CeramicSpeed Ceramic Alloy Derailleur Pulleys - SRAM 1-11 Speed

CeramicSpeed Ceramic Alloy Derailleur Pulleys - SRAM 1-11 Speed Info

SRAM has broken new ground with their 1x11 mtb and road systems. It calls for both a new tooth design for chain rings and a new tooth design for pulley wheels. CeramicSpeed has designed pulley wheels that work as perfect replacements for SRAM’s XX1 and X01 rear derailleurs. They’re Ceramic Alloy Derailleur Pulleys. Actually, they’re better than perfect, as they both last longer and run with less friction.

The specifics of Ceramic Speed pulleys are simple. The pulleys themselves are CNC-machined aluminum, with cut-outs beneath the teeth both for dirt-clearing and light weight. Pressed into the opening are CeramicSpeed hybrid ceramic bearings. That means that the balls are ceramic and the races hardened steel. The aluminum pulleys themselves should out-live plastic pulleys, and the bearings should outlast conventional sealed races by an order of three to five times the service life.

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.

When testing company Friction Facts ran a pulley test in 2013. CeramicSpeed was the clear winner with a set of pulleys having a frictional drag cost of .033 watts. It’s not nothing, but it’s really, really close to nothing.

Installing them is easy. All you need is a 2.5mm Allen head tool. There’s an upper pulley and lower pulley. Make sure you put them in the right places,  saving and re-using the spacers that come with the SRAM pulleys. The upper is a bit narrower to make centering less important. The logo is placed outwards, aka to the right. The pulleys should be serviced periodically with a little thin oil, by putting a drop or two on the tiny gap between the seal and the edge. CeramicSpeed suggests doing this each time you lube the chain, or after a bike cleaning, or after riding in mucky conditions. This will lengthen the life of the bearings and keep frictional drag at the minimum.

The kit comes with two pulleys, CeramicSpeed oil for lubing the bearings, and a sticker sheet.

CeramicSpeed Ceramic Alloy Derailleur Pulleys for SRAM 1x11-Speed rear derailleurs makes this simple shifting system even simpler and faster than it was designed.