Bingo!!!

It goes with your (our) observation that bike companies are most likely to rebrand the grease that already is available. The *volume* of grease marketed in cycling would be miniscule compared with automotive and industrial greases -- it's the repackaging and low volume of sales that likely is pushing up the price of bicycle grease, not the special superduper grease inside. At least, that's my take on it. Plus, the (OCP) cycling market is so open to exploitation by the "this is so good, you simply can't not use it" mantra, that you could repackage the worst grease in the world in a fancy tube, and they will buy it in droves. (/cynicism off)

In addition, anyone with exposed bearings on a bicycle (as opposed to sealed) is going to do their servicing based on the conditions and distances they ride, irrespective of the grease they use. As observed, contamination degrades the value *anyway* -- the manufacturers haven't come up with a secret additive yet to dissolve grit. A bicycle that is used everyday on mountain trails or in wet conditions naturally should be serviced more often than one that spends 6/7 days on a rack and is only brought out if the sun is shining, and covers only smooth sealed roads.

Just on automotive greases (and I am recalling my rallying days) the high-remp applications, to me, seem to be only in the front wheel bearings with disc brakes, for which there are specific greases made so they remain more viable as the temperatures rise, and the chemical composition is less likely to break down.

The other major application for automotive greases is in ball joints, prop shaft joints, and pivots for things like drum brakes, gearbox linkages and so on where the heat generated is unlikely to exceed that of a very hot summer's day in northern Texas (or Central Australia).

Then there are electrical bearings we've already discussed that have, I think, there own unique qualities, including the need for reduce-torque lubricants.

The remainder of the bearings on a car generally are lubricated by oils.

To me, the conditions that most replicate those likely to be encountered by bicycles are in the suspension -- open to grit ingression, water washout and contamination, and constant movement.

I think for most DIY cyclists (and I make a very distinct differentiation there between DIY and pro) the type of general grease used in suspension and ordinary, non-disc-brake axles (such as trailers) is what they opt for.

The high-temperature requirements for disc-brake environments and lubricant company efforts to market a one-grease-does-all (including disc brakes) that require a viscosity at ambient tempertures higher than other greases, tends to confuse the issue.

And again, the quality of the original bearings, races, and cones has to play a role in how effective a lubricant is -- poor quality will always be poor quality. This starts with the quality of the outer surfaces of the balls and races and how truly (microscopically) smooth they are.