not to be left behind.
Another step they take in assuring the lowest-possible frictional drag is using grease they designed as lubricant. It comes in the bearings and a syringe comes with the bearings as well. Ceramic bearings are so hard that they can crush grit that works its way into the races. And ceramic balls don’t rust. Still, clean grease is the best way to insure the lowest drag and the longest life. The grease utilized here has a higher viscosity than the grease they install in road bottom brackets, so it will stick to the bearings better, insuring protection from the elements.
The kit comes with the bearings pressed into cups, CeramicSpeed’s mtb grease, dust cover, spacers, and sticker sheet. Weight of the system is 114g.
When you’re looking to ride away from your previous best and the competition, the CeramicSpeed BB30 Shimano MTB bottom bracket allows you to install your favorite Shimano MTB crank.