Phil Woods Green vs. regular grease

Quoted message said:

My question is longevity. I know that in Chicago, a new wheel would
survive a winter and then have to be repacked. I'd always do it with
Phil's Green grease and I never had to repack it after that. Is Phil
Wood's grease that good or am I simply being silly?

You're being silly, but that's OK, because so am I. I would never use
anything but Phil Grease in my bearings (including cartridge units, which I
periodically pry off the seals, clean & re-grease with Phil).

I felt a bit better about my preference a couple years ago. I was going
through an old chest of drawers in a corner of the garage, and came across a
drawer with a tube of Phil grease that was probably, literally, 25 years
old. The grease appeared to be as good as new, so what the heck, I used it.
Now, for all I know, virtually any grease would be fine under the same
conditions. But I don't know about any grease, just Phil.

I should also admit here that I raced with one of Phil's kids (Barry?), and
a friend of mine and I would often ride from Redwood City down to Los Gatos
to see what interesting stuff Phil was working on in the shop. Phil was
quite the tinkerer, while his wife (Vada) was the brains of the business,
trying to keep things solvent. Great people.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

maxo said:

I was working on a 1971 Raleigh Grand Prix today that my neighbor cleared
out of his garage when moving--It's a small frame, so I'm going to fix it
up and give it to my friend's kid. Being a Raleigh the rust came off of
the chrome with minimum fuss and steel wool, but all of the bearings
needed repacking.

My serious bike tools and gear are in storage, so I just went to the
automotive store and got a little tube of grease for a buck--it seems to
have the same consistency that you usually find in a factory built wheel.

My question is longevity. I know that in Chicago, a new wheel would
survive a winter and then have to be repacked. I'd always do it with
Phil's Green grease and I never had to repack it after that. Is Phil
Wood's grease that good or am I simply being silly?

😄

Along the lines of Mike Jacoubowsky's story, I recently bought a
fifteen year old Phil Wood hub that had been knocking around the
bottom of a box, never used. I pried away the bearing seals and the
grease looked and felt as good as new. The hub is rolling fine.

I like the smell and the feel- it has come to mean 'bicycle
maintenance' to me. Silly maybe, I don't care. Since a single tube
lasts me for years, $7 doesn't mean that much. I have never seen it
liquify, disappear, or gum up. It gets dark and dirty, but stays where
I put it. Nothing wrong with being silly. Silly can be good. Don't be
afraid to be silly 🙂

Dan Daniel said:

maxo said:

I was working on a 1971 Raleigh Grand Prix today that my neighbor cleared
out of his garage when moving--It's a small frame, so I'm going to fix it
up and give it to my friend's kid. Being a Raleigh the rust came off of
the chrome with minimum fuss and steel wool, but all of the bearings
needed repacking.

My serious bike tools and gear are in storage, so I just went to the
automotive store and got a little tube of grease for a buck--it seems to
have the same consistency that you usually find in a factory built wheel.

My question is longevity. I know that in Chicago, a new wheel would
survive a winter and then have to be repacked. I'd always do it with
Phil's Green grease and I never had to repack it after that. Is Phil
Wood's grease that good or am I simply being silly?

😄

Along the lines of Mike Jacoubowsky's story, I recently bought a
fifteen year old Phil Wood hub that had been knocking around the
bottom of a box, never used. I pried away the bearing seals and the
grease looked and felt as good as new. The hub is rolling fine.

I like the smell and the feel- it has come to mean 'bicycle
maintenance' to me. Silly maybe, I don't care. Since a single tube
lasts me for years, $7 doesn't mean that much. I have never seen it
liquify, disappear, or gum up. It gets dark and dirty, but stays where
I put it. Nothing wrong with being silly. Silly can be good. Don't be
afraid to be silly 🙂

Your smilies are silly. 😉
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Phil's is what I use to
reinstall/pack bearing balls. I know nada about it, and bought the
toothpaste tube of grease after listening to this group. I choked at
the $8.95 CAD but bought it. Used it when I totally rebuilt my 80's
vintage mtn bike some time ago. Everything works fine, no problem...
Is that an endorsement? How do I explain how it fixed something, when
all I can say is "a year and a half later, and everything works fine" ?
Riding on the wet west coast of Canada, rainy and gritty much of the
time, urban or inter/urban..
Best, Bernie

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I felt a bit better about my preference a couple years ago. I was going
through an old chest of drawers in a corner of the garage, and came across a
drawer with a tube of Phil grease that was probably, literally, 25 years
old. The grease appeared to be as good as new, so what the heck, I used it.
Now, for all I know, virtually any grease would be fine under the same
conditions. But I don't know about any grease, just Phil.

I have an old tube of Sear's white (lithium) grease. It's still good. I swiped
out of my dad's toolbox in the 60's, so it's at least that old. Nothing
magical about Phil's.

Peter Cole said:

I have an old tube of Sear's white (lithium) grease. It's still good. I swiped
out of my dad's toolbox in the 60's, so it's at least that old. Nothing
magical about Phil's.

Ok, if I were you, I'd use the white stuff out of nostalgia for dad. 😄 I
have noticed, in my experience, that white lithium grease isn't the best
for ball bearings and keeping out moisture. Then again, there's a lotta
times when dad's grease will do just fine.

Somehow that doesn't sound right...

lol

Bernie said:

Dan Daniel said:

maxo said:

I was working on a 1971 Raleigh Grand Prix today that my neighbor cleared
out of his garage when moving--It's a small frame, so I'm going to fix it
up and give it to my friend's kid. Being a Raleigh the rust came off of
the chrome with minimum fuss and steel wool, but all of the bearings
needed repacking.

My serious bike tools and gear are in storage, so I just went to the
automotive store and got a little tube of grease for a buck--it seems to
have the same consistency that you usually find in a factory built wheel.

My question is longevity. I know that in Chicago, a new wheel would
survive a winter and then have to be repacked. I'd always do it with
Phil's Green grease and I never had to repack it after that. Is Phil
Wood's grease that good or am I simply being silly?

😄

Along the lines of Mike Jacoubowsky's story, I recently bought a
fifteen year old Phil Wood hub that had been knocking around the
bottom of a box, never used. I pried away the bearing seals and the
grease looked and felt as good as new. The hub is rolling fine.

I like the smell and the feel- it has come to mean 'bicycle
maintenance' to me. Silly maybe, I don't care. Since a single tube
lasts me for years, $7 doesn't mean that much. I have never seen it
liquify, disappear, or gum up. It gets dark and dirty, but stays where
I put it. Nothing wrong with being silly. Silly can be good. Don't be
afraid to be silly 🙂

Your smilies are silly. 😉
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Phil's is what I use to
reinstall/pack bearing balls. I know nada about it, and bought the
toothpaste tube of grease after listening to this group. I choked at
the $8.95 CAD but bought it. Used it when I totally rebuilt my 80's
vintage mtn bike some time ago. Everything works fine, no problem...
Is that an endorsement? How do I explain how it fixed something, when
all I can say is "a year and a half later, and everything works fine" ?
Riding on the wet west coast of Canada, rainy and gritty much of the
time, urban or inter/urban..
Best, Bernie

Yep, that's the type of situation where I've perceived Phil's to be
better--in [censored] conditions. I do think it has a higher viscosity than
regular stuff and that might be why it keeps out the shmutz. I don't think
it's any more stable in the tube than the regular stuff, but I don't have
the patience to wait half a century to find out.

In the end, the cost per hub is something like 0.10USD, so I may have to
get a fresh tube.

I do LOVE the smell as well. It smells like BIKE grease, not money wrench
grease.

😄

maxo said:

Yep, that's the type of situation where I've perceived Phil's to be
better--in [censored] conditions. I do think it has a higher viscosity than
regular stuff and that might be why it keeps out the shmutz. I don't think
it's any more stable in the tube than the regular stuff, but I don't have
the patience to wait half a century to find out.

In the end, the cost per hub is something like 0.10USD, so I may have to
get a fresh tube.

I do LOVE the smell as well. It smells like BIKE grease, not money wrench
grease.

😄

Let's see... about 10 years per tube, say 90 cents a year... I think I
can budget for that.
B

On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 00:43:13 -0700, Bernie <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Dan Daniel said:

maxo said:

I was working on a 1971 Raleigh Grand Prix today that my neighbor cleared
out of his garage when moving--It's a small frame, so I'm going to fix it
up and give it to my friend's kid. Being a Raleigh the rust came off of
the chrome with minimum fuss and steel wool, but all of the bearings
needed repacking.

My serious bike tools and gear are in storage, so I just went to the
automotive store and got a little tube of grease for a buck--it seems to
have the same consistency that you usually find in a factory built wheel.

My question is longevity. I know that in Chicago, a new wheel would
survive a winter and then have to be repacked. I'd always do it with
Phil's Green grease and I never had to repack it after that. Is Phil
Wood's grease that good or am I simply being silly?

😄

Along the lines of Mike Jacoubowsky's story, I recently bought a
fifteen year old Phil Wood hub that had been knocking around the
bottom of a box, never used. I pried away the bearing seals and the
grease looked and felt as good as new. The hub is rolling fine.

I like the smell and the feel- it has come to mean 'bicycle
maintenance' to me. Silly maybe, I don't care. Since a single tube
lasts me for years, $7 doesn't mean that much. I have never seen it
liquify, disappear, or gum up. It gets dark and dirty, but stays where
I put it. Nothing wrong with being silly. Silly can be good. Don't be
afraid to be silly 🙂

Your smilies are silly. 😉
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Phil's is what I use to
reinstall/pack bearing balls. I know nada about it, and bought the
toothpaste tube of grease after listening to this group. I choked at
the $8.95 CAD but bought it. Used it when I totally rebuilt my 80's
vintage mtn bike some time ago. Everything works fine, no problem...
Is that an endorsement? How do I explain how it fixed something, when
all I can say is "a year and a half later, and everything works fine" ?
Riding on the wet west coast of Canada, rainy and gritty much of the
time, urban or inter/urban..
Best, Bernie

I'm with all of the pro-Phil users, with a twist. I only used Phil's
green for years. Last time I needed a tube the LBS was out, so I
bought Pedro's synthetic, kind of a clear grease. It's every bit as
good as Phil's for me. And taking apart an old hub packed with these
products reveals the same consistency as when it was assembled. Both
products cost about $6.00 a tube. After a few years (in my
experience!) Automotive-type wheel bearing grease tends to dry out,
this does not happen with the boutique greases.

Best,
TomB

Dan Daniel said:

I like the smell and the feel- it has come to mean 'bicycle
maintenance' to me. Silly maybe, I don't care. Since a single tube
lasts me for years, $7 doesn't mean that much. I have never seen it
liquify, disappear, or gum up. It gets dark and dirty, but stays where

I just found a tube of the stuff I've had for about 5-6
years out in the barn with my "box o' bike parts".

Squirted some out and it initally came out as sort of
green tapioca. Wouldn't squirt out in a continuous
stream due to dryness I suppose. Not certain what the
rest of the tube is like since I only used a little.

I'm thinking five years of winter cold/summer heat
iterations did something to the grease, but not enough
to make me want to chuck the tube. It will eventually
get used up.

SMH

maxo said:

Ok, if I were you, I'd use the white stuff out of nostalgia for dad. 😄 I
have noticed, in my experience, that white lithium grease isn't the best
for ball bearings and keeping out moisture. Then again, there's a lotta
times when dad's grease will do just fine.

I use marine trailer bearing grease. Reddish colored
stuff for all the bike grease needs. Inexpensive and
almost certainly more than good enough for the purpose.

I bought Phil Woods "designer grease" when I was young
and impressionable, and in need of looking cool in the
eyes of my peers.

I failed in doing that, and now my sole tube of Phil
Woods has languished for years in its green tube,
awaiting the chance to prove its superiority.

SMH

Tom Beattie said:

products reveals the same consistency as when it was assembled. Both
products cost about $6.00 a tube. After a few years (in my
experience!) Automotive-type wheel bearing grease tends to dry out,
this does not happen with the boutique greases.

I haven't found this to be true in my experience. Automotive
greases face far hasher environments than a bike I think, yet
the grease goes on for years and years.

The marine grade trailer bearing grease seems especially good.
Not surprising when one considers the harsh environment of
repeatedly submerging hot boat trailer wheel bearings into
salt water, yet continuing to roll afterwards.

SMH

Stephen Harding said:

The marine grade trailer bearing grease seems especially good.
Not surprising when one considers the harsh environment of
repeatedly submerging hot boat trailer wheel bearings into
salt water, yet continuing to roll afterwards.

Is the trailer grease a higher viscosity like Phil's? I might have to have
to pick some up--I like the way the thick stuff holds the bearing nice and
secure during assembly.

Stephen Harding said:

Dan Daniel said:

I like the smell and the feel- it has come to mean 'bicycle
maintenance' to me. Silly maybe, I don't care. Since a single tube
lasts me for years, $7 doesn't mean that much. I have never seen it
liquify, disappear, or gum up. It gets dark and dirty, but stays where

I just found a tube of the stuff I've had for about 5-6
years out in the barn with my "box o' bike parts".

Squirted some out and it initally came out as sort of
green tapioca. Wouldn't squirt out in a continuous
stream due to dryness I suppose. Not certain what the
rest of the tube is like since I only used a little.

I'm thinking five years of winter cold/summer heat
iterations did something to the grease, but not enough
to make me want to chuck the tube. It will eventually
get used up.

While not specifically about Phil's, here something I posted about
boutique greases just over a year ago:

"Over the years I've managed to collect several tubes of "boutique"
"bicycle" grease. I always return to my old standby, Kendall High Temp
Disc Brake Grease A-723, a tub of which I've been using in automotive
and bike applications since the 1970s. Nothing special about that
particular brand, it's just that we had a support and contingency deal
with Kendall when I raced cars back in the 70s. I got the grease free.

"As an experiment I just opened some old tubes of grease. Reasonable
looking white grease came out of the tube of Pedro's Syn Grease. A
clear liquid dribbled out of the tube of Finish Line Premium Grease,
and a green liquid dribbled out of the tube of Park Polylube 1000.
Meanwhile the tub of Kendall has maintained the same consistency for
the better part of thirty years."

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

maxo said:

Is Phil Wood's grease that good or am I simply being silly?

Like other posters I swear by it, but I've never tried anything else.
I also associate the smell with bike maintenance. I've also tried
Phil's Tenacious Oil, but I find it just too darn viscous and use
Finish Line Cross Country Lube instead when I need oil instead of
grease.

On one occasion I've seen the Phil grease change consistency. After a
20 mile commute through thunderstorms and flooding on my beater bike
(i.e. old cheap hubs), the recently-repacked Phil grease had turned to
a light green creamy consistency. Only time I've ever seen it change
consistency.

Michael

Michael Press said:

the recently-repacked Phil grease had turned to
a light green creamy consistency.

Why does that make me want a traditional southern congealed salad? Mmmmm
pineapple and marshmallows....

Sounds like water contamination--you basically created an emulsion with
the water, like making a salad dressing.

Ok, it's time for lunch.

😄

In article <[email hidden]>,

maxo said:

Michael Press said:

the recently-repacked Phil grease had turned to
a light green creamy consistency.

Why does that make me want a traditional southern congealed salad? Mmmmm
pineapple and marshmallows....

Or shrimp & tomato aspic, presented on a bed of iceberg lettuce
layered with mayo, and that topped with another, thin layer of
some zippy sauce. Just the thing for these Dog Days.

I've heard pineapple has some enzyme or sumpthin' in it
that prevents gelatin from setting. I guess the marshmallow
thing a workaround for that. Interesting ...

It's been pretty warm here in Vancouver -- too hot to cook.
You go to the deli for salad & cold cuts, and they're sold
out of all the good stuff :'(

Quoted message said:

Sounds like water contamination--you basically created an emulsion with
the water, like making a salad dressing.

I've also heard that many of the substances we call 'grease'
are basically oil + soap. I've never seen suds coming out
of my hubs, though -- no froth coming forth. But, yeah.
Wet grease goes all mung-y like a palliative care, last sliver
of bar soap that's been languishing in a wet soap dish for
a couple of days.

Since I live in a fairly wet climate (in terms of annual rainfall)
I generally overhaul my hub bearings three times a year, the BB
twice a year, and the headset once a year. My $20 VP pedals are
pretty well disposable, but after 3 or 4 years they're still going
as strong as Johnny Walker.

One thing I really like about Phil grease is, I can easily spot
those green toothpaste tubes from anywhere in the room, or under
any thickness of piled-up stuff. They're un-lose-able. Except
sometimes, the cap. But I eventually find that, too.

Maybe it would be a nifty sales hook if they used caps that could
also be used as valve caps.

cheers,
Tom

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Tom Keats said:

I've heard pineapple has some enzyme or sumpthin' in it
that prevents gelatin from setting.

I believe that can be worked around by using canned pineapple, the enzymes
that destroy the gelatin are broken down by the canning process.

😄

Shrimp and tomato aspic?

How deliciously retro! Would go great with some avocado appliances. 🙂

In article <[email hidden]>,

maxo said:

Shrimp and tomato aspic?

How deliciously retro!

No more so than potato salad (the real stuff) with sliced
hard-boiled eggs & paprika all over the top.

cheers,
Tom

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maxo said:

On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 21:18:57 -0400, Stephen Harding wrote:

Quoted message said:

Is the trailer grease a higher viscosity like Phil's? I might have to have
to pick some up--I like the way the thick stuff holds the bearing nice and
secure during assembly.

Doesn't really seem to be higher viscosity. Very comparable
(in appearance and feel) to the standard wheel bearing grease
I have.

I presume there must be some sort of additive that makes it
stand up to moisture better than standard grease.

SMH