I hope lubrication threads aren't reviled here as much as they are on motorcycle forums..

I finally ordered all the tools I need to go through the bicycles and properly maintain the bearings. I don't get to buy a lot of state-of-the-art goodies for my bikes, but grease seems to be something very basic that could actually make a difference in how the bicycles operate, and I could probably afford to buy a tube or a tub of some really cool grease.

So what it the absolute best bearing grease out there for general commuter steel bearing bicycles? Do you think there is any realistic improvement between the high tech teflon-moly-litho-syntho greases or is a guy as good off or even better off with good old fashioned marine grade dinosaur grease?

Any decent bearing grease will be fine -- bicycles aren't really high-stress applications for lubricants.

If you ride a lot in rain, a marine grade grease might be warranted; that's what Phil grease is.

I use high temp moly D grease. Mostly because it handles all my car, motorcycle, and bicycle needs. Stay away from white grease. It dries out and hardens after just a few years.

I have bought more nice bikes cheap because the trigger shifters didn't work. Shimano used white grease to lube them. After a while, the grease gums up and the shifters stick. A complete disassemble & cleaning are needed.

If you do a search on this forum you will quickly discover that "what grease should I use?" threads generate almost as many pages and almost as much disagreement as "what is the best chain lube?" The short answer is that almost any decent medium body grease will work fine and that bicycles, as JohnDThompson noted, are not high load, high demand applications.

I use Phil Grease because it works, is available from the sources I buy my other bike components from and the extra cost over more generic greases (that would probably work just as well) is trivial for the amount I use.

I use Park grease for exactly the same reasons.

A tube lasts me about two years. It's convenient and it can't get contaminated.

+1 White grease, or "white lithium" grease doesn't work well in bearings. Virtually anything else will be perfectly fine.