Reviewed: CeramicSpeed Oversized Pulley Wheel System and Ultra Fast Optimized Chain

Oct 19, 2023

CeramicSpeed's Oversized Pulley Wheel System and Ultra Fast Optimized Chain give you every advantage by decreasing friction

One of the best—and worst—things about cycling is the challenge of going just a little bit faster. We attack from all angles—changing up our training routines, adjusting our riding positions, rethinking our nutrition, and equipping our bikes with lighter or more efficient components—all in pursuit of that savvy fix to get us to the top of a climb that much faster. The quickest way to make a change? Replace your gear—and CeramicSpeed's products are a good bet on this front.

Get more speed secrets with Bicycling's Big Book of Cycling for Beginners.

CeramicSpeed specializes in components that help you go faster by reducing drivetrain friction. Primarily known for its ceramic bearings, the company's most extreme products are the Oversized Pulley Wheel System (OSPW) and the Ultra-Fast Optimized (UFO) chain.

The OSPW is a carbon-fiber pulley cage stuffed with a pair of 17-tooth, machined-aluminum pulleys. It sells for $499 and is claimed to save you at least 2.4 watts. $100 more gets you the coated version, which claims to have 50-percent less friction than CeramicSpeed's standard ceramic bearings. A pair of standard replacement pulleys cost $279, or $369 for the coated version.

RELATED: First Look: Ceramic Speed's UFO Chain

The largest share of the OSPW's watt savings comes from the 17-tooth pulleys (a stock Shimanopulley has 11 teeth). Wrapping the chain around a larger "wheel" reduces friction and saves watts, for the same reason a 53-tooth chainring has less friction than a 50-tooth chainring. Ceramic bearings do the rest, decreasing friction even more.

Currently, the OSPW is only offered for Shimano 10- or 11-speed Ultegra or Dura-Ace (mechanical or electronic) rear derailleurs. A version for SRAM derailleurs should be available in "a few months," says Manuela Enache Hyldahl, CeramicSpeed's communication assistant. There are currently no plans for a Campagnolo-compatible OSPW.

For such a major organ in a drivetrain's anatomy, installing the OSPW proved surprisingly easy, in part because the included instructions are good. It's also a non-destructive installation, so if you don't like how it performs, or it fails for some reason, the old pulleys and cage can be re-installed. A note: Because the pulleys are large, adding the OSPW to an existing drivetrain will probably require a longer chain.

Ceramic Speed's FAQ says the OSPW is compatible with up to a 28-tooth cassette. On my bike, however, even with the b-tension screw bottomed out, the upper pulley contacted the 28 in the big ring.

The UFO chain is $135, and is claimed to save two to five watts. CeramicSpeed isn't making its own chain, but rather "optimizing" an off-the-shelf chain. This means it's completely degreasing and cleaning the chain; polishing the link's sliding surfaces; performing "infusion of the chain at optimal temperatures with the optimization blend;" and finally applying a Teflon powder.

The chain's watt-saving properties are only good for 200 miles, after which it's about as fast as an unoptimized, but broken-in, version of the chain. Also, CeramicSpeed warns that the chain's treatment is not corrosion resistant and should only be used in dry conditions during its 200-mile optimized lifespan. Once the optimization wears off, you can protect the chain from water damage by using your favorite chain lube.

When CeramicSpeed's representatives sent me a review chain, the company was offering optimized 11-speed Shimano (which I received), Campagnolo, and KMC chains. They have since revised the product line and now only offer the KMC chain. In an emailed response to my questions, Hyldahl wrote, "Our recent tests show that this chain has the best performance; therefore, we have taken the decision to... deliver one chain, which is an optimized KMC chain, compatible with Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo."

Installing the UFO chain is as easy as installing any chain, though the Teflon powder sloughs off and gets everywhere (which is why a pair of gloves are included to keep your hands clean).

I tried the duo on my Trek Domane test sled with Garmin Vector 2 power meter(s). First I did a some control laps with no modifications through a few of my better testing loops. Then I installed just the OSPW for the same route, and finally added the UFO chain for a final repeat.

While it felt smooth, the OSPW somewhat diluted the shifting performance of the Shimano Di2 drivetrain on my test bike. In the middle of the cassette, shifts in both directions were more sluggish than those performed with the stock pulleys and cage. Never did a shift misfire, but it's hard to give up the class-leading speed, precision, and smoothness of a Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain.

RELATED: Should You Get a 1X Drivetrain on Your Road Bike?

The OSPW has three tension settings: low, medium, and high. Low offers the least friction (most watt savings), while high offers the crispest shifting (but more friction), according to CeramicSpeed's instructions. I ran the medium setting for the bulk of the test, but did switch it to the high-tension setting to see if that improved shifting: It did, slightly.

At best, I was looking at a sub-10-watt reduction in drivetrain friction, which is not insignificant: Assuming a constant 32kmh speed, saving 9 watts will let you cover 40k two-minutes faster, according to CeramicSpeed's claims.

However, there's "on paper" and there's "the real world." I learned that gaining time improvements in the real world from a claimed less-than-10-watt reduction in friction—with variables like weather (I tested this in the late winter/early spring) and my wildly fluctuating form—is pretty tough.

It appears there was a little bump in efficiency, but the real-world improvement in time was less than the difference between when I’m riding at my average ability, and when I’m my best. It certainly wasn't like I bolted the OSPW and UFO on and it started raining easy PRs.

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And that's an important point for amateur and aspiring racers to consider: While the gains are real, they're also minimal. Many of us could reap greater benefits by hiring a cycling coach or nutritionist, and investing in skin suits, aero wheels, and even lightweight latex tubes.

For those who already are whip-lean and have a season pass to the local wind tunnel, the OSPW derailleur and UFO chain can provide slight additional gains. But their high cost and the chain's short watt-saving lifespan mean I’d put them toward the bottom of my list of needs.

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