Bicycle Mechanics - Question about grease

Is there a difference between car grease and bicycle grease for say repacking a hub?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Multi-purpose automobile grease is fine to use. A marine waterproof grease might be a little better choice. I use typewriter grease; I have it and it works well.

Doc

yeah it works great

generallly automotive grease/multipurpose is ment ot be tough and withstand the heat. Some say its bad to use for bikes but it works fine and is cheaper then bike specific products

The biggest difference is price. Auto grease is much cheaper than bike grease.

I have, and use a grease gun that I bought at an Auto parts store. The gun and six packs of grease was less than the normal price of a 1 pound tub of grease at the bike store.

The auto grease I use is Lithium grease, works fine, the gun is nice for applying and the refill tubes are cheap like Borscht!!

i use white lithium grease i read that it works just as well as bike grease and its also not as thick and sticky as regular automotive bearing grease and also its white so you can see if any dirt or grit gets into your bearings, it seems to work fine

<----------- Another white lithium grease user. Seems to work pretty well.

I think its funny how so many auto lubes and other chemicals cost so much less than bicycle specific ones.

How much grease do you all use?

I have a 4 oz tube that I bought a few years ago and I'm still not done with it! I repack the hubs every year (My bottom bracket is sealed). I use enough grease to fill the race and coat all bearings, but that's only a squirt or two from the tube.

Yes, it's a 4 oz tube of Park grease that is relatively expensive compared to automotive grease. I'm afraid if I bought a one pound tub, it is likely to last me 10+ years. And I'm probably more likely to lose it after 5 years.

Be careful using Grease meant for Auto/Truck use. Some of it is fine and some of it is not. Some of the grease meant for bigger races, bearings, and higher speeds has abrasives in the grease to help keep the thicker races and larger bearings working smoothly. These abrasives on the smaller bearing and thinner races of bike hubs can wear the surfaces out at a much faster rate. And then keeping the tighter adjustment a bike hub needs to be smooth can become a pain in the Arse.

When it comes to bike maintenance, be pound wise and not penny foolish. The bike lubricants offered as bike lubricants have been proven to work well with bikes. Anything else is a crapshoot.

I have a little tub probably 4 or 5 oz of slick 50 multipurpose. Green waterproof stuff. I use it to pack all bearings and its great. I've had it for well over 3 years and it was cheap. Multipurpose grease works fine and much of the stuff about only use bike specific is marketing hype in my opinion.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Now if you could please switch gears and give me some suggestions on the following. I bought a rear Campy hub on Ebay which was converted from the traditional cup and cone ball bearing to a cartridge ball bearing. Seems like cartridge ball bearing would be a more durable way to go. I am thinking of converting some hubs that I have laying around but don't really know where to start in terms of where I can purchase hub specific cartridges and the sort.

Have any of you ever done this? Good idea or bad idea to convert?

Once again, thanks in advance for your feedback.


Is there a difference between car grease and bicycle grease for say repacking a hub?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Be careful using Grease meant for Auto/Truck use. Some of it is fine and some of it is not. Some of the grease meant for bigger races, bearings, and higher speeds has abrasives in the grease to help keep the thicker races and larger bearings working smoothly. These abrasives on the smaller bearing and thinner races of bike hubs can wear the surfaces out at a much faster rate. And then keeping the tighter adjustment a bike hub needs to be smooth can become a pain in the Arse.

When it comes to bike maintenance, be pound wise and not penny foolish. The bike lubricants offered as bike lubricants have been proven to work well with bikes. Anything else is a crapshoot.

Abrasives in auto grease? Could you elaborate or provide an example of a brand of grease containing such abrasives. I have never heard of abrasives added to bearing grease (at least not for auto use) and doing so would seem to be a quick route to bearing failure. As far as I know, properly lubricated bearings work smoothly all on their own. It's the introduction of abrasives that leads to eventual bearing failure.

Abrasives in auto grease? Could you elaborate or provide an example of a brand of grease containing such abrasives. I have never heard of abrasives added to bearing grease (at least not for auto use) and doing so would seem to be a quick route to bearing failure. As far as I know, properly lubricated bearings work smoothly all on their own. It's the introduction of abrasives that leads to eventual bearing failure.Maybe he is a 'bike' grease manufacturer or owns stock in one?...LOL

I use waterproof marine bearing grease on all my rides.
Nice and thick so it stays in place.
I have gone through two or three tubes @ $1/tube

I use waterproof marine bearing grease on all my rides.
Nice and thick so it stays in place.
I have gone through two or three tubes @ $1/tube
I usually buy it by the can. Good stuff

Be careful using Grease meant for Auto/Truck use. Some of it is fine and some of it is not. Some of the grease meant for bigger races, bearings, and higher speeds has abrasives in the grease to help keep the thicker races and larger bearings working smoothly. These abrasives on the smaller bearing and thinner races of bike hubs can wear the surfaces out at a much faster rate.

What? I've wrenched on just about everything that moves for the last 30 years and I've never heard of grease with abrasive in it. All grease has some sort of thickening agent in it to achieve the desired viscosity. Soap, polyurea, bentone, lithium and calcium are common thickeners. Grease used in the larger bearings of heavy equipment, semi-truck hubs, etc. may be thicker in order to stay put. But I've never seen any grease with abrasives.

Back to bike grease. I have always used lithuim or marine grease. Both work great. Next time I rebuild I'm thinking of trying some of the new synthetic marine grease I just picked up for the boat. I know, synthetic is overkill for bike bearings. But it's here so what the heck.

SS

Some of the grease meant for bigger races, bearings, and higher speeds has abrasives in the grease to help keep the thicker races and larger bearings working smoothly.

I don't know how you don't see how counterproductive this would be....

Be careful using Grease meant for Auto/Truck use. Some of it is fine and some of it is not. Some of the grease meant for bigger races, bearings, and higher speeds has abrasives in the grease to help keep the thicker races and larger bearings working smoothly. These abrasives on the smaller bearing and thinner races of bike hubs can wear the surfaces out at a much faster rate. And then keeping the tighter adjustment a bike hub needs to be smooth can become a pain in the Arse.

When it comes to bike maintenance, be pound wise and not penny foolish. The bike lubricants offered as bike lubricants have been proven to work well with bikes. Anything else is a crapshoot.

Perhaps you are confusing Automotive and Bicycle lubricants with the sand in your Vaseline?

Or confusing Clover polishing and grinding compounds that are grease based for lube.
Steve

Most likely simply repeating something that he had been told by someone else. Although we all might want to think that expensive bikes are such precision machinery they need special lubricants, cleaners, etc. the reality is that for the most part, the stresses on the parts are low enough to permit common, low cost lubricants.

Be careful using Grease meant for Auto/Truck use. Some of it is fine and some of it is not. Some of the grease meant for bigger races, bearings, and higher speeds has abrasives in the grease to help keep the thicker races and larger bearings working smoothly. These abrasives on the smaller bearing and thinner races of bike hubs can wear the surfaces out at a much faster rate. And then keeping the tighter adjustment a bike hub needs to be smooth can become a pain in the Arse.

When it comes to bike maintenance, be pound wise and not penny foolish. The bike lubricants offered as bike lubricants have been proven to work well with bikes. Anything else is a crapshoot.

Back when I started working with race cars (1946) most wheel bearing grease had asbestos fibers as filler to keep it in place at the high loadings involved. Obviously this is no longer the case. The fillers used in modern greases are minimal as the synthetic grease plants are capable of producing a much better grease than was made 60 years ago.

My usual bike grease is IBM 23 grease intended for tab racks on typewriters. It comes in 1 oz. tubes and I get it through my job. I also use a multipurpose automotive grease which I keep on hand for (naturally enogh) automotive use. The third product I use is a Rioch supply item called Alvania grease. It will stand heavier loads than the typewriter grease and is more suited for wheel bearings. I've used these products for years and have had no lubrication related failures.

As far as oils go, I use Triflow for most jobs. I also use Hunter ceiling fan oil as it is a very high quality 10W non-detergent oil which is packed in a convenient smallish tube.

Doc

Abrasives in auto grease? Could you elaborate or provide an example of a brand of grease containing such abrasives. I have never heard of abrasives added to bearing grease (at least not for auto use) and doing so would seem to be a quick route to bearing failure. As far as I know, properly lubricated bearings work smoothly all on their own. It's the introduction of abrasives that leads to eventual bearing failure.

Some of the lubriplate greases do have mild abrasives in them to help keep the races free from rust and corrosive build up. We aren't talking sand, but very fine substance added to the grease. The much larger bearings and races of cars and trucks are able to withstand the mild cleansing effect of these additives. With bike parts, it is not so likely. And yeah, the lubricants sold as bike grease and oil are marketed and sold in smaller amounts. They do cost more. But, they are designed to work with the wimpier moving parts of a bicycle. Anyone who thinks all lubricants are the same, is mistaken and unless they have prior knowkledge of that grease, they are taking a chance. A Tube of Rockn Roll or Phil Wood, or even Park grease will last the average do it your selfer several years. It just seems like a dumb place to save chump change. But hey, go for it. But since my livlihood depends on what I use on my customers bikes, I refuse to use anything that is even questionable. You can use what you want.

The little park tubges that are like 4 oz of grease are only 5 bucks and you can probably repack 100 wheels with it so yea, either way it isnt a huge expense

Some of the lubriplate greases do have mild abrasives in them to help keep the races free from rust and corrosive build up. We aren't talking sand, but very fine substance added to the grease. The much larger bearings and races of cars and trucks are able to withstand the mild cleansing effect of these additives. With bike parts, it is not so likely.

OK, I've looked through the Lubriplate website and could find no mention of any grease containing an abrasive. However, Lubriplate makes a lot of different oils and greases, so maybe you could provide an example of one of their bearing greases that contains abrasives?

It's hard for me to understand how you would get rust and corrosion build up on any lubricated bearing. Moreover, any bearing in use will self polish any corrosion even in the presence of grease. take a look at any used hub bearing and you can easily see where the bearings contact the races.

This is one of those on the "net" kinds of things that drives me crazy. If you are really worried about using not bicycle grease fine but this is spreading a rumor kind of thing. I suppose its possible that they put abrasives in some grease. But you might have added that for instance they don't put it in the white lithium grease that is so commonly used here. One of the original uses for lithium grease was on an initital build or rebuild of an engine its put on the main bearing races, so that they don't score or burn up before the engine has a chance to splash around the oil in the sump.

Okay. I just purchased some LubriMatic Marine Corrosion Control and Trailer Wheel Bearing Grease #2. Upon thoroghly cleaning hub and cones, and bearings, I throughly greased everything and put everything back together again. Question is, is the grease supposed to seap out upon turning the hub? Seems like I have gotten the excess grease but if I continue to turn it, the grease continues to ooze out. At this rate, I'll have to re-grease in no time. Is this supposed to happen or does the numeric convention of the grease have something to do with the consistency?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.



This is one of those on the "net" kinds of things that drives me crazy. If you are really worried about using not bicycle grease fine but this is spreading a rumor kind of thing. I suppose its possible that they put abrasives in some grease. But you might have added that for instance they don't put it in the white lithium grease that is so commonly used here. One of the original uses for lithium grease was on an initital build or rebuild of an engine its put on the main bearing races, so that they don't score or burn up before the engine has a chance to splash around the oil in the sump.

You are not supposed to "fill up" the bearings with grease, they actually work less well when over
stuffed. Enough grease should be used to tack the bearings in place with a 'good bit' of open space
left over. The loss of grease you note is just the bearings way of getting rid of the excess. The grease you used may be a bit more viscous than is appropriate for bicycles.
Steve

The bearings are just squeezing out excess grease. Just wipe off the excess and don't worry about it. You won't need to regrease anytime soon as there will be plenty of grease on the bearings to do the job.

I have found that the Teflon filled Finish line bike grease will make your wheels spin a little easier. Make sure you repack your hubs by about 2000 miles. But if you get the bike wet much I think it washes out easier that the heavier greases, like the Park grease. Also Tri flow seems to hold up to bad weather better too.