Most every team on the ProTour races a bike that hovers around the UCI limit of 14ish pounds. And a handful of teams (the CSC Cervélo Soloist Carbon comes to mind here) are fortunate enough to have a bike sponsor that cares about aerodynamics. So once you tackle these concerns -- weight and aerodynamics -- what other equipment enhancements are left to do? It's simple: Mechanical resistance. By replacing stainless steel bearings with ceramic bearings in key places (hubs, bottom bracket, derailleur pulleys), it's the effective equivalent of dropping substantial weight from your bike.

Ceramic bearings are measurably-and-devilishly round, and it's this roundness that gives them their rolling slickness. 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 Zipp wheelset with ceramic bearings. You can ship us your existing wheels and we'll extract the 6 stock stainless steel bearings and replace them with 6 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. It doesn't matter which model you ride: 202, 303, 404, 808, 909, or 1080 -- our retrofit benefits them all.

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.