Rubato

I keep two tubs, the first is marine boat trailer for bearings, and the is white Lithium for things like pedal threads, stems, seatposts etc that need a lighter coating....

Jed19

I have been using marine boat trailer grease for everything on my bikes. I just make sure not to use too much and to clean up excess grease on light -use items.

It is cheap, effective and readily available.

asmac

And speaking of lubricants, what's the likelihood that small pricey bottles of "tenacious oil" started out in an industrial drum of chainsaw oil?

gmt13

I've set up a system where I have gone greaseless. By magnetizing my bearings and then running back current through the frame from my dynohub (you need to run this backwards), the system prevents all metal to metal contact. The key is to avoid stainless steel bearings and to clean out all remnants of grease, which prevents proper magnetic field inducement. This system is a spin-off of the turbo-encabulator research.

-G

jethro56 

So I take it that Park Polylube 1000 is too thin.

Andrew R Stewart 

This ''what grease is best" discussion is like asking which soap you like. My take is that you use some kind of soap (grease), and frequently, is the bigger issue. Andy.

fuji86

Yeah, don't fall in love with the color of the grease. There isn't a magic grease that is going to be better. It's not like conventional vs synthetic motor oil.

tcs

You'd want to use a high temperature grease in a coaster brake hub, since the heat from braking is dumped into the hub. It is actually possible to exceed the working temperature of some greases in a coaster brake hub when controlling speed down a hill, causing a breakdown in lubricating properties.

Automotive grease is too thick for lubricating the internal mechanisms of IGHs. On their grease lubricated models, Shimano, SRAM and Sturmey all use magically light wt. grease.

WickedThump

It's about the same likelihood that the $15 pint of eco friendly cleaning solution my GF bought is repackaged Simple Green.

Flying Merkel

I've been using black Moly-D grease for years. Works fine. Tried white lithium grease and will never do that again. It dries into a gummy mess.. I used to pick up mountain bikes and hybrids cheap because the shifters "need replacing". Shimano used white grease to lube them. The pawls would be stuck. A quick disassemble and clean would do the trick. Used black grease to lube them. Also tried anti-sieze compound- no problems after a few years.

What grease you use is less important than how often you clean & repack.

kamtsa

I disagree.

FBinNY 

AAAH! My point exactly.

krome

I think the consensus of the forum is than any lube is better than no lube, whether it's bearings or chains (or seatpost or threaded parts). The specifics of what makes the "best" or most suitable is subject to debate.

SortaGrey

Aircraft grease. Scored a tube yrs ago.. very costly stuff via uncle Same. Appears not to break down and go crusty after extended use.. also tends to stay into the bearings.. rather than centrifuge out like the cheaper auto stuff. This stuff also tends not set up much with cold temps.

TRUMPHENT

I've seen hollow ball bearings somewhere on the inter webs. Would they work with your system?

Reynolds 

^ Superleggero Bearing Balls FTW!

Greyryder

You don't have to run the dyno hub backwards, if you use an oscillation overthruster wired in series. Not in parallel! Never overthrust in parallel....

whitefiretiger

Agree. It is the best I've ever had but not cheap or easy to come by.

PaPa

Yes, but as of late, it's now plan B. I now use Dri-Slide Liquid Grease. Neat part is, you spray it on/in. No more finger-dipping-thick-s*it for this wrench.

Reynolds 

Dura-Ace grease is what I use for bearings, regular grease for bolts, stems, seatposts, etc.

blamester

Very funny ,still giggling

DMF 

Were they maybe talking about ceramic bearings ?

DMF 

The black stuff separates over time. It's great for machinery with zerk fittings, but I much prefer the marine/automotive stuff for hubs.

a) Within reason: white lithium grease just doesn't cut it in hubs.
b) Which is why your black grease works for you. But others are probably not so diligent.

gmt13

No, you need a bit of mass to them; however I have heard that hollow balls with high neodymium content may work. The downside is that you may have to adjust either the number of bearings or their diameters in order to achieve the optimum interstitial distances.

-G

DannoXYZ 

Even better is to use negative-mass bearings. They incorporate inverted dark-matter inside to overcome the mass of the outer-shell.