Originally Posted by RoadLight

Greetings,

In principle, I agree with Fissile that there is way too much hyperbole on the market about grease---including grease for bicycles. Early in my career I was a nuclear chemistry technician and, when I wasn't analyzing radioactive elements, I was surprised how much I analyzed lubricants. This was because there are a number of critical emergency systems in a nuclear power plant that require high-quality lubrication (such as the stand-by diesel generators that must kick on within seconds of a reactor scram).

The biggest "take away" from my experience was the superiority of high-quality synthetic lubricants over high-quality petroleum lubricants. And most of the good bicycle greases nowadays are some kind of synthetic.

For the most part, I trust Park Tool and have been using their greases for years in all of my bicycle work. For steel bearings I use PPL-1 or 2. For ceramic on steel I use HPG-1 (primarily for the extra water resistance---although PPL has good water resistance, also). For chains I use CL-1 oil. But, regardless of the grease type and application, one overriding point is keeping the system clean. Bearing seals are not perfect---they are a compromise between sealing efficiency and resistance. The better the seal, the higher the resistance. And most cyclists do not want higher resistance! So it is important for most hubs, bottom brackets, headsets, cage jockey and roller wheels and chains to be cleaned regularly and re-greased / re-oiled. This is actually more important that the brand of lubricant you choose.

Kind regards, RoadLight