sean.hwy

What do you use for your through axles? After about 9 months of taking my wheels on & off so much that thin white paste grease is almost gone.

Gresp15C

In my view, aside from the grease itself, the little Dualco grease gun is a handy tool to have, if you're buying grease in jars or tubs.

Paul Barnard

I am a strong proponent of marine grease.

tjfastback66

I ended up going back to the same cycle shop to pickup some brake and shifter cables and housing. Last week they were out of grease but just got in a shipment in of White Lightning Crystal Grease. They were using the same product in their shop, so I thought that I would give it a try.
Reviews seem great, colorless, odorless and will not stain. Small purchase so we shall see how it performs.

veganbikes

It works well and we use it all the time at the shop. It is great for telling when something has gone bad and hasn't let us down so far.

MarcusT

I use mechanic's grease with PTFE. It's cheap, so I use it for everything. If I buy expensive specialized bike grease I believe I would miser it.
I once used white grease (lithium?), but found that it dried out

MarcusT

Can you please explain?

veganbikes

It is a clear grease if it starts to turn a different shade you can easily tell something is happening.

MarcusT

Got it. Thanks

TiHabanero

Car Quest (Advance Auto Parts) hi temp disc brake grease. Works great and is 7 bucks for a 1 pound tub. Has an unusual non-grease scent as well. Color is somewhat clear. We use it in the shop because of the price and lubricity is good for seat posts, stems and bearings. Not super waxy and fills in threads nicely when lubing threaded bits. Fancy grease is nice, but really not necessary as most bearings are designed around standard readily available lithium grease spec.

billnuke1 

I just use the...you got it...The Park Tool grease...I get it at cost from my bicycle shop friends that I buy and sell a lot of bicycles to and from...

rydabent

I disagree. Too thick??? Especially for the extreme loads on the head set, and the bottom bracket, a thick heavy grease is a good thing.

LV2TNDM

Still got one! I probably ordered it right before Bull Shot stopped producing it. Or perhaps even a bit thereafter. Stuff's so silky smooth. So what's in the big tub I have is dwindling, so I just picked up a tub of Mobil 1 synthetic to use on "everyone else's" bikes. Also red and well recommended. Seems pretty nice. Great price at $10. The Bull Shot's reserved for my stable! (And even then, only those most deserving!)

For most bearings, any decent waterproof grease will do fine. That said, viscous lubricants are not all "the same," or interchangeable. When lubricating a DT/Swiss star ratchet or Chris King spline drive, it's best to use what the manufacturer specifies. And don't just pack a cassette body with grease because you like silent freewheeling - this will lead to premature pawl failure. Even S&S couplers demand fluorine grease, although probably only if you're assembling and disassembling them on a very regular basis.

LV2TNDM

I'll add this caveat:

All cyclists and bike shops should seriously reconsider their use of PTFE/Teflon and any related compounds. Recently, I finally gave in and was going to give submersion chain wax a try and ordered a pound of it on Amazon. Right after it arrived, I watched the movie "Dark Waters." Although this movie is obviously a dramatization, it's still an excellent cautionary tale about our chemical industry. The issue is obviously complex, but it's clear we afford the chemical industry free reign when it comes to development and releasing their products to market with minimal oversight.

The freshly-ordered PTFE-infused wax will not be getting used!

I stopped using Teflon pans probably two decades ago. No way should we be heating, cooking and preparing our food on this stuff. These compounds do not biodegrade; they accumulate and stay in your body.

I also recently read about the discovery of PTFE in our protected water sheds. It turns out that downhill & back country skiers are using ski waxes with PTFE and it scrubs off and ends up in our snow. Our water supply. So although wilderness areas are protected and considered "pristine," we're depositing all sorts of complex chemical compounds in our "cleanest" places. I'd prefer cyclists not add to and further the damage. And yes, I realize TriFlo has had Teflon or related products in it for years.

But shouldn't we draw the line somewhere? Shouldn't we simply agree that these compounds shouldn't be introduced into every wild place we frequent? (They shouldn't be in ANY places, for that matter!) I think it's time to assume some responsibility and just say no to these toxic substances.

Thanks for taking this into consideration.

adipe

i go with a homebrew involving lithium type grease (it has non synthetic base oils - isoparaffinic) and a hBN additive product. not the best base oils in the lithium grease product i use... so i throw in some GL4 gear oil product (says synthetic on it and i've seen it behave as non newtonian btw).

i should get some quality polyurea grease - one that is EP, heavy duty, having synthetic base oil. not to say that i'd not mix it with other things.

woodcraft

+1

70sSanO

Finish Line Teflon and Phil’s.

John

70sSanO

[QUOTE=masi61;21877599]I haven’t found that with Phil’s. Could be a bad or old tube.

It’s funny I use Finish Line because I feel it has less friction, although I really don’t know. But if I think the bike will not be maintained as well as I would, I’ll use Phil’s as I think it holds up to abuse better.

There is no rhyme or reason, just tendencies that evolve over the years.

John

cjenrick

the sun is going to eventually burn out and all humans will have passed well before then. so the Earth will be around a lot longer than humans, so i would not worry to much about grease pollution.

it is fun to experiment with different types of bike grease, the choices will never end,

right now, since i ride in the rain a lot with non sealed bearings, i find that the type of grease you use in certain locations on the bike can make a difference. Park and Phil grease worked for a little while in the rain but eventually turned to mush, so we will try the Mobil 1 next time in the bottom brackets and the front and rear hubs. the Shimano expensive grease is amazing, it stays where you put it, heck it takes three hand washings with laundry detergent to get it completely off your hands. it is perfect for pedals and the headset. since it is lighter, it works better with small bearings.

i use to try all kinds of grease for cable housings, lithium white, car wheel bearing brown, graphite powder, 30 wt oil, WD-40, phil and park, but found that they got sticky over time, after reading a web page by pro mechanics i tried the Tri Flow and Bingo! even the Aero Gran Comp levers feel as smooth as silk. There might be a few readers who have tried those levers and did not enjoy the sticky grinding cable response. Of course drilling out the handlebars for the housing probably made some difference.

for the chain we use Blaster Industrial Strength Silicon spray as it works better than anything else in the rain. however, we have not tried Tri Flow on the chain, maybe we will give that an expensive try.

what about body parts? Noxema pre ride, Carmex Medicated Lip Balm post ride.

and remember, man was created to give the Earth plastic, because the Earth could not make plastic by itself.

easyupbug 

I don't believe this to be the case with common grease or oils (chain lube), and don't believe there is any real world issue; frame builders have done testing, i.e., Cervelo.

SkinGriz

My poor wife. She’s becoming a POL smell expert.
She knows atf,wd40,gas,diesel. Been awhile since I’ve messed with gear oil.

SkinGriz

At work different vendors bring products hoping the employer will buy them on a recurring contract. They brought some aerosol spray open gear grease. After off gassing it seems equivalent to trailer grease and not as sticky as open gear grease in the tube. I’ve been using on bikes. Seems good so far.

In my experience the “natural/nontoxic” I think soy based? It’s garbage. Hardens and gums up within months.

cbrstar

Maybe I could be wrong, as I'm just going off a couple articles I've read such such as this. Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - More greased carbon | VeloNews.com and I think I heard it mentioned on a GCN tech talk.

SkinGriz

Thank you for posting.
I skimmed it. Saw his thoughts on chain lube.
At work we have an old can of 5606 or 83202 (don’t remember which).
None of our equipment uses that.
Will snag some for chains.

davidad

Before I knew better I bought Lubriplate EMB grease. It's a synthetic that the bearing store near the refinery recommended. It costs about $5 for a 14ounce tube. Any grease from the auto store will be more than adequate for our use. Our bearings are low load, low speed units.