bizarro302

I'm fixing up some old mtb's and plan to repack the hubs to prevent damage to the races. The hubs in question are 94 alivio and
93 deore dx. If I recall correctly these are loose ball hubs.

I'm looking for a decent cheap grease that is available locally. Auto parts store, , hardware store, etc.

When I was a kid I used Pennzoil automotive hub grease. Mostly because that's what my dad had in the garage, and it held the bearings in place while putting the axle back in.

There are 4 LBS in my city as well, but I don't want to spend $30 on some Pedro's stuff, and cures AIDS. I really don't want to spend more than $15.

SquidPuppet

Get any salt water resistant automotive wheel bearing grease that's formulated for boat trailer wheels.

You can find it everywhere, and cheap.

Definitely not a Panda aphrodisiac though.

dsbrantjr

Any good water resistant wheel bearing grease will do fine. Bike bearings are much lighter service than auto wheel bearings so nothing exotic is needed.

johnny99

White lithium bearing grease costs about $6 for a 1 pound tub in automotive stores. More than adequate for bicycles as long as you repack your bearings regularly. 1 pound may be a lifetime supply if you're just working on your family & friends bicycles.

demoncyclist

+1 on the marine trailer wheel bearing grease. Designed to hold up to the wheels being submerged when you back a boat trailer into the water to load/unload.

mstateglfr 

I have to imagine at least 1 of the 4 LBS carries Park grease in the 4oz tube. Itll be $6ish and is great because you can control where it is applied because it can be squeezed and has a fine tip.
You will use have plenty left over after overhauling 4 hubs.

That 4oz tube will work to overhaul both bikes completely and you will still have some left over.

bizarro302

Thanks, I will try to find marine trailer grease tomorrow morning. I work at a bar on the waterfront so there's always the chance that a disgruntled customer might chuck it off the pier.

Ironically my bike is a Barracuda A2R so salt water protection seems fitting.

CACycling

To make it easier to work with, one of these is really handy:Amazon.com: Astro Pneumatic 101 Mini Grease Gun with Needle Nozzle: Home Improvement

Harbor Freight used to carry them but couldn't find it on their web site any more. I did find the orifice needed to be drilled out a bit larger for the grease to flow well.

Matariki

++ on this. A container lasts a long time.

MichaelW

I have a massive tin of sticky, brown tractor axle grease from 1980s. Is there any reason I can't use it for refurbing cheap bikes?

Paramount1973 

I like Peak Synthetic Marine grease. $5.99 for a 1 lb tub at Pep Boys.

rekmeyata

There are quite a few good waterproof (marine) greases on the market these days and Pennzoil isn't one of them. Don't get the waterproof high temp grease because it's too stiff for bicycle bearings and will damage them; if you're confused simply go down to a boat dealer and ask them for marine waterproof grease, or go down to Walmart and get Walmart blue marine grease. I just use what I use on my cars bearings and that's Mobil 1 Synthetic for many years without any issues. Lubrimatic Waterproof Trailer grease is also sold at Walmart and it's very good too.

However you may want to find out from the manufacture of your hubs what's best to use because Shimano likes this green sticky stuff and but Chris King uses a thinner grease compared to what other hubs use.

Don't use white lithium grease because it can dry to a white cake like substance which isn't good for bearings.

rydabent

Should be no problem at all.

Asi

I like marine grease made from a reputable brand.

I use Mobil1 XHP222 NLGI 2
It is cheap, about 5$ for 400grams, and one of the best. (another interesting grease and one of the very best is XHP 322 with 5% molly, but is not so readily available)

About the NLGI rating, there is 0,1,2,3, and other specialities. The higher the number, the thicker it is and stays longer in place but at higher rolling resistance.
Generally NLGI 2 is what is normal for a bike bearing (yet grade 1 or grade 3 is fine too)