CeramicSpeed's $549 Carbon Derailleur Cage and Pulley Wheels Apparently Save You Watts - Pond Beaver 2020

 I can hear him now......

 I literally only clicked on this article to see what you had to say Waki!

 @jaame: HELLO!!! AND WELCOME!

 I'm aged 5 too!

 Hambini is great. His explanation on why SRAM GXP is crap echos the issues I've had with that system over the years. His expertise is a breath of fresh air in an industry built upon marketing, smoke/mirrors, and sometimes lies.

 @dsmdan18: Not sure if the increasingly sensitive Pinkbike Comment Board would be able to take Hambini. French 5 year old from UK with Chlamydia, saying that Threaded BB essentially is a pressfit and recommends Cyclone B treatment to half of the industry.

 @WAKIdesigns: His breakdowns are based on engineering fact. MTB has too many unscientific and unprovable claims. People uncomfortable with hearing factual conclusions based on engineering principals point out his language which is an obvious form of humor.

 @dsmdan18: Maybe facts but also social disorder.

 @dsmdan18: if that is what his followers think, he should consider starting a religion

 @dsmdan18: I am gonna have to read up on why inhate my gxp stuff that has been running flawless for several years so I can tell my wife why I need xtr cranks instead.

 @WAKIdesigns: my man! Saved me the time to preach the word about our Lord Hambini . On the subject guys, have a look on Youtube at our guy Raoul from Luescher Teknik based in Melbourne. His last two videos are about press-fit bottom brackets but from a frame perspective.

Regarding Ceramic Speed, those pulleys are pure snake oil. I've spent days comparing their aero cages and pulleys for athletes I work with. The gain is almost non-excitent if any, the only thing you'll lose is money. And it doesn't shift as good as the standard cage and pulleys.

 you beat me to this, I think he has made it clear the utter level of BS on ceramic toilet speed. He certainly needs a login!!

 @Euskafreez:
Can't wait to spend $550 on this then bang it into a rock.

 @hanstock21: He should be a paid employee of Pinkbike calling out BS products.

 @GZMS: Religion isn’t based on provable fact so your idea is missing a key concept.

 @dsmdan18: The existence of most Gods requires same thing as expensive snake oil bits than Hambini trashes: faith... lots of faith and delusion

 Too bad, Hambini is not into MTB.

 @vjunior21: there is a reason I am on GX Eagle off road and Super Record 12 on.....I hit shit off road....four in a year!

 'I own a Cervelo so therefore I am an instant c*nt'--Orbea Frames: More Engineering Ballcocks From Spain, 32:25. He has other channels and doesn't need Pinkbike. I doubt Orbea's engineer asked for a non-round bb shell. At 18:45 he complains that Orbea's lifetime warranty doesn't cover bb shells. 'That is not a wear-in component.' Yet he only offers a one-year warranty on his £200 bb.

 @ceecee: You do of course realize those are two separate issues, wear parts and physical structure, right? At the end of the day, while many of these complaints are quite valid, these are bikes, if the production standards were what he would like the costs would be phenominally high. A cheap bike would cost what Calfee and Look costs. But, LOVE the channel.

 @RoadStain: I believe he consistently states that for the price of a bike frame the bottom bracket should be correctly made at no additional cost. The example is given if a car alternator as well as thousands of other household items with pressed in bearings that have pressed in bearings but are manufactured properly at reasonable costs.

 @RoadStain: not a fortune. Shimano cranksets/BBs are not more expensive than Sram yet their quality is far better. With Dub, sram improved their bearings with no increase in price. But they made axle into 30mm so they can suck it. They turned one turd into another.

 @WAKIdesigns: I find both Shimano and SRAM BB to be junk. I have Campagnolo in all of my road bikes (Record or Super Record) and Rotor on the MTN bike (Kapic). It does not take a genius to discern that Rotor has set a new standard with the variable BB axle system on the Kapic (boost/non-boost).

For headsets, there is only one. Chris King.

 @RoadStain: I have never, ever had any problem with any of my Shimano cranksets. That is whenever I buy something else I am back at Shimano. CK may have nice bearings, so what. Shimano bearing live without creaking for 1.5-2 years, I replace them in a matter of 5 minutes (inc. taking the crank off and putting it back) and each costs 20€.

I am hanging out with bike mechanics a lot and they don’t reflect your opinion on reliability of Campagnolo. I am not sure whether there is anything produced by Super Marios that is worth the extra cash. Maybe Formula forks if you have the parts available. I checked out with Mz66 in 2006 and that’s about it for Italian Engineering for me.

Headsets? Don’t be silly... I do understand the sentiment, I would love to own a piece of art like Leica M9, CK hub, what not, but quite frankly there’s enough quality 40$ Headsets out there. Never wasted a Hope or Cane Creek headset

 @RoadStain: Shell: structure. Bearing: wear. Why wouldn't Hambini's Orbea customer have warrantied a new frame with an obvious production defect? It's a fifty-minute video lacking this basic info, and the result of the £200 solution isn't very convincing. Could the carbon shell of frame which is possibly an Orbea be deforming the alloy replacement shell?

I'm no Sram fan, but have put a thousand rocky hours on three older hollow-forged GXP cranksets with zero issues. Similarly with Shimano, both road and mountain, press-fit and threaded. So I'm going to ignore your snooty opinion even though I've one King--on a disused frame.

 @ceecee: you are lucky. Just go to any experienced bike mechanic, you know a person who went through thousands of different cranksets.
The only thing that keeps Sram shitty cranksets above water is their widely adopted Spiderless direct mount standard and relatively cheap carbon cranksets.

I rode sram GXP cranks for no more than 2 years Total and I am on third threaded BB. But I am a sucker for their spider interface. Having said that The dumbest cranks I have ever owned are Hopes

 @WAKIdesigns: sounds like your issue is with bearings in bb. Water intrusion leading to bearing failure? There are non-Sram GXP bbs with better bearing seals, no?

One problem with 'The Worst Crankset in the World' is that Hambini's sample size is even smaller than mine. Plus he admits at 6:25 that he knows nothing of the history of the used crankset he is fixing. Plus exaggerating a problem is a good sales pitch when you're selling the solution. Plus Sram has moved on from GXP. Plus I just fitted a spare bb to my crankset in the manner of Hambini--that's how bored I am. The play that he proudly demonstrates in the nondrive bearing goes away as the stepdown in the axle is pulled into the stepped bearing. Without the lip of the nondrive bearing cup pushing against the hub shell, tightening the arm doesn't draw the axle in from the driveside. The way Hambini positions the driveside bearing--against the inner chainring--isn't where it ends up, which is a few mm inboard of the ring inner. Pull your crank and look at the wear mark from the drive bearing. In other words, it doesn't tighten up without a shell for the cups to press against. But if you push only the nondrive cup onto the step in axle, it gets tight. Isn't there one experienced mechanic on here that would have confirmed having gone through thousands of different cranksets? Or was it thousands of bottom bracket bearings. Hambini could have fitted a threaded GXP bb to crankset in video, instead of loose unlabeled bearings. Too many variables. Show me a crankset with a mock shell, bb fitted and poor tolerances, and I'll be convinced.

I get you like the fellow, but his demonstration doesn't show anything.

New Shimano 12-speed spiderless is excellent. Works fine with 11-speed chain, as ring is robust.

 @ceecee: You are confusing many different things together. The non drive side bearing in a GXP takes the majority of the load leading to premature bearing failure. Additionally the plastic "spacer" on the drive side of the crank quickly wears and allows slop to develop.

Having moved over to Dub things are better, no issues. You will notice they moved away from clamping on the drive side bearing and are now preloading both bearings with a nut.

 @dsmdan18: I see the pertinent info now at 16:00-20:00. NDS bearing is excessively loaded, has a crooked track and more friction. Hambini shows wave washer on wrong side; whatever. I'd forgotten about it, but King for one has a solution for this that loads bearings evenly. It is pretty weird that DS bearing is completely unloaded except for pedaling forces.

Still, I calculate that my 600-hour, $30, still-running bb costs five cents per hour. If the step in the axle wears down, cost of crank will have to be included. Thank heavens it was a half-price worst crankset in the world--maybe I am lucky. Thanks for the help.

 @ceecee: A user should not have to spend the following to fix an engineering issue:

CK GXP BB $180
Adapter Kit $13 $28
Grease Tool $55

TOTAL $263

The CK does last longer than the OEM SRAM BB but it is not perfect. It is now on my commuter bike and it looks like it needs to go in yet again to chris king to be warrantied.

 @dsmdan18: too true. I'm surprised you mention Dub after all that, even if it is better. & King is re-warrantying reverse engineering. Nightmare! Thanks again for the damning info.

Above, I confused the NDS splined shield washer with wave washer--not present on my threaded setup. Apologies to Hambini and the lot of you.

 You don't need to be an engineer to spot the cuntish shitbags, epic Hambini. Most of them just can't hide behind all those fraudulent lies.

 @ceecee: I moved to dub because I have a plethora of sram direct mount chainrings. I prefer direct mount. Additionally Shimano cranks are both more expensive and heavier. Dub has worked out well for me so far but it is not without flaws. Lastly sram has covered all my warranty issues in the USA market while Shimano has denied every one.

 @dsmdan18: shimano cranks more expensive?! SLX crankarms cost less than NX and I would chose Alivio over than NX crap. Find me better cranks than SLX? Price/ quality/ weight yhey are absolutely best. Sram used to have better alloy cranks The X9 which then changed name to X1. Then they had not that bad Descendants. They don’t make Neither of them anymore. Their “best” alloy crankset Is GX and I wouldn’t even piss on these. I’d rather have Deores than GX. It is hard to describe how shitty the GX are, so anything below qualifies only for wallmart bikes.

 @dsmdan18: use up those rings! It's environmentally correct, plus you're down $263. I'll do same. Sounds like you do a lot of warranty and may work in industry.

Despite his in-your-face presentation, I have to agree with Wacek. Sram improved bb interface, but ditched hollow-forging for cheaper, more flexy arms. At Jenson, a GX Dub crankset with bb is $173; SLX 12 is $158. SLX ring will last at least twice as long as GX.

For my part, I refuse to purchase, recommend, or sell on any current SX, NX, or GX. Too bad I have zero influence.

One thing we all have in common is that we're living with inferior product. At least we're not making warranty claims on CeramicSpeed stuff....

 @ceecee: Sram's direct mount is the best IMHO. excellent fit, 3 bolts keep it in place securely unlike that shtshow from Hope and RaceFace. I have just a little bit more hope for Shimano Direct Mount interface since is is being locked by teeth like centerlock/cassette lockrings. Shimano made one big mess with their previous bolt patterns. They deserve some smacking for this. Like that idiotic mismatch SLX/XT with XTR... what on Earth was that?! Again, the only thing I like Sram cranks for is the Direct mount system. My next cranks will be saints or zees nonetheless. Thanks to the steel pedal insert it will be much harder to destroy the threads. All in all, I believe XTR 980 was the best crankset ever made, now challenged only by Eewings but the price of these is out of this planet. 980 had it all and weighed only 30g more han carbon cranks from sram of the time.

 @ceecee: Did something change, just looked at what I paid for GX Eagle Dub crankset:
GX Eagle Boost Crankset - 170mm, 12-Speed, 32t, Direct Mount, DUB Spindle Interface, Black 1 $135.00

GX is 621 grams, I weigh every part I purchase to make sure I'm not being lied to. It was close or under this weight.

SLX is 631 grams for 32T, not sure what length as shimanos website does not do a proper breakdown bike.shimano.com/en-US/product/component/slx-m7100/FC-M7100-1.html

Not sure on SLX price as it is $104 without chainring. When I was researching the cost for *me* it was more, because I have 28, 30, and 32 tooth SRAM chainrings that I need to use up and I still got an extra 32T chainring to use (my commuter bike uses SRAM DM chainrings as well).

I want to move over to shimano, but it will be a slow progression to use up the SRAM parts that I have.

I'm not in the cycling industry, but I am in "an" industry. I'm similar to many MTB'ers who are advanced in their careers, we are all in "an" industry but the dynamics are the same. Its simply not about the money, its about being treated fairly at this point in my life or I'll take my business elsewhere.

 @dsmdan18: GX Dub $135 + 38 bb + ring wear

SLX 12 $105 + 33 ring + 20 bb

You're on your own on weight, as I'm only motivated to know it for wheels and tires, though an answer comes right up if one types 'SLX 12 crank weight' into a popular search engine...peace out

 @ceecee: it's not fair to compare GX to SLX, especilly when it comes to cranks. GX cranks are barely on Alivio level. GX shifter is preposterous and GX cassette is utter shyte for how it shifts and how expensive it is for the weight. sram misses a quality midrange group. They have GX and then far fa away they have a decent yet super pricey X01

 @WAKIdesigns: & it's extra unfair to compare GX Dub to SLX 12, now that Shimano has a clean, robust direct mount. But pricewise--at least for cranks--it's the comparison we're being asked to make. That the better option is so obvious makes the proliferation of GX all the more distressing. Sram is selling graphic design--it's an insult to metallurgy. I'm sure we're in agreement.

 @ceecee: yes. I am not educated in metallurgy yet GX looks like crap instantly... It’s on the level of noname stuff from AliExpress

 @ceecee: GX direct mount has been out for quite some time, even before dub so there is that. Shimano is just recently entering the 1x game with a serious effort. Before this, they weren’t competitive and wanted to push their 2x electric shifting groupset. Hopefully they will be on more bikes moving forward. The most recent budget bike field test is a bit telling no?

 @WAKIdesigns: The new securing method for dub cranks is a bit concerning. It hasn’t creaked on me yet but it requires a lot of torque. I’m not a fan. It’s likely the Shimano setup is better but I have yet to try out their cranks. Sram stuff, at least in the USA is priced high for what it is. I can’t wait to slowly work in Shimano parts now that their every day rider components line up with what I need.

 Don't be so sure until you get into Triathlon... you suddenly realize it all makes perfect sense. Then you get 3 more friends into it and Boom! a new brick and mortar bike shop can be opened in your town. One triathlete is worth 20 MTBers.

 uhmm... yup, you are.

 @WAKIdesigns: too bad triathletes have a weird love for quintanapoo, cervelo and kestrel...and that’s about it. Plus, their bikes are always clapped out and they wouldnt touch a trek/specialized/giant with a ten foot pole. Even canyon seems to have a tough time cracking into that market

 @WAKIdesigns: triathletes are pains in the ass

 @parkourfan: not in Sweden. I’ve seen several 45-60yr olds sporting TTs from Trek, LOOK or BMC as commuter bikes. The most favorite sport of folks in higher executive positions in major construction/ engineering companies in town. Older Managers at Volvo love’m too. Haven’t seen a single Pinarello on the street. I assume there’s been too many Chinarellos and nobody trusts you anymore that you actually bought the original. Especially since the rumor has it that Chinarellos may even be better than originals. It is hard in general to find shittier frames than those sold by Italians, no matter the make.

 How did we all miss this
“ I'm picturing a bunch of really tall people wearing lab coats, a lot of microscopes, and so many small balls. ”

 @WAKIdesigns: I’m talking about actual racers, not 60yo retirees. Although, I suppose that’s the demographic for your local Tri.

 @parkourfan: yeah. Off course. How else would they be able to afford all this crap? On top of all other stuff they own? Expensive boats, cars with ridiculous engine package? Houses in posh neighborhoods? Travelling for races and training camps few times a year, sleeping in expensive hotels. You have to be loaded to be a “real” thriathlete and that takes time to get such salary levels and only those in high managerial positions in big companies can afford it in terms of time off. Those 25-35yr old racers you are talking about are some half sponsored amateurs. I bet they are so poor they have only one Power Meter on their bike

 @WAKIdesigns: Ugh such plebs. If you're running powertap pedals to save money when you switch bikes, you're poor too.

If you're not ruining your shifting performance with di2, ceramaspeed pulleys, AND an oval ring, what are you doing???

Fun fact, that drivetrain shifted in exactly 3 gears. Guy had ALL the stock parts on him. Refused to bring it back to stock, because he'd be "faster" with only a few working gears - thanks to the power of wax and ceramic bearings - in whatever Clydesdale retiree class he was in.

 "All the gains you just made on the bike were lost in the first mile of your run."

 @gotohe11carolina: I feel like Levy wrote this whole article just to set that up.

 @parkourfan: Shiv.....

 While they laugh at the Fox 32/34/36/38/40, and next years 42, situation

 @mashrv1: It's a situation, thats for sure. Can't decide which one is right for you? Neither can Fox.

 @mashrv1: Next year you won't see 32 anymore I'm guessing.

 @imbiker: i'm partial to 30mm myself. I like the way my RS psylo turns into a banana shape when I hit the brakes. It also increases the head angle to help ease me up and over the bars so gently. I still have it, but its on one of the kids bikes. I don't think it was made for an adult's weight.

 I hope some people were able to pick up on the very subtle movie reference I made with my comment

 You eat little pieces of shit for breakfast?@timmins:

 @Jonoupt:.................. No!

 @timmins: you love the smell of shit in the morning?

 @taprider: jonoupt got it, no verbatim but close and I continued the joke.

 this is some monstercable-level shit

 @f00bar: ha the bike industry has nothing on the high end home audio industry. Monster Cable? That's the tip of the tip of the iceberg.

 @alexhyland: I know, I had a brochure from russ Andrews, £2000 for a 1mtr usb cable , WTF

 @mark3: I bet it's a USB cable as well...gets you exactly the same ones and zeroes as the one that was free with your printer.

 @mark3: Oh lol, I misread, you even said USB cable. Smh, mad shit.

 How about $30,000 speaker cables, or $10,000 power cords

 @f00bar: Childs play, you need to google Kimber Kable (yes, I own some).

 @RoadStain: I have 8PR, but will move up to 24TC eventually

 @HerrDoctorSloth: I was using 8PR for my rears....since grew out of that phase (digital music).

But, with Kimber Kable I could hear things on my Martin Logans that I could not hear on my B&W systems (on Monster). Now, it is a portable player with Shure SE425 (wired) is about as good as it gets for me. Hell, kids these days have never heard anything above 20,000htz or below 20khz.

 nonono you dont understand.. With CNC you remove watts, with 3d printing you add them! that's just how it works, man

 @GZMS: yeah additive machining adds Watts, subtractive machine removes them. I get it

 @cliocatface: hahahahah

 Why CNC when you can forge them? This way you dont have damaged grains. Only deformed ones which increase stability...
Or as their name says: Ceramic. So Ceramic Injection Moulding CIM could be great. With lots of work for heattreatment and high risk of getting out of tolerances due to high shrinkage your price could rise without getting a betterproduct.

 40% efficiency increase. Making your 95% efficiency transmission a 135% efficiency transmission! It's how awesome that is!

 @faul: This thing will make your bike so efficient you won't need an ebike.

 More teeth = more fillings = more Yeti...

 @TheOriginalTwoTone: maybe not, but he sure gets how marketing does.

 @TheOriginalTwoTone:
Not sure you understand how humour works

 @WAKIdesigns: more teeth = more dentists

 @fiatpolski: be careful not to be that fast that you overflow in reverse mode

 This would look great on a Stinky

 Or on a no chain pump-track bike

 Ceramic crowns on Ti screws!

 @WAKIdesigns: shit's f*cked up

 Ask @dangerholm...

 @bicyclerider

 @blitz66 @JoeRSB Hold my protein shake...

 Vital did a thing a little over a year ago on the most expensive build possible I believe

 @bicyclerider: I feel like I'm living vicariously through others' wallets..

 $549 for a half wit also works...

 The $1700 version with titanium flywheels probably can save you 0.57428 watts.

 How many watts do I need to beat Schurter? Just to calculate how many of these things I need and how many centuries I must work to buy them.

 @fautquecaswing: I calculated. I would need more than allowed by EU 250W to beat Nino Shurter...

 @WAKIdesigns: I never thought about that, fuc##g scary

 Some people spend tens of thousands of dollars and hours training for a once a lifetime race like Leadville 100. To them every watt matters and may have not cost limit associated with whatever advantage they can get.

 Dude, I got about 20 to lose. I have to buy 4 of these then?

 It's the first 5lbs that are the hardest to lose.

 Oh boy, that's gonna be more than a few for me.

 Not too well mate .

 Will go so good with your GOWHLDEN Shpengle!

 Nah, thats the people buying it.