Is grease grease.

[Maherees]

Hello,
I bought some tools the other day from Halfords so i can do some of my own servicing and learn a little more about my bikes. My aim is to service my creaky bottom bracket but since bike grease seems a little expensive can i just buy a tub from screwfix?
I was thinking about this for instance: Screwfix Grease
thanks

 

[Drago]

Just buy a tub of lithium, grease for 5 or 6 quid.

 

[Mike_P]

https://biketrue.com/best-bike-grease-for-bearings/

 

[Fab Foodie]

Are you riding in elite sporting events?
If no, then most day to day grease will work just fine as long as it's not the thickness of mollasses or flows out of the bearings on a warm day. Have run bikes for years on Vaseline without problem - wheel bearing, bottom brackets, general thread usage.
Regular maintainance is more important than some overhyped and overpriced specific grease.
It's a bicycle not an F1 car....

 

[Cycleops]

It's a bicycle not an F1 car....

But it may be a Tour de France bike

 

[wafter]

Personally wouldn't use spray grease as it tends to be thinner than ideal for the likely applications you have in mind.

If in a bint / on a budget a tub of generic Lithium grease will probably do most things. If you want to break it down Moly grease is good for high load metal-metal contact (such as bearings), copper grease is good for anti-seize applications (BB cups into the frame, fixings), syhthetic grease for rubbers and plastics..

I think most greases are typically lithium bases with various additives as described above..

 

[davidphilips]

Rather than recommend a type of grease, would rather not recommend mixing different types and never use copper grease as a lubricant.

 

[slowmotion]

Are you riding in elite sporting events?
If no, then most day to day grease will work just fine as long as it's not the thickness of mollasses or flows out of the bearings on a warm day. Have run bikes for years on Vaseline without problem - wheel bearing, bottom brackets, general thread usage.
Regular maintainance is more important than some overhyped and overpriced specific grease.
It's a bicycle not an F1 car....

Spot on.

 

[wafter]

Spot on.

I'd disagree - selecting the right product isn't about courting marginal performance gains - it can mean longer product life, fewer service intervals, or in some cases just not wrecking something through using entirely the wrong product. That said, as already covered a general purpose lithium should be OK for most stuff.

 

[figbat]

All my BBs, wheel bearings, pedal bearings and the like get generic lithium grease - I have a tub that’s years old and still 3/4 full. Anything that specifies a special grease generally gets it (brake components, fork innards etc). I have an array of small pots of various greases - copper, molybdenum, silicone, SRAM butter etc.

 

[Chris S]

Have run bikes for years on Vaseline without problem - wheel bearing, bottom brackets, general thread usage.

I use Vaseline as well. It starts to melt at 30 degrees centigrade but I wouldn't be cycling in temperatures like that anyway.

 

[figbat]

I use Vaseline as well. It starts to melt at 30 degrees centigrade but I wouldn't be cycling in temperatures like that anyway.

Bearings can easily get that warm regardless of the ambient temperature.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Bearings can easily get that warm regardless of the ambient temperature.

Only once had vaseline loss from bearings due to heat when the bike was shut in the car on a very hot day.
Never noticed loss when riding....

 

[slowmotion]

I use Castrol LMX grease, or whatever it's called now. The cartridge I bought ten years ago will easily see me out and it's not expensive.

 

[figbat]

Only once had vaseline loss from bearings due to heat when the bike was shut in the car on a very hot day.
Never noticed loss when riding....

I was just trying to get across the point that the temperature in the bearings will not just be the ambient temperature. Friction and shearing will cause local heat.