elfmachine

I was looking for best grease to use in bicycles primarelly for ball bearings and discovered interesting XADO revitalisant grease that can actually regenerate wear in ball bearings. It was developed by ukrainians and I didn't find any other greases that can do that so I'm a bit sceptical if they would work. I asked manufacturer if they could be in bicycle and they told me that do to low revolutions and friction effect would be little. Although as daiy commuter friction and wear is more significant but at extended time, so I'm not sure if heat for example is important for regeneration. Currently I'm using graphite grease which I do not like because it is so dirty and hard to clean away. I plan to get either PTFE, lithium or XADO grease. Which would fit best? Here is XADO video where on purpose damaged ball bearing race is regenerated using lubricant:

AnkleWork

How much grease does a bicycle need over its lifetime?

davidad

You are dealing with minimum loads and speeds so any good auto grease should be fine. I use Lubriplate EMB. https://bike.bikegremlin.com/2015/06...earing-grease/

squirtdad

If you can get it, just a tube of Phil's and unless you are refurbishing hundreds of bike you are good for years. Most people use way too much grease anyway

CliffordK

Perhaps light loads but damaged cones and bearings plague all cyclists. Low quality components are worse than high quality components. Plus dirt and water intrusion. Oh, and poor adjustment.

Anyway, this super grease might be worth trying if it can reduce wear and damage.

HillRider

Apparently the claim is this magic grease doesn't just reduce wear and damage, it actually "repairs" it. Color me skeptical.

WizardOfBoz

No flippin' way. You might get better performance out of shot bearings by cleaning and using this grease. But you'd get that from any grease. Plus, you have to replace bearings every what? 3 years? The cost of new bearings is not bad, and I don't care how revitalizant this grease is, it ain't gonna fix bearings to be as good as new bearings.

Plus, at 15 bucks for a 15 ml syringe, you're paying a pretty high unit price. Why pay that much to get a dubiously revitalizanted old clapped-out bearing, when you get a new bearing for just a little more?

3alarmer

elfmachine

I'm going to use grease for internal hub and generator hub ball bearing cup and cone lubrication for parts to last as long as possible because they are expensive to replace unlike in ordinary bicycle ball cup and cones. Although ball bearings themselves are standart and pretty cheap.

HillRider

I expect it's a good enough grease and, as noted, bicycle bearings are not a high-demand application. Just don't expect it to be "the fountain of youth" for worn or damaged bearings. That claim seems ridiculous.

Colnago Mixte

So this grease can regenerate and revitalize . . . ANYTHING?

AnkleWork

Seems like the Ukrainian grease must have additives that supposedly fill in pits, etc. Is it really a good idea to apply that to healthy bearings for long life? Maybe just focus on known-good grease for that use.

cny-bikeman

Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs have lasted for decades using just plain ol' oil.

Doug5150

Yea, pretty much... carbon steel needs oil or grease to keep it from rusting, and oil-based lubricants all suffer from moisture degradation.
So the solution is to just change the oil/grease once a year, or maybe every 6 months if you're really cautious.
Even the cheapo lithium grease at wal-mart is good if you just remember to change it before it spoils.

elfmachine

I found one XADO patent describing process of revitalisation. XADO patent
I do not understanding all technical terms but in Wikipedia it is explained simply as treatment forming a protective cermet or ceramic-metal coating on the friction metal parts of the mechanisms directly during the process of their operation. Revitalizant
XADO patent also mentions use of "roller nanobearings" which further reduce friction. I actually remember hearing once about revitalising car engine additive that forms metal ceramic coating on friction surfaces. What is not clear to me are conditions of this protective layer formation. If I'm correctly understanding there are mentioned conditions for revitalizant nanostructure to form - optimal temperature (700-1,200° C.) and time (1-3 hours) conditions. Since bicycles are so much more efficient than engines, have lower friction and temperatures in bearings how well revitalisation would work out.