What to grease and which grease?

[Tenkaykev]

Rightly or wrongly when I undo something, anything with a thread it gets a thorough clean and a touch of grease before doing it back up. Makes thing much much easier the next time you may have to dismantle it.

I worked in mechanical / electrical engineering before I retired. Everything we worked on had bearings and various fixings and fastenings.
We'd often get kit that had been previously repaired elsewhere and I'd say a silent thank you to the unknown fitter who'd put put grease where it was needed, and loctite where that was needed.

 

[slowmotion]

I use any old general purpose automotive lithium grease like this stuff...….

£4 for 400ml from Screwfix.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/multipurpose-grease-400ml/8436p

In a car, the loadings, temperatures and speeds that the grease has to cope with are far, far higher than those encountered on a bike.

 

[Blue Hills]

I use any old general purpose automotive lithium grease like this stuff...….

View attachment 543080 £4 for 400ml from Screwfix.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/multipurpose-grease-400ml/8436p

In a car, the loadings, temperatures and speeds that the grease has to cope with are far, far higher than those encountered on a bike.

I considered that once.
do you use it everywhere on the bike?
what colour is it?

 

[Blue Hills]

ah, checking the product Q&A (which includes the priceless "can this be used to seal a manhole?") I see that it's brown.
I prefer to use light coloured grease in bearings so that I can easily see if any muck or debris has got in there.
That maybe why I passed on it.

 

[slowmotion]

I considered that once.
do you use it everywhere on the bike?
what colour is it?

I'm not sure about that particular one but mine's the colour of set honey. I've used it for wheel bearings and the linkages on the derailleurs. It's worth getting some plastic syringes and a couple of large bore hypodermic needles so you can squirt the stuff into the right places. A full size grease gun is a bit clumsy for a bike.

 

[Blue Hills]

I'm not sure about that particular one but mine's the colour of set honey. I've used it for wheel bearings and the linkages on the derailleurs. It's worth getting some plastic syringes and a couple of large bore hypodermic needles so you can squirt the stuff into the right places. A full size grease gun is a bit clumsy for a bike.

I have two Dualcos for diferent greases - fine for bikes/delicate jobs like wheel bearings.
wonderful things - the design and material always makes me think of those 30s flash gordon films.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bysp3VfYxVI

for folks after more honey grease, this may be handy.
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-500g-multi-purpose-grease-tub/p/0039759

when i asked wilco what colour that was, it was described, rather enticingly, as "caramel"

 

[slowmotion]

I have two Dualcos for diferent greases - fine for bikes/delicate jobs like wheel bearings.
wonderful things - the design and material always makes me think of those 30s flash gordon films.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bysp3VfYxVI

for folks after more honey grease, this may be handy.
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-500g-multi-purpose-grease-tub/p/0039759

when i asked wilco what colour that was, it was described, rather enticingly, as "caramel"

Thanks. I really like the look of that!

 

[Blue Hills]

Thanks. I really like the look of that!

readily available for around £15 I think - or they were until recently - tredz and various others sold them. A bit of a fag to fill (somewhat heath robinson system but cute old-fashioned style instructions do come with them on a printed sheet) but you don't have to do it very often - you can decant rather a lot of a tub into one. wonderful old fashioned things - am rather amazed that they are still made like that - have the idea that despite the to -me 1930s looking design they originated in the 1950s.

edit - maybe you meant the grease

 

[Fab Foodie]

I’ve been riding and fettling bikes since I were a lad. Anything that has a thread gets cleaned and greased, loose and caged bearings get greased As do splines on hubs. I have 10 smoothly running reliable bikes, the only grease I’ve ever used is Vaseline! It’s a bike not an F1 engine....

 

[Tom B]

I’ve been riding and fettling bikes since I were a lad. Anything that has a thread gets cleaned and greased, loose and caged bearings get greased As do splines on hubs. I have 10 smoothly running reliable bikes, the only grease I’ve ever used is Vaseline! It’s a bike not an F1 engine....

AHH that takes me back. I remember fixing my bikes and the other kids bikes on my street with nothing more than 8mm, 10mm and 13mm spanners, a _tin can_ of 3 in 1 oil and huge tub of Vaseline, which my mother still has.

Interestingly I opened this thread while pondering what grease to fill my Shimano cup and cone wheel bearings with. I have been using

http://index.weldtite.co.uk/products/detail/grease-gun-grease-with-teflon-tube-150ml

But it seems a bit light / soft and seems to escape my well worn seals rather easily.

I might give vaseline a go or failing that some of the ancient castrol grease my father has from his days playing with excavators.

Incidentally modern Vaseline seems somewhat less smelly than the old stuff. Germoline even more so.

 

[Fab Foodie]

AHH that takes me back. I remember fixing my bikes and the other kids bikes on my street with nothing more than 8mm, 10mm and 13mm spanners, a _tin can_ of 3 in 1 oil and huge tub of Vaseline, which my mother still has.

Interestingly I opened this thread while pondering what grease to fill my Shimano cup and cone wheel bearings with. I have been using

http://index.weldtite.co.uk/products/detail/grease-gun-grease-with-teflon-tube-150ml

But it seems a bit light / soft and seems to escape my well worn seals rather easily.

I might give vaseline a go or failing that some of the ancient castrol grease my father has from his days playing with excavators.

Incidentally modern Vaseline seems somewhat less smelly than the old stuff. Germoline even more so.

Worked just fine in my Ultegra cup and cone bearings which gave many many years of excellent service. Need to build them Into another pair of rims.

 

[Blue Hills]

Sometimes use vaseline on screw threads.
Anyone have a good supply of big tubs?
Any drawbacks?

 

[slowmotion]

Sometimes use vaseline on screw threads.
Anyone have a good supply of big tubs?
Any drawbacks?

Here......

https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/site-sa...6154&pkw=&pmt=&prodid=ZT1187452X&slid=&pgrid={groupid}&ptaid=pla-393164268199&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhIP6BRCMARIsALu9Lfkkr9MMhY2jMlwDHZQ1xT4Lq1_R0QsUlNAE-utzd0v3BJuCsifW17oaAj1SEALw_wcB

£7 a kilo, postage included.

 

[slowmotion]

Just to put grease selection into some sort of perspective.....

A professional cyclist might hit a cadence of 130 rpm in a sprint finish.
An F1 race engine reaches 20,000rpm ( and the turbo whines away at 125,000rpm).

My best guess is that lard would do a perfectly decent job on two wheels.

 

[Blue Hills]

Here......

https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/site-safety/petroleum-jelly/petroleum-jelly-5kg/p/ZT1187452X?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=pla+|+Site Safety&utm_term=ZT1187452X&utm_medium=pla_css_3&mkwid=-dc&pcrid=314501976154&pkw=&pmt=&prodid=ZT1187452X&slid=&pgrid={groupid}&ptaid=pla-393164268199&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhIP6BRCMARIsALu9Lfkkr9MMhY2jMlwDHZQ1xT4Lq1_R0QsUlNAE-utzd0v3BJuCsifW17oaAj1SEALw_wcB

£7 a kilo, postage included.

thanks, really, but i wasn't planning on that sort of initial outlay - £35.
unless anyone can supply other uses for 5kg.
will stick to my motley collection of greases for the mo - have four 500g pots of vatrious things i think.

at least I avoid the tiddly uber expensive (if you work it out) bike-shop retail packaged greases.

edit - this sort of nonsense.

oo - £12 for 50g!
https://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/c...MI27G7gNaw6wIVGLLtCh3wgwrREAQYASABEgJ4k_D_BwE

optimised for headsets it says.

but not just any headsets (to be said in that plummy voiced M&S food ad voice)