Originally Posted by moxfyre
There's nothing wrong with it. I used it for a couple years and it works fine. It gets fairly hard and crusty and separates a bit after a year or two even if it isn't dirty.
I now use marine wheel bearing grease (designed for the bearings of boat trailers which have to be pushed into the water). It is extremely waterproof and durable, and several very knowledgeable people on Bikeforums suggested it to me (lawkd has done some research and thinks it's just about the best grease for bike parts out there
). You can get it at any marine/boat store and many Home Depots as well.
Between Calcium, lithium, amd polyurea thickened grease, the calcium is the worst for bicycles. Marine bearing grease is thickened with calcium. Lithium is used in roller bearing applications. This is because roller bearings aren't as hard on the grease so it is not necessary to pay the extra price for polyurea. Polyurea is more durable and is the best grease for ball bearings.
"Calcium soaps: Conventional calcium soap or lime-based greases are prepared by reacting fatty acids or esters with calcium hydroxide in a mineral-oil medium. As a result of the small, closely packed fibres which constitute their structural framework, products thus produced have a smooth texture.
The principal advantages of calcium-soap greases are:
They are, perhaps, the least expensive soap-based greases to manufacture.
They are not emulsifiable in water; therefore, they resist washout from bearings. At low temperatures, they suffer no phase transformation and remain pumpable.
Their major disadvantage is that the maximum working temperature of water-stabilized, calcium-soap greases is only about 90 degrees C; greases derived from 12-hydroxystearate can function at 120 to 130 degrees C. Calcium-soap greases are primarily used to lubricate water pumps, wire ropes and machinery components operating under mild conditions. Their use in plain and rolling-element bearings(ball bearings)is severely limited by their low thermal stability and susceptibility to
shear"
"Polyurea greases are characterized by good water resistance and good thermal stability. Because of their durability, polyurea greases are frequently used in sealed-for-life bearings which are filled during assembly, permanently sealed and operated without relubrication for the normal life of the equipment. Polyurea greases tend to be more costly than conventional soap-based greases because they require more sophisticated processing and their raw materials are more expensive. The poor pumpability of certain polyurea greases limits their use in large centralized systems"
copied from
http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/article.html?&A=0837
"(a) Polyurea is the most important organic nonsoap thickener. It is a low-molecular-weight organic
polymer produced by reacting amines (an ammonia derivative) with isocyanates, which results in an oil- soluble chemical thickener. Polyurea grease has outstanding resistance to oxidation because it contains no metal soaps(calcium) (which tend to invite oxidation). It effectively lubricates over a wide temperature range of -20 to 177 EC (-4 to 350 EF) and has long life.
Water-resistance is good to excellent, depending on the grade. It works well with many elastomer seal materials. It is used with all types of bearings but has been
particularly effective in ball bearings. Its durability makes it well suited for sealed-for-life bearing applications."
copied from
http://www.usace.army.mil/publicatio...2-1424/c-5.pdf