Jockey wheels

[fossyant]

If you take, say the older jockeys from Shimano, they were all bushed. Upto 105 had a steel bush and no rubber seals. Ultegra got a ceramic upper bush and contact seals, Dura Ace added lower ceramic bushings.

Guess which spins better...... 105. The ceramic bushes were better long term against corrosion. Certainly take alot less maintenance than bearings. SRAM needing regular checks given where the bottom jockey is located in the fireing line of spray and mud.

 

[Happy_Days]

the ceramic bush jockeys dont spin easier due to the seals, but they dont corrode like the steel bushes. Ultegra had one ceramic and one steel. DA both ceramic. They just last longer.

Do you know how BBB jockey wheels compare?

 

[silva]

My bikes wheels started with ceramic bearings and I ended up upon replacement need again steel. Why: they failed suddenly. From nearly no play on the wheel to voiding brake pad clearance in a single ride. And most of those occasions were in winter after leaving inside moderate temperature into freezing condition.
Which is crap - a fail in ugly conditions.
It's likely that a temperature shock cracks the ceramic.
Steel bearings wear quicker, but the play gradually grows - giving you a chance to discover and let them replace before total fail - unusable wheel.

For a same reason I went from singlespeed to fixed gear: the freewheel also exhibited such sudden total failures - from not any problem, starts to rain, all of sudden fail, and a walk.
Because water made the grease sticky, and the pallet springs too weak to overcome.
Or second scenario, from not any problem, in the evening starting to freeze, same consequence.

 

[Ajax Bay]

The 'ceramic bearing' thing is complete BS.

an interesting article on the pros and cons of ceramic bearings:

Here's a better one, with receipts.
https://www.hambini.com/ceramic-bearings-vs-steel-bearings-an-engineering-analysis/

 

[fossyant]

Do you know how BBB jockey wheels compare?

I run BBB on my SRAM bike, last much longer than SRAM. I have run BBB on my commuter (Shimano XT) for the last few years - get about 12 months before bearings get worn) but recently shifted back to 105 level jockeys which work just fine and have less maintenance.

 

[Keezx]

Here's a better one, with receipts.
https://www.hambini.com/ceramic-bearings-vs-steel-bearings-an-engineering-analysis/

In the past I had some discussions with Hambini and sometimes disagreed with him, but this one is obviously pretty good and clearly shows why 99,99 % of cyclists should avoid ANYthing ceramic...

 

[Dogtrousers]

In the past I had some discussions with Hambini and sometimes disagreed with him, but this one is obviously pretty good and clearly shows why 99,99 % of cyclists should avoid ANYthing ceramic...

What? Even for drinking coffee out of?

 

[Keezx]

You might be famil;iar with the fact that most rules do have an exception...

 

[Punkawallah]

What? Even for drinking coffee out of?

Only finest porcelain, surely?

 

[Drago]

Now, ceramic jocky shorts would be worth buying. An undoubted performance gain when jetwashing off the flaky parts.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Now, ceramic jocky shorts would be worth buying. An undoubted performance gain when jetwashing off the flaky parts.

Especially when used with ceramic dry lube

 

[TC99]

I'm more confused than ever. I see these in red for £0.65 for two. I see Brilliant bikes have two for over forty quid (in black below). Whats the difference? Is the expensive one better in some way? Forty quid better?

 

[TC99]

Problem is you're not paying enough

https://sturdycycles.co.uk/products...uRdc-rwrblYEDhva-fgaCTk6qhH_ueQG6_zZwfTU6iZ-x

Oh my goodness.

 

[Punkawallah]

I'm more confused than ever. I see these in red for £0.65 for two. I see Brilliant bikes have two for over forty quid (in black below). Whats the difference? Is the expensive one better in some way? Forty quid better?

Welcome to cycling :-)
As a rule of thumb, the more you pay, the smaller the improvement. Twice the price might be twice as good, but four times the price might be only three times as good. You rapidly run up against the ‘law of diminishing returns’. And the people who frequent cycle forums (fora) :-)
If you provide detail, such as what type of derailleur they have to go with, you might get more sense (I’m not promising anything, though). The answer to ‘I ride my bike to work, my Shimano Tourney derailleur needs new jockey wheels, what sort should I get’ will be different to ‘I ride local Time Trials, my Shimano Tourney derailleur needs new jockey wheels, what sort should I get’.
Good luck!

 

[chriswoody]

I'm more confused than ever. I see these in red for £0.65 for two. I see Brilliant bikes have two for over forty quid (in black below). Whats the difference? Is the expensive one better in some way? Forty quid better?

To answer your question directly, there are a number of technical differences between the Hope wheels and the red ones. Firstly the Hope Wheels are CNC machined from aluminium, the red ones are probably cheap soft plastic. The Hope wheels have cartridge bearings in the middle and seals on the outside to help prevent water ingress. The red ones will just have a metal sleeve in the middle and the bolt will run through this, no bearings. The cartridge bearings will make the Jockey wheels run much smoother and require less maintenance. The large holes on the Hope wheels will also not only save weight, but also help prevent them clogging with mud so easily. The Hope wheels will also be designed to work with modern 1x drivetrains on mountain bikes with teeth profiled to fit the chain more closely.

The Hope wheels are definitely better than the red ones, but are they worth 43 pounds? That's up to you to decide really. What I like about Hope is that they are a small British company producing everything in Barnoldswick. Which does mean though that there will be a bit of a premium to pay over products from larger companies producing stuff in bulk in the far east.