I Wouldn’t Buy That: Bike Specific Grease
February 15th, 2008 by JoelGuelphI wouldn’t buy bike specific grease. There are a few companies that sell it, Park, Pedros, Finish Line, Shimano, to name a few. Automotive wheel bearing grease has worked well for years for me and shops I have worked in.
Browsing through some online sites, a 1lb tub of bike grease goes for anywhere from $12-$30, and 3 or 4 oz tubes going for up to $10. I can find 1lb tubs of automotive wheel bearing grease for $5. My local Canadian Tire also has white grease for the same price.
There is no question in my mind that automotive bearing grease is just as effective as bike specific grease when greasing threads and various other installation tasks. I can, however, understand why there is an argument when it comes to repacking bearings. I personally feel that if there is a difference in efficiency, it is so minor that it is outweighed by the more frequent service interval required for a lighter grease. If I was trying to set a world time trial record, I might feel differently but, I’m not. Apparently posters at BikeForums.net agree with me:
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Votes |
% |
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Absolutely - noticable performance difference |
9 |
12 |
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Don’t Be a cheapskate! |
9 |
12 |
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No - automotive grease works just as well |
57 |
76 |
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Only the best grease makes a noticable difference (Phil Wood) |
6 |
8 |
From this topic on bikeforums.net.
This argument is relatively moot if all the grease you use is to repack your hubs once or twice a season. A 3 oz. tube will likely last you a number of years at that rate. If however you do multiple overhauls on multiple bikes or if you are the go to guy in your community for repairing bikes, chances are you’ll go through a tube fairly quickly.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that most bicycle grease is just repackaged automotive grease as I can’t imagine many bike companies have a huge R&D budget for grease. Does anyone know where bike grease comes from?
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I’m surprised I didn’t see the poll on BF. Regardless, I agree and also use automotive grease most of the time.
Of particular note is grease made for boat trailer axle bearings. I kept having trouble with one of my oldest bike’s caged bottom bracket bearings, cups and raced getting torn up when ridden in the rain. This marine-grade axle grease is thicker than some of the other automotive wheel bearing greases I’ve used — and as one who wrenches on cars, I’ve used plenty of types of grease. Since switching to this stuff in the bottom bracket, I’ve had no more BB woes in the last year, despite plenty of trips in bad weather. It’s definitely better than whatever my LBS used the first two times I had them re-build my BB.
I used the same grease when re-building the BB and headset of an old bike for my sister-in-law to commute with, as well. She’s had no complaints so far, either.
And before anyone asks: Yes, I am too cheap to go to a sealed bearing BB on my olde rigid-frame Diamondback. This IS blue collar… right?
Blue collar it is - I use a Mobil grease you can get at Grainger (I get it free at work…) - it is called Mobilith SHC PM. It is a synthetic grease made for paper mill bearing duty - it is incredibly water-resistant. I also use it on my dive gear where I have corrosion issues, like inside the handle of my knife…
In any case, it is only slightly heavier than a bike-specific grease (NGLI 1.5) and is great for old headset or bottom bracket bearings. I run it in my hubs, and use it wherever I don’t use never-sieze for assembly.
A tube will last for years and not dry out.
Red boat-trailer axle grease is way cheaper and every bit as effective as so-called “bike specific” grease. That’s got to be one of the biggest bicycle scams going — repackaging regular grease and marking it up so high!
Another thing that bugs me is that a couple manufacturers require you to use a specific brand and/or type of grease or it voids the warranty. I’m thinking of the shaft-drive bike manufacturers in particular, and perhaps a hub maker or two, and also the good folks from S&S couplers (although I think they’re off the hook since they did SO MUCH testing of greases before specifying the grease they recommend).
All that being said, there is just something about a tube of Phil Wood’s green grease…I think there is an addictive additive in there, or maybe it’s just the smell — I know I can use something far more economical, but I just can’t put that green tube down! The smell is intoxicating!
Grease? People actually grease their bikes???? I guess I am the low rent guy around here. I usually just stip my gear and add a little white lithium and thats it. course I’m going to be taking one of the park tool repair classes in a few weeks and will probably find out then how badly I’ve F’d up my bike.
Mostly it’s the bearings that aren’t sealed. On a cheapo bike, that includes wheel hubs, bottom bracket and headset bearings. Then, there’s sometimes servicable bearings in higher-quality pedals. If you have sealed hubs, a sealed BB and sealed headset, there’s not a lot of greasing to do. Sealed hubs and headsets aren’t as common as I wish they were, but sealed cartridge bottom brackets are kind of a de-facto standard for most newer bikes.
Just make sure not to mix grease types. Namely what they use for thickeners. My company switched suppliers for our bearings and the new one used Polyurea grease instead of Lithium based. These greases are very incompatible and we had to replace a lot of bearings in the field. Supposedly some combinations of grease are so incompatible that even tiny amounts of the wrong kind can cause damage. From what I have heard a lot of the auto industry is starting to switch to Polyurea baised.
IM with Kerbouchaud, other than wiping my chain and spraying a little Finish Line/GT85, I havent seen a need for stuff like axle grease, if I need to pop in a seatpost, lube cables, put on grips, FL/GT85…..
overhauling hubs? you can/actually do that?
“overhauling hubs? you can/actually do that?”
I think I am as surprised to learn that you & Kerbouchaud (and by extension, lots of other people) don’t know anything about hub overhauls as you are to learn that people actually overhaul their hubs.
In general, Shimano and low-end hubs have serviceable bearings that should be overhauled a minimum of every 2 years, and more frequently if riding in wet/muddy conditions, or if you want to ensure the hubs last for more than a few years. Again, in general, most higher end hubs have cartridge bearings which are not intended to be overhauled.
I think I will put together a how-to on hub overhauls and put it up. Watch this space!
FYI, I was already working on that very thing
I was half joking, I know you can and should overhaul your hubs every now and then, but 1. I live in the desert, 2. usually something usually brakes inside them usually making it worth replacing the whole thing, not just the small parts, Before the grease goes bad.
@Noah: I figured someone likely was.
@Quinn: I imagine sand can be a pretty nasty thing to get in your bearing surfaces. I think I’d be tempted to at least pull them apart once in a while and make there is no sand in there. And there isn’t anything inside a hub except small parts, which are pretty much entirely protected by grease and seals. If your hubs are blowing up, you probably need to be overhauling them more often. Even to pay a shop $15-30 once a year would be worthwhile compared to replacing wheels every couple of years.
Does anyone know of an inexpensive-but-good grease that’s packaged in a tube that will fit the little grease pumps we use? Pedro’s fits, for one…
have tried a few things — regular ol’ axle grease, marine synthetic, and the Park stuff in a big squeeze tube.
nothing has convinced me to use anything other than slick50 One grease; i have 1 3/4 tubs of it left, and since i rarely re-pack anymore, it should last me about oh, the rest of my life! it’s tooooo sweeeeeet! good in all temps, easy to use, and durable. found out about it on the job, trying to salvage the crap bearings in a wheel off a $50 bike ( i build for a major retailer, can u say ’smiley’?) instead of the gravelly feel of the normal mainland-china hubs, the slick50 made them approach acceptability. so i’m sold — grabbed the last tubs they sold in my area on clearance, you can only get it in the long tubes now…
After doing much research, I finally settled on using Mobil-1 Synthetic grease I got at the local Pep-Boys for around $8 for one-pound can (tub). It is red so it doesn’t look as clean as the over-priced bicycle grease. It is tacky while at the same time, not thick. I have been using it on everything and it works great. Because it is synthetic, it does not have the regular petroleum-based additives that can attack rubber / plastic parts and no waxes. Auto-specific bearing grease is formulated for high-temperature, high-load applications. Bicycle applications do not need this kind of viscosity. I have not recently heard of any 3000-lb bicycles doing 75mph.
Most of the bicycle specific lubricants are a scam. There are other greases available that are as good or better.
I used to work in a bike shop and I recommend against using a white lithium grease. The problem is that lithium based grease is made from soap. So therefore it breaks down when it is exposed to moisture.
I like a moly based grease. I prefer Slick50 grease which is fortified with teflon. The big problem is finding grease that is the right weight and Slick50 is good. Slick50 is a moly based grease with teflon. Now I don’t recommend using Slick50 oil additive for your car however. Dupont specifically recommends against teflon lubricants for a car engine. In they don’t sell teflon to Slick50. Slick50 has to purchase teflon in the grey market.
Occasionally you will run into people using marine grease. The problem is that marine grease is way to heavy for bikes. Mobile 1 also makes a synthetic grease, but I have not tried it.
Bicycle specific spray lubes is also another waste of money in general. You want a lubricant that is lightweight yet that won’t attract dirt. Weldtite makes a very dry teflon spray but it is expensive. Loctite makes a similar teflon product.