High-performance Bearings With Victrex® Peek™ Polymer Cages Are Dramatically Impacting The World Of Professional Cycling

Cages made from VICTREX PEEK polymer offer an excellent combination of strength and flexibility. The good sliding properties of the polymer and the smoothness of the cage surfaces (which are in contact with the rolling elements) generate little friction so that wear in the bearing is kept at a minimum. In addition, the low density of the material means that the inertia of the cage is small which can contribute to quicker acceleration.

ROS recently formed a partnership with CeramicSpeed, a Danish company, who uses the cages made from VICTREX PEEK polymer for professional racing bike bearings. Replacing standard bearings with higher performance bearings offers a number of benefits for professional cyclists. For example, when used in the wheel hubs they can reduce friction, which helps the rider automatically accelerate faster regardless of speed. Also, by using the bearings in a bike’s bottom brackets, a rider can increase speed, service life and efficiency, because the bearings are lighter, smoother and stiffer.

Bearing cages featuring high-performance VICTREX PEEK polymer have dramatically impacted the cycling world. During the 2009 Tour de France, nine out of twenty teams had bikes equipped with CeramicSpeed bearings. “They can improve an athlete’s equipment,” explained Werner Beuerlein, Managing Director at ROS. “The bearings do not need any lubrication, which positively influences performance.”

The 2008 Olympic Games were a huge success for athletes using the high-performance bearings in their equipment. Only 50 different of them had been chosen exclusively to use the new bearings for sports such as road and track cycling as well as rowing. A total of 17 medals were won by athletes whose equipment featured the bearings.

Looking to the future, ROS and its Danish partner are targeting applications in the higher tech markets where high rotational speed bearings now dominate. ROS has also developed, with another well-known producer of bearings, the world’s largest bearing cage for a sustainable energy application. The bearing has a diameter of 3m (9.84 ft) and features VICTREX PEEK polymer.