Ceramic bearings are measurably-and-devilishly round, and it's this roundness plus their hardness that gives them their rolling slickness. The reduction in mechanical drag you get by upgrading to ceramic bearings is no different than magically shedding ounces off your bike on a climb. For a given wattage, your speed increases. Period. According to tests the use of ceramic bearings (including the specially formulated lubricant they roll in) gives you an added 20m-40m per 1km ridden. And keep in mind that mechanical drag is utterly unlike aerodynamics -- it becomes more and more critical the lower your speed is. According to these tests, the use of ceramic bearings decreases friction 22-fold.

Competitive Cyclist now offers the service of retrofitting your existing Mavic Ksyrium SL, Ksyrium ES, or Ksyrium SL Premium wheelset with ceramic bearings. We'll extract the 5 stock stainless steel bearings and replace them with 5 Grade 5 ceramic bearings. Grade 5 bearings are the finest available in the marketplace, round to a tolerance of 1 5-millionth of an inch.

Our goal is to make the logistics of upgrading your wheelset to ceramic bearings as quick and simple as possible for you. In order to initiate the process, please proceed by adding a retrofit to your cart here. At the end of the purchase process, you will be given an order number. With this order number in hand, please ship your wheel to:

Competitive Cyclist
Attn: Service Dept.
Order # XXXXX
2222 Cantrell Road
Little Rock, AR 72202

We will perform the upgrade and ship your wheelset back to you via UPS Ground within 2 business days of receiving it. You will receive an automated email from us with your UPS tracking # on the evening we ship your wheelset back to you. Please ship your wheelset to us using a trackable method (UPS, FedEx, DHL, or USPS Certified Mail). Also, include your full contact information, your order number, and any special instructions or requests in this shipment.