We’ve had good and bad bottom brackets with both standard and ceramic bearings, and the best way to split the wheat from chaff is to subject them to many, many hours of filth.
This bottom bracket has suffered months of hard riding while being submerged in trail filth and washed with regular hose-downs. Six months of that grease killing treatment results in a clear answer.
This reasonably priced Uberbike ceramic bottom bracket passed the test when we unshipped the chain and span the cranks – they whizzed round as if on ice, with no catching or hollow clunking, both frequent signs of impending bearing doom.
The seals/shields work well. With a quick wipe down and regrease of the cleanly-cut cup threads, this is ready for another six wet months.
This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.