what type of grease

[Gerch]

I am going to strip my bike down and give it a good grease up, I have some Castrol LM grease is this ok? or should I use bike specific grease?

[Richard]

LM is what I use in the bearings and also on the threads of any bolts. Copperease could be used as an alternative on some bits; for example the seatpost/frame interface. Can't see any benefit from cycling specific products.

[Gerch]

Thank you, I have a pot of copper slip so that has saved me a few pennies.

[reohn2]

Thank you, I have a pot of copper slip so that has saved me a few pennies.

Use the LM grease for bearings etc,only use the copper grease as an anti seize grease,its NOT intended for bearings

[Trigger]

For stuff that's likely to get wet (hub bearings, headset) I use Yamaha marine grease, it's designed for stern tubes and the wheel bearings of boat trailers that get submerged in sea water etc. For things that aren't likely to get wet I use a Teflon grease, for anti seize on threads, seat post and quill stems I use copper grease.

[Mick F]

Have a read at this - rather long - thread.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=42374
The grease that 531colin bought and sold to us is the only grease I'll use now. Sticky and super!

531Colin has said he would organise the purchase of 24 sachets of SHCPM 460 and I'm happy with that.

Copper grease of course, for seatpins, stems and BB cup threads.

[CJ]

I am going to strip my bike down and give it a good grease up, I have some Castrol LM grease is this ok? or should I use bike specific grease?

Castrol LM is intended for bearings that spin faster and are not as heavily stressed as cycle bearings, where the loads may be smaller but so are the balls only more so, hence the stress. It's better than letting them run dry, but not a lot better. The base oil constituent is not sufficiently viscous to cushion the concentrated contact of the ball, resulting in premature pitting of races. Castrol LM also has merely average sealing performance, since it's intended for use in bearings that have much more effective contact seals than there's space for in bike components. So water will also get in too easily - and that's the end of any bearing.

Like the man said, read that thread.

[Trigger]

What's your thoughts on a good quality marine grease CJ?

[CJ]

What's your thoughts on a good quality marine grease CJ?

It should have much better sealing properties than normal automotive grease, but probably not much higher viscosity base oil, since boat trailers have small wheels and I guess props also run at high rpm, at which a viscous base oil may overheat.

Bikes have the opposite problem of everthing rotating too slowly, so there's time for a less viscous lubricant to escape from the rolling contact. The best lubricants for bikes are acordingly those for other machines subject to heavy loads at low rotating speed in a wet and dirty environment. What I like to see on a grease application data sheet is "concrete pumps" and "wet end calendar rolls of paper mills".

[Eric the Red]

Pop into your nearest Halfords and get a tube of Bikehut Bikegrease with Teflon - it's made for the job

[Mick F]

Yes, but no.............

3in1 was made for bikes, but you won't get me using it!

Read the thread I linked.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=42374

[Trigger]

I've got some Teflon bike grease and IMHO it's way to thin for bearings, it's ok so long as you're the type who regularly checks bearings for wear/grease.

Teflon grease (at least the brand I've got, I can't imagine that they're all that different) isn't hardy enough for those who are the fit and forget/grease-once-every-ten-year sort. It isn't very waterproof either IME.

[LANDSURFER74]

Pop into your nearest Halfords and get a tube of Bikehut Bikegrease with Teflon - it's made for the job

Yes, but the "Job" is probably encouraging volume grease sales... and encouraging early bearing failure to inprove service profits. If you where cynical ...

We ride bicycles ... clean grease is good; metal to metal, LM is good ... KISS

[pherron]

Like the man said, read that thread.

Well I read that thread sometime ago and I'm still no nearer finding a really good grease that I can actually buy in a reasonable quantity!

Mobilith SHC PM 460 is £101 for 5kg. Probably going to last me about 10 life times.

Is their anything that is affordable and available that is quite reasonable if not perfect?

[Vorpal]

I've got some Teflon bike grease and IMHO it's way to thin for bearings, it's ok so long as you're the type who regularly checks bearings for wear/grease.

Teflon grease (at least the brand I've got, I can't imagine that they're all that different) isn't hardy enough for those who are the fit and forget/grease-once-every-ten-year sort. It isn't very waterproof either IME.

Teflon content and viscosity have nothing to do with each other. Teflon can be put in most lubricants. Is yours an oil, rather than grease?

Viscosity is the quality of importance for bearings. Viscosity = thickness.

high speed => low viscosity
low speed => high viscosity

In other words, the slower it moves, the thicker the grease should be.