2,680€ for some bicycle bearings, that's how Ceramic Speed celebrates its 20th anniversary

Nowadays we have Ceramic Speed associated with bikes with the most exquisite assemblies thanks to their famous ceramic bearings capable of maximizing every watt we generate. A brand that now celebrates 20 years by launching a limited edition of its most iconic product, the OSPW derailleur pulley.

From skates to cycling: 20 years of Ceramic Speed

Although it has become a brand fully linked to cycling, Ceramic Speed's beginnings 20 years ago have little to do with the brand it is today. Its founder Jacob Csizmadia conceived Ceramic Speed after using hybrid ceramic type 608 bearings to break the 24-hour world record on inline skates.

A success that led him to manufacture and market bearings on an industrial level, which, in the year 2000, already reached cycling and were used by some during the Tour de France. From the great reception of them via word of mouth is how Ceramic Speed was born in 2004 as a brand specialized in ceramic bearing applications for cycling: wheels, headsets, bottom brackets...

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And, of course, their star product, the oversized OSPW pulleys that have become one of the most common upgrades to stock derailleurs and that, according to numerous studies, allow to save a good number of watts, both due to the lower resistance of their ceramic bearings and their oversized pulleys that reduce the angles of the chain links, resulting in less friction losses.

Despite the brand's growing popularity, they continue to manufacture their products in an almost artisanal way in the town of Holstebro in Denmark, with a staff of just a hundred people.

To celebrate this special anniversary, the brand has assembled a customized Colnago C68 with the best of their catalog: SLT bearings for the headset, Lightweight Obermayer wheels also upgraded with their bearings, and, of course, the SRAM Red AXS derailleur updated with their OSPW RS pulleys, a special edition for this 20th anniversary of which only 200 units have been produced.

These OSPW RS feature pulleys made with a hollow titanium structure coated with DLC (diamond-like carbon) that are manufactured through 3D printing and placed in an injection-molded pulley cage that, in addition to the Ceramic Speed logo, includes a 20th-anniversary logo.

The OSPW RS are delivered in a commemorative kit that includes a type 608 bearing like the one Jacob Csizmadia used to break that record on his skates and that was the germ of the brand. However, it will be difficult for you to see one of these OSPW RS pulleys since, despite their price of €2,680, of the 200 units produced, 190 have been distributed among their distributors around the world for commercialization or whatever they wish to do with them, while only 10 can be purchased directly from their website.