dweenk

I would like recommendations for the best lubricant for jockey/guide pulleys.

HillRider

You will get 20 opinions as to what's "best" from the first 15 responders. I happen to like Tri-Flow. It works and the pulleys run smoothly and the bearings/bushings last a long time.

FBinNY 

If it's a bronze bushing system (most are) oil is what's called for. The demands are light, so just about any is fine. For ball bearing pulleys, it's still grease, or a heavy oil similar to a gear oil, which won't spin out.

When assembling bushing pulleys, I assemble them with oily fingers, which is enough. If oiling pulleys that are still on the RD, I use some Chain-L (because I have tons of it) thinned with naphtha so it wicks nicely. Then it leaves a nice film.

lopek77

What about a new derailers? How soon lubing is recommended for pulleys if not riding in wet weather? I used to lube pulleys bushings, but dirt and gunk was all around it not long after. I didn't hear any difference if I didn't lube it at all. Is it really necessary during the life of derailer if kept clean? I change all of them every couple of years or so.

FBinNY 

New derailleur pulleys can be neglected for thousands of miles, and maybe forever, and the pulley itself will usually wear out from teh chain before the bushing does. I consider RD pulleys to fall into the "lube if you remember, and if you get around to it" category. Otherwise sometime in the weeks following a blue moon.

bradtx

dweenk, If I'm cleaning, really cleaning, the drivetrain I'll clean and lube the pulleys. I use teflon paste on the plain bearings and bushings just because I have some.

Brad

HillRider

That's about my approach too. At about 5000 -7000 mile intervals I tear my bikes down to the bare frame and clean everything. The rd cage is disassembled, cleaned and the pulleys solvent washed and lubed. That's the only time they get any real attention.

davidad

My get wiped down when I clean the chain. Oiling the chain oils the pulleys.

lopek77

Ouch...sound like I may have some issues...I do that several times a year lol Yup...I love my bike

FBinNY 

Odds are, you're killing the bike with kindness. Some things actually do better if left alone. Hillrider and I aren't that far apart, with him cleaning about twice as often as my once in a blue moon method.

Oil, with a decent oil, that forms a film, and you should be able to last at least a year without relubing.

BTW- Pulleys vary. Some simply use a molded plastic pulley riding on the bronze bearing, others use a sleeve pressed into the pulley so it's metal/metal contact, IME the metal sleeve helps, but even all plastic pulleys last a long time.

Also, if you want you can use a triangular file to make a small groove in the bushing. Make sure not to raise an edge, and this groove acts as an oil reservoir in the bearing, so you can go longer between service. Unless you're very good with a file, a straight groove is easiest, and though it doesn't matter, you can orient it to the non-loaded side when assembling the pulley into the RD, if it makes you feel better.

HillRider

FBinNY is correct, that can be killing it with kindness. The only bike that can justify that level of maintenance is an MTB routinely ridden in wet, muddy and abrasive conditions. Otherwise it's both unnecessary and can be counterproductive.

rydabent

I guess I disagree with "killing the bike with kindness". Tell me how cleaning and regreasing or re-oiling RD pulleys more often is a "bad" thing.

Looigi

FWIW: I occasionally dribble some medium weight oil on my pulley's bearings. Shimano bushings as well as SRAM cartridge bearings. Done with the chain off, I can spin them and feel them free up.

There's a cool setup that runs open unsealed and unshielded ceramic ball and race bearings without any lube. Any road grime gets ground up by the hard balls and races. Lennard Zinn had an item in Velo News about running them on his CX bikes.

zacster

I relube my pulleys when they start to squeak, or sooner if I'm already back there. But it isn't very often. On at least one of my bikes I don't think I've ever done it, and this one is 30+ years old. I took it for a spin recently and it sounded fine. I always use Phil waterproof grease on mine, not oil, when I do it.

fietsbob

Basic self bushing .. steel bushing, plastic pulley, clean is good, the plastic itself is fine..

oiling your chain gets enough trickling down .. some..

Wanderer

Mine get oiled, along with everything else, about once a month. Bike is 6 years old, and everything is still like new. That's about every thousand miles, sometimes sooner if dirt dictates.....

p.s. I love my bike too!

Pepper Grinder

What to do with ceramic bushing? The Shimano centeron stuff...

FBinNY 

Same as you would with bronze, oil it with a machine oil.