Has anyone heard of a natural non-petroleum-based grease that would be appropriate for bearings, etc.? I know Pedro's makes a biodegradable chain lube, but I can't find any grease with similar ingredients.

Phil Wood has something called Bio Lube, maybe they make a heavier grease of similar formulation?

I think it depends on your definition of 'environmentally friendly.' Grease is derived from petroleum distillates - usually. As long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, they are not water-soluble. This is why they make good, long-lasting, bicycle greases. A little tweaking on the covalent bonds through polymerization is sometimes done to remove any stray hydroxyl groups. Or heat-induced isomerization to tighten up the bonds.

What you end up with is about as environmentally unfriendly as candle-wax.

K-Y?

Sorry....

After much searching I think I'm going to have to settle for a dino juice-based grease. The only natural thing I could find was a lanolin and beeswax paste made for lubricating slide trombones :-( It didn't look like it would make my pedals or wheel bearings very happy.

So this weekend I'm going to head down to the local marine supply store and pick up some good ol' Lubrimatic boat trailer wheel bearing grease. I read all about the various bike-specific greases, but I'm still not convinced that they're any better (or different) than Lubrimatic.

You could try food grade greases like the stuff from SuperKleen.
https://www.superkleendirect.com/food...ubricants.aspx

torgrot

Thanks, but it looks like those are still made from petroleum products.

I've heard the pros use oil rather than grease, you just have to be willing to oil everything fairly often(probably not very practical for pedals). They use oil over grease to reduce friction, but they also have mechanics to do all the dirty work.

I guess you are looking for a tallow based lubricant. We use that but primarily on bearings that are exposed to high temperatures. It is drawn to the hot spot unlike petroleum based which disperse from the heat. That stuff is as thick as all get out and sticky to boot. I wouldn't want it anywhere near my bike. Have you considered using lard? That is tallow based and not quite as thick. It would smell to high heaven on a hot day though.

torgrot

If you got any dogs chasing you on the way home they'd go for your bearings rather than your ankle

Hi,

Although some time ago - maybe www.green-oil.net could be a place to search.

Jesper

Can't get much more environmentally friendly than this:

Mobile-1

Read the label. What is the citric acid going to do to metal and how well is it going to stand up?

Considering the very small amounts of grease used in bicycles I do not think that bearing grease is a major concern enviromentally. I would be as concerned about a biodegradeable grease breaking down in use or bike storage with consequent parts damage.

citric acid is pretty weak, especially in low concentrations.
they can erode tooth enamel in high concentrations.
what they're pretty good at, like tomato juice, is cleaning off rust.

I would guess how corrosive that lard is depends on the concentration of citric acid in it.

bar&chain oil for chainsaws are environmental friendly, and also are suited for oiling a chain on a bicycle.

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/382909-non-petroleum-lubricant-soy-wax.html

I don't think there is such a grease. . . certainly not suitable for a bike's purpose.

Plus, whatever potential product out there . . . would come in a plastic tub.


Bicycles are not environmentally friendly, let's face it. Less toxis than a car, but they're not this shangri-la some people make them out to be.

How about less toxic to the user?
Some greases (particularly lithium ones) seem to soak deeply into skin with an odor (almost a taste) that lingers even after repeated washing.
Others, like some light waterproof ones, seem more benign.
Anyone noticed this?

And there's that EcoGrease stuff too.

You must not use grease that much?

And if you're really that concerned

Given the very small amounts of grease used in a bicycle, I think that the environmental friendliness of the grease (however defined) is of such minute impact that there is little point in worrying about it. It's the "consumable" petroleum products that are more worth worrying about (i.e., things burnt as fuel, or even lubricants that are renewed/changed much more frequently). I'm not trying to say that it's not worth worrying about at all - just that other things have much bigger potential impact. Even chain lube choice would be of much bigger impact, given the higher frequency of lubing a chain, versus re-packing BB's and wheel hubs. Just my $0.02...

do not ingest...?
white lithium grease just doesn't seem to last as long as marine grade green stuff.

I did once rebuild a bottom bracket with crisco. Not quite lard, but close enough. It worked pretty well (considering) but did start to smell after a few weeks or so. I would not recommend doing the same.

Renewable Lubricants. To quote their web page:
Renewable LubricantsTM, Inc. (RLITM) manufactures ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE lubricant products that are formulated from renewable agricultural plant and animal resources.

https://www.renewablelube.com

They sell greases, dunno if any are particularly suitable for bicycle use.

Petroleum is a naturally occurring liquid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum