It’s no doubt been a long season for many, with the race bike likely being stashed away in favour of the winter training bike. All that racing and sportif riding takes its toll on your bike, with chains wearing out, tyres past their prime and more.

Areas often overlooked though are considerably important to the smooth running of your pride and enjoy, namely the bottom bracket and wheel bearings. Thankfully, they’re easy to replace and a quick bearing change can lend some new life to your bike.

Carbontec’s Ultimate range of bearings are based around ceramic units and are available to fit all common bottom brackets (Shimano, Campagnolo and Race Face) and most wheels. You can also add a splash of colour, with the bottom bracket cups coming in a choice of colours.

Prices for the bottom bracket units start from £64.99, and come with a 3-year warranty. Wheel bearing kits start from £69.99 a set. You can also rejuvenate your rear mech with replacement jockey wheels, from £29.99. Expensive, yes, but ceramic bearings, which have silicon nitride balls running in steel races, offer improved smoothness, longer service life and lower rolling resistance and weight than standard bearings.