squirtdad

Phil's grease for bearings (wheels, head sets, bottom brackets)
Tub of red devil for other stuff
Phil's Tenacious oil when I need oil (mostly free wheels)
Rock and role for chains (mostly)
Tri- flow as a general lube


ps: I don't like white lithium because I have had to clean it's hardened remnants out of too many old bearing and headsets....not scientific

pps: the bike chairity I work with uses a 50/50 atf/acetone mix as penetrating oil

rootboy 

White lithium grease is old tech. I have an ancient tube out in the garage. But I don't use it on bikes.

jish1969

I use a can of SuperTech Extreme Pressure Multi-Duty Complex grease for BB, headsets and wheels, and 3 in 1 lube oil for the chain. Probably not the best, but it gets the job done. My grease is almost out and I will probably switch to Mobil-One...

noglider 

Bicycle Addict, I think the most important point about lubrication is that there are at least as many opinions as people, and it doesn't matter much what you use. The lubricants available all exceed the requirements for the job because bikes don't create that much compression, tension, speed, heat, or torsion. Thinner lubricants last short. Thinner lubricants collect dust. Different viscosities require different replenishment intervals. Those are the compromises, but if you work within that, you're fine.

etherhuffer 

Tangential to lubes but since folks are assembling stuff..........Locktite for things you want to stay put. Made the mistake of greasing/anti-seize pasting pannier racks. Bad, very bad. The breakable Locktite for pannier racks will hold up to vibration. I had a cheap front pannier rack with the loop that goes over the wheel being a separate piece and held by alan screws. Backed out, lost the bag, but no big wipe out.

And, nylocks are also nice for nuts that require less than full tightening that may want to back off.

Cheap marine boat bearing lube in the past, mobil one marine now.

Ankheg

Better the "wrong" lubricant than no lubricant at all, really.

Since this is a C&V thread, some C&V advice on chain lubrication, hopefully:

(From Google's scanned copy of "Modern Safety Bicycles", Herbert Garratt, 1899.)

unworthy1

Extra Virgin for salads and any raw consumption
Pure if you're going to heat it. So for anytime you COOK, use the Pure Olive Oil otherwise you waste the VOCs in the Extra Virgin, plus it burns/smokes at a lower temp...so it's a waste of $$$ anytime you put it in a pan.
I bow to my Pah-Pooh and use bacon grease...or should that be bacon Greece?

orangeology 

didn't know oil in salads was also for lubrication. but it totally make sense.
just afraid of the sudden increase of the subject expansion range now...

rootboy 

I've got some vintage era watch and clock oils containing whale oil. An artifact with a somewhat sad connotation.
I only use it on my better parts…

RobbieTunes

So, what do we use to clean our hands?

gaucho777 

I have a tub of blue Ritchey grease. It's much thicker than most other grease I've used, so I tend to use it only for greasing threads, headsets, stems and posts, etc. Makes strings like hot mozzarella. It think it sat for about 10-15 years before I opened it. It is always like this or has my tub gone south?

Triflow on the chain, pulleys, sometimes a few drops down brake cables housing. Either Park PolyLube of Phil's tenacious grease on bearings.

For cleaning hands, sometimes I'll rub a couple of squirts of Simple Green in my hands before washing in soap. After a good shop session, a hand & nail brush is key.

auchencrow

I buy the economy sized containers of Fast Orange like this one. It really cleans well, but yet it feels rather soothing on rough/chapped hands.

rootboy 

That grease sounds somewhat suspect, Gaucho777. But you might try reviving a lump of it by whipping in a little oil. Or even a few drops of mineral spirits.

Ankheg

From the Bulletin of the League of American Wheelmen, February 1898. Note particularly the last sentence.

gaucho777 

^Fun read. Pardon my old-timey ignorance, but what is this business with the number IDs, such as "No. 97,538 says..." or "If No. 42,838 desires some really good oil..."?

Now to search for some of that high quality locomotive black oil.

roadandmountain

The ubitquitous tri-flow. That stuff is amazing on squeaky door hinges, and semi-rusted out ulocks as well.

Generic white grease from performance?

Question: once your rags get all nasty from multiple chain cleanings, how do you clean the rags? Tri flow is petro based, and I once washed my rags at a local laundromat and this left a nasty, semi-translucent black film inside the washing machine. I don't want to do that again.

Ankheg

That's how the LAW identified members in their magazine, at least in the questions-and-answer column. Avoided ambiguity, I suppose.

Indeed, you can't help but wonder what the common spec was back then.

Edited to add: The "black oil" in question is/was properly known as "car oil". The "Handbook of Industrial Oil Engineering" from 1920 says that the two standard types of car oil - winter- and summer-weight - had Saybolt viscosity at 210 degrees Fahrenheit of between 50 and 60, and between 45 and 55, respectively. That converts to 7-10 centiStrokes, according to one helpful viscosity chart I found. That is, vou will probably be quite unsurprised to discover, right about equivalent to modern SAE 20 motor oil. (5.6-9.3 centiStrokes at 100C.)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

jimmuller 

We clean our hands?

Bicycle Addict

Very true Thank you for this post, I bought some online one golden, one red and golden.
This is the red grease, the guy told me it had good water repelling abilities for hubs BB etc,





This is the golden, should be good for headsets, stems, seat posts, not to mention a big dab on the end lines of thread on any bolt that goes on my bikes.
I want to put my bottom brackets in correctly lubed so that 2 - 5 years down the track they should come out with little to no effort, I have fought with enough stuck bottom brackets (mainly in early 90's MTB's) to know I never want to pass that fight on to anyone that buys one of my bikes.
Thanks for all the replies . . . . oh and cooking tips!? Ace.

miamijim

Mobile 1 red synthetic grease for regular greasing needs. Inexpensive @ ~$12/tub
Shimano Dura Ace 'special grease' for high end bearings....Record/Dura Ace Very Expensive @ ~$25/50g

Tri-Flow for general lubricating needs...nuts, bolts, pivot points and general chain lube

Finish Line 'wet' for summer chain lube and 'dry' for winter lube.

rootboy 

Give us an example, Jim. Difference between "regular" greasing needs and "high end".
I bought a 50 g tub of the Shimano Special Grease, on your recommendation as I remember.
Bo so far have only used it on a head set. Next time I overhaul some hubs, though...

miamijim

I consider high end to be anything with polished cones and races. That would be Dura Ace, Campy Record etc.

'General' greasing needs would be all other bearings, seat posts, stems...essentially anything else that needs grease.

Yesterday I opened up a set of mid-level Shimano hubs, there was 'green' Shimano grease in them. Apparently its within Shimano's budget to use on mid-level bearings, it's not within mine!!! I'd go though $300 worth of grease a year if I used it on everything.

miamijim

It's hard to justify this:

Shimano Grease 625ml Tub | eBay

....when you can get the Mobile 1 for $12!!!

rootboy 

Whoowee. yeah, that is stupid steep. It seems like really good stuff, but not that much better.
Made by Germans in bunkers hidden away in the Bavarian Alps, or something.

orangeology 

how come nobody told me not to use white lithium grease so far???

however, that makes me feel better w ordering something new today.
it's been rough not having something to order recent few days....
i need help i guess.