Choice of grease

nbfman said:

What do you all use for grease? I have a tube of Dura-Ace grease, which I have used so-far on threads and inside the BB. I also use a synthetic lubricant that is less viscous (drips out of container) to lube the chain. I am about to do the rear hub and was looking for any recommendations. I was planning to just use the same DA stuff as I have used on other parts, but it is pretty thick and I noticed the grease that is in the hub is thinner.

Thanks for any help.

I use white lithium grease ($3.99/226 gram tube) that I get at the local hardware store for all of my bearings. The only requirements for bicycle bearing grease is that it is not too thick as this will slow you down, and it has to be relatively moisture resistant. Most cyclists don't subject their bikes to extremely high or low temperatures, at least not the tempertures that high and low temp greases are made for. And even though you may be going really fast, you are not going to reach the speeds that you need high speed grease. Pretty much anything that is fairly light but will not run out of the hub when you turn it upside down is good.

There are a lot of different opinions and as many commercially available lubes for your chain. Try a couple and use the one that you like best. You can check out the forums for recommendations. This subject had gone on ad-nauseum over the years.

I use a good spray silicone to lubricate most everything else except for the free hubs. About once a year I will drip sewing machine oil into them and it seems to work well. I have a couple of vintage bikes with freewheels and good old 10W-40 keeps them going and nearly silent(no click...click...click)when I am coasting. One point, WD40 is a great solvent but a lousy lubricant.

nbfman said:

What do you all use for grease? I have a tube of Dura-Ace grease, which I have used so-far on threads and inside the BB. I also use a synthetic lubricant that is less viscous (drips out of container) to lube the chain. I am about to do the rear hub and was looking for any recommendations. I was planning to just use the same DA stuff as I have used on other parts, but it is pretty thick and I noticed the grease that is in the hub is thinner.

Thanks for any help.

Grease is oil in soap and any grease is just fine. I use light colored grease because it easier to see if it's reall dirty but any grease is fine. You 'ought' to use a liquid chain lube tho, something like ProLink, drys and then a dry lube.

Thanks for the tips so far.

Peter@vecchios said:

something like ProLink, drys and then a dry lube.

Do you mean to use a liquid lubricant like ProLink, let it dry, and finish with a dry lubricant like silicone spray? Sorry, I couldn't quite follow.

nbfman said:

Thanks for the tips so far.

Do you mean to use a liquid lubricant like ProLink, let it dry, and finish with a dry lubricant like silicone spray? Sorry, I couldn't quite follow.

Use a dry lube, apply the night before your ride, let it dry, go ride. Prolink is a 'dry' lube. Dry means it won't attract all sorts of dirt, which wears things out.

Peter@vecchios said:

Use a dry lube, apply the night before your ride, let it dry, go ride. Prolink is a 'dry' lube. Dry means it won't attract all sorts of dirt, which wears things out.

Cool. Thanks.

BTW, is it enough to put a relatively light coat of grease over the ball bearings/cups/cones and inside the freewheel (part with the teeth)? Or, should you apply copious amounts that ooze out when you press things together?

A little heavier than a light coat, but you don't want it to ooze out either. If you do get some oozing, clean it up right away as it attracts dirt. You will want to check it after every ride and wipe up any that oozes out until it stops oozing.

nbfman said:

Cool. Thanks.

BTW, is it enough to put a relatively light coat of grease over the ball bearings/cups/cones and inside the freewheel (part with the teeth)? Or, should you apply copious amounts that ooze out when you press things together?

Freehubs/freewheel bodies should be treated with Oil, I use Mobil One car oil, doesn't get thick in the cold, cheap too compared to 'bike lubes'. Grease around bearing balls, can't use too much. As it oozes out, leave it there, acts a great barrier for water, etc.

I appreciate all of the input above.

Before seeing the comment on oil, I tried building the whole thing with DA grease. It was "ok" for the bearings, but clearly not the right choice for the freewheel, where it affected the ability of the pawls to spring back. I ended up taking apart the freewheel (pawls and wire ring spring) to clean it. This seemed to be frowned upon in instructions I read some where, but it did not seem so difficult. Am I in for surprise?

I say "ok" above because the DA grease is thicker and tackier than what was inside, so the axle did not rotate as freely . However, my guess is that a slow rotation of the axle by the fingers is not a good indicator of performance on a bike in-use. Any insights people can share on this point are welcome. I don't want to spend much time experimenting, so I plan to rebuild with a less viscous grease (got some stuff at the LBS that is specified for use with bicycle hub bearings, among other parts) then hit the road.

I'd try to use the specified lube, whether oil or grease, or at least something close. Feeling extra resistance when a bearing is properly greased vs lightweight oil (or dry) is normal; it doesn't indicate that something lighter is better. You could get bearings to spin a lot longer unloaded by using WD-40, but that's not adequate to lube and protect the bearing under load.

Just an aside, but a buddy here had problems with his Bontrager hub engaging last winter when the temps got colder (<50F). He cleaned out the OEM grease, put in a light synthetic grease rated for hi/lo temp extremes and all was well.

Best stuff I have ever used is by a Swiss company called Brunox. Never heard about the stuff until a friend let me try out a spare can he had. Seemed to keep the chain very clean, Very impressed. I think you can buy it in UK and US

SuperLube synthetic grease anywhere there are ball bearings. Antiseize compound on threaded or slide-fit joints (seatpost, stem, pedals, etc.) MPC Firepower10 where oil is called for. ProGold on the chain.

Regular grease doesn't last anywhere nearly as long as the synthetics.