First Look: CeramicSpeed's UFO Chain
When you pedal your bike, some of your energy is used to overcome wind resistance, rolling resistance, and friction in the bearings and drivetrain. Reduce the energy drain in any of these areas, and you’ll go faster for the same amount of work.
Ceramic Speed aims to help you do that. The company specializes in friction-reducing products, and is primarily known for its ceramic-hybrid bearings for wheels and bottom brackets, and its oversized derailleur pulley wheels.
One of the company’s newest products are the Ultra Fast Optimized (UFO) chains. Ceramic Speed brings in stock chains from Campagnolo, Shimano, SRAM, and KMC and then selects, tunes, and treats them to reduce friction. Claimed savings: two to five watts, which means that riders could cover 40km six to 15 seconds faster.
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The chains are priced from about $129 to $165, two to 2.5 times the price of the stock version of the chain. A package includes the chain, connecting link or pins, a pair of gloves to install the chain, and a bottle of Squirt Lube. Squirt, according to the Ceramic Speed press release, is, “the fastest drip lube ever tested.” The included lube is Squirt’s stock formulation.
These are not everyday chains. From the product description, “UFO Chains are exclusively racing chains developed for extreme performance on the competition day optimal for 200 miles. Be aware that the UFO treatment is not optimized for wet and muddy conditions, which might cause corrosion on the chain.”
After 200 miles (in dry conditions), the power savings of the UFO chain drops off. Ceramic Speed says that by, “using the Squirt Lube in the maintenance of the UFO Chain, the traces of optimization are stimulated even further, resulting in an upgraded and high-quality training chain.”
That’s right: After 200 miles your $130+ power-saving chain is reduced to, maybe, slightly more efficient than a stock chain. Double, or more, the price to save a maximum of five watts for 200 miles. Marginal gains cost maximal money.
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