I know there have been threads on this before but search is not working and I was wondering your opinions on the use of automotive bearing grease in bicycles - I know it won't hurt them, but I was wondering if it would make a noticable difference in performance. I know good grease isn't that much, but every little bit helps for us high school students. Thanks for your opinions.

I was also wondering how big the difference is brand to brand - I read a thread that mentioned a noticable difference between Phil Wood grease and the grease King Hubs come with. What is everyone's opinion on this whole grease thing?

I would use King Grease in King hubs, DT grease in DT hubs etc. when the manufacturer specifically states that you have to use their grease or void the warranty.

But other than that, I just use standard Park grease. Its relatively cheap and the 1lb tubs last forever.

I agree about using the spec'd grease in Phil, CK, etc.. But grease is grease, whether used in cars, bikes, or whatever.

Granted, there are different types/compositions of grease. Molybdenum, lithium, anti-seize, synthetic, etc..

Also, do you believe for a minute that Phil or Park or makes their own grease? They buy it from manufacturers like tons of other companies do and put their own label on it. For instance, I can go to an auto parts supplier and buy a tub of synthetic identical to Phil's.

Then how does someone like phil's get such a name for the "best" grease?

Because it's one of the first bike boutique greases I bet? My only theory, sorry.,,,,BD

can we all just let this topic die? it never leads to anything good.

Bicycle bearings have essentially no load, no heat, no speed compared to any motorized mechanical bearing system. Any grease is absolute overkill. Lard would work just as good as the most expensive boutique grease.

IMHO any grease with a fiberous content to support bearing load or any grease with a thicker consistancy (read automotive grease for the above) will have more bearing drag than a lower consistancy teflon impregnated one. As stated above, the load on a bicycle hub bearing is nowhere near as high as that on an automobile so why have the thicker stuff in there? You may find that the thinner greases need to be replenished more often but the question was about performance.

Mobil-1 Synthetic Grease for me. Because i've already got a can of it for working on my car...

Unless they can prove that no other grease is suitable, that would be a violation of the Moss-Magnuson Warranty Act!

I've never been overly impressed with Phil Wood grease. It dries and hardens faster than almost any other grease and the oils seperate out in the container.

The best grease I've ever used was the old Shimano Dura-Ace in the little container. You coud open up a 15 year old hub and it was still good.

I use red Mobile 1 synthetic grease for all of my bearings and chainlube on cables.

In a certain sense, yes. I have a chart somewhere showing the drag of various lubes when used in a hub. The best was a low viscosity motor oil. Old hubs had those holes in the shells and dust caps for a reason!!! Oil isnt practical because it doesnt last long enough for bicycle bearing applications.

except the neighborhood dogs will follow you down the street.

Waterproof marine bearing grease is what I use. If a little water gets in no damage will be done until the next service interval. Bicycles should have the bearings serviced at least once a year. The grease doesn't go bad in a year. Road grime and dust will infiltrate the bearings and cleaning out the hub and fresh clean grease insures a lifetime of use.

That may be, but as it is, all my BBs are cartridge type, so I don't repack those. I also almost never repack my headsets (I only did this once in the last 3 years, and even then only because I had to remove the fork to do some paintjob anyway). I am not sure repacking the cup and cone bearings should be done once a year. It sounds a bit too often, even for me who rides in a country with lots of bad weather and cycling through a lot of dirt (by choice and necessity). My bikes are regularly covered with a layer of dirt that most of you guys in California would never be seen with - I just don't care to clean them regularly as I know they'll be covered with a fresh layer after the next rain, so there's a lot of that stuff flying around the hubs and BB, but I don't see it causing any damage. I guess my hubs are quite well sealed?


So how often do you guys repack your bearings? And what kind of weather and road conditions do you cycle in?

I re pack my wheels maybe once a year on the MTB and every two on the road bike. They get 800 and 2500 miles per year respectively but the MTB sees a bit harsher environment. That seems like overkill but I prefer preventative maintenance vs emergency repairs.

As far as grease goes, I would probably use a good synthetic -waterproof like others have mentioned above but I bought a 1 lb tub of bike specific grease in 1991 before I knew better and will probably not run out for a few more years.

I don't mean to get into a cock-measuring fight here, but I ride my bikes much more than you do - about 9.000-10.000 Km a year, and I am forced to go through dirt almost every day. Sometimes it's dry so that's OK, but often when it rains, the dirt gets splashed all over the bike, especially around the chainstays, BB and rear wheel.

Michigan has a relatively harsh climate, too, but it's slightly drier than Finland, and slightly warmer overall. But, all in all, I'd say comparable.

So I wonder if you could get away with as rare repackings as I do.

No Cock fighting necessary. You are probably right. I'm a stickler for preventative care. I knew that but your anecdotal evidence proves that in a big way. I'm certain that Finland is much more harsh than Michigan. My hat is off to you.

Every time I've used lard... I had problems with cats following me around. Mysterious...

I think it's more important that grease is actually present, than what brand or type of grease you use. I have bought many vintage bikes where lack of maintenance has killed a hub. More often than not I imagine the bike sat for a long time, then was put back on the road without any thought towards maintenance. Likewise for BB's, fork bearings, etc..etc. Every bike I find gets a full on bearing rebuild, before it goes more than five feet with a load on it. The one time I didn't cratered the BB on a Specialized Hard Rock. Live and learn.,,,,BD

I service my non-cassette type bearings once a year. That may be overkill for some but that's my personal preference. Better to clean too often than replace a damaged hub or BB. I was on a tour a couple of years ago where we had to cross a stream about 3 feet deep. Water got in everything. Right after we got back I serviced my bike and a couple of others. No damage was done but the hubs and BB's had water in them and just leaving them alone would have eventually damaged them.

Hah, this reminds me: I had to wade through a deep patch of stagnant water in an underpass when we had a brief spell of warm weather two weeks ago - I was pedaling in water, it was really funny.

In what kind of conditions do you ride?

And by the way, talking about alternatives to greases: someone mentioned lard, and actually, lard is rather resistant to peroxidation, so it would work for relatively long. In the hints and tricks thread I mentioned coconut oil, also highly resistant to peroxidation and lighter than lard, as a possible paliative solution in an emergency, as a chain lubricant, or even bearings grease. I repeat: in an emergency. Like, if you are in Africa and don't have access to suitable lubricants. There you definitely will have access to coconut oil, and that'll last without deterioration, for at least a month if not more (depends on the temperature).

Another alternative is shortening. I don't know if you can get your hands on it, as it's utterly unhealthy, because of the way the lipid chains are constructed (impossible for the body to metabolize it, so it is deposited in the fat tissue and very hard to remove), but if you do, know that shortening is extremely stable and will last several months without any deterioration. Microbes avoid shortening (clearly, being wiser than us humans) as they "know" they cannot metabolize it, and it's nearly impervious to peroxidation.

By the way, this stability is what made shortening so popular in the food industry: you can keep cookies and other foods prepared with shortening, on the shelves of shops for months, and nothing will happen.

So you're saying they call it shortening, but really it's just your belly getting bigger?