Bicycle grease

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: wetcoastrider
Hey nthach, do you know which kind of Mobilgrease SHC Phil Wood uses? There are a few different grades.

It was on an old Phil Wood bearing pdf.

 

[bogan]

I use white lithium grease.... It's light and free flowing...

Excellent for bearing applications..

For all cables, derailers and driveline I use "Prolink" chain lube

My bottom "sealed" braket uses Moly black grease on the threads

Pedal hard......

 

[miro]

It depends on area where you leave. I would recommend
- Bel ray waterproof grease – nothing special – AL+ barium complex NLGI 2 grease – sells in Europe by Yamaha dealers. Yamaha bikes + snowmobil grease
- Headsets – total ceran xm 220 – nothing special - calcium sulfonate syntetic grease Amsoil makes nice Ca sulfonate greses but they are not available in my region.
- Internal gear hub – shimano nexus 3 and 8 by commuter bike – Mobilith SHC 100 and shc 220. Somewhere in winter the hub receives one injection of 10cc NLGI 000 grease
Nice weather MTB and race bike are running in Li complex greases – Mobilth SHC 220 or SHC 460

 

[Michael_P]

I have always used Phil Wood or Park PPL-1 til about 5 years ago. Both of these greases are probably NLGI 1 for thickness. Lately, I have been using John Deere Cornhead Grease. It is a polyurea based synthetic so its totally compatible with Park grease and other bicycle greases. Better base stocks than Phil or Park and is thinner (NLGI 0). It wont harm carbon fiber, has EP additives, is waaaay cheaper and lasts longer than anything I have ever used. I use it on my Campy Super Record, Dura Ace, XTR equipped bikes as well as my two commuter bikes. I ride 7000+ miles a year including cat2 races and triathlons. I weigh 200 pounds and by no means am I easy on bicycles. I bought a pointy tip for my grease gun which makes application easy and mess free. The main reason I switched was I wanted something thinner and cheaper. JD Cornhead grease looks like what you would get if you mixed Park PPL-1 and Phil Wood together. It even smells as such. I ride year round straight through the winter. After 15,000 miles of commuting which includes bad weather, salt and potholes, the JD Cornhead grease looks the same as it went in. The bearings are always well coated at teardown and nothing is shoved out of the way. My Deore XT dynamo hub loves this stuff.

 

[Kamele0N]

I was always wondering why not an EP grease for bike bearings...I personally find this comment stupid!

http://www.bike.bikegremlin.com/2015/06/23/the-best-bicycle-bearing-grease/

 

[DrRoughneck]

If you're in riding in a wet environment (rain, puddles or otherwise), consider marine aluminum grease instead of lithium as it stays put and doesn't wash. $8 for a jar of Stalube Marine aluminum complex will last a lifetime.
And don't get it on your clothes, it's a [censored] to take off.

 

[miro]

Originally Posted By: Kamele0N
I was always wondering why not an EP grease for bike bearings...I personally find this comment stupid!


The most EP are S and P based. The forces and temperatures by bike bearings are such that does not make use of those EP additives.
saying that - read my previous message. I use with great success extreme EP grease - Calcium sulfonate ASTM D 259 - 500kg

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted By: buck91
Been doing some reading tonight for no other reason that curiosity. Anyways, I've seen some mention about Phil Wood grease actually being rebranded Drydene #4000. Has anybody heard this?

Further, some googling doesn't bring up much info on Drydene #4000, except for one gentleman who thinks that it is now some Castrol grease. Does anybody know where/how to find some?
There was a full-page article praising Drydene 4000 in the magazine of the League of American Wheelmen (since renamed) long ago. I bought a pound. It really is the best I've tried. Unfortunately, Drydene no longer exists. I'm running low, and don't know what is its equivalent in a modern brand.

4000 had a synthetic base whereas Phil Wood has a mineral-oil base, I believe. They don't even look similar (although both are greenish).

White lithium greases tend to wash out badly in rain, in my experience.

Some bicycle bearings are likely more highly stressed than automotive wheel bearings, considering how short-lived they are even if well lubricated.

 

[buck91]

Originally Posted By: CR94

...
Some bicycle bearings are likely more highly stressed than automotive wheel bearings, considering how short-lived they are even if well lubricated.


Now, I haven't had the chance to put tens of thousands of miles on any set of bearings; end up upgrading or whatever sooner. But my experience has shown the bearing failures are typically due to poorly adjusted preload (either too tight or too loose). Perhaps with grease contamination as well, but honestly that is much less of a problem than preload adjustment. Seems somewhere like 100% of the wheels I've found coming from various suppliers had grossly over tightened bearing preload. Even many brand new hubs, though I have found that the nicer units tend to be more appropriately set up from the factory.

 

[tenderloin]

PENN Precision Reel Grease
or
Cals Universal Grease

Not cheap but both work like a charm

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted By: buck91
Originally Posted By: CR94

...
Some bicycle bearings are likely more highly stressed than automotive wheel bearings, considering how short-lived they are even if well lubricated.


Now, I haven't had the chance to put tens of thousands of miles on any set of bearings; end up upgrading or whatever sooner. But my experience has shown the bearing failures are typically due to poorly adjusted preload (either too tight or too loose). ... Seems somewhere like 100% of the wheels I've found coming from various suppliers had grossly over tightened bearing preload. Even many brand new hubs, though I have found that the nicer units tend to be more appropriately set up from the factory.
I've "put tens of thousands of miles" on several sets of bearings. (Over 300K lifetime cycling miles) Generally they don't last nearly as far as conventional car wheel bearings, even if meticulously adjusted and not intruded by water or dirt (a common cause of failure). I agree about the all-too-common tendency to adjust bearings too tight, which is easier and quicker than adjusting them correctly. Those modern "nicer units" often have sealed cartridge bearings, which don't require tedious manual adjustment.