http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Grease! en Sat, 18 Apr 2026 04:56:06 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211626 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 15:10:26 +0000 I were right about that saddle 211626@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@dougal</p> <p>"Who couldn't appreciate a link to Bolt Science?"</p> <p>You've made me feel sorry for someone whose existence I can't even imagine. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211617 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 14:19:14 +0000 dougal 211617@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@IWRATS Who couldn't appreciate a link to Bolt Science? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211610 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:47:05 +0000 ivangrozni 211610@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Haha @IWRATS - I'll take that as a compliment! </p> <p>And after having cycled from Aberdeen to Edinburgh with a sheared pannier bolt on a fully-laden bike - yes I do appreciate your link! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211609 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:46:06 +0000 chdot 211609@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@ivangrozni glad you got this thread started!</p> <p>(And adding important info!) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211606 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:27:04 +0000 I were right about that saddle 211606@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@ivangrozni</p> <p>Fantastic, thanks. You strike me as someone who might appreciate <a href="http://www.boltscience.com/pages/info.htm">this.</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211605 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:12:38 +0000 ivangrozni 211605@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>"Naive question - would the sort of forces and stresses experienced by the bearings in a bicycle frame really require specifically magic grease formulations?"</em></p> <p>I'm no tribologist so I may be well wide of the mark but I'll try to answer! When selecting greases there are a number of considerations: speed, temperature, load carrying ability, protection against corrosion, miscibility etc. To address these considerations you can play with the choice of thickener, the base oil and various additives. </p> <p>Choice of thickener - as cycling is a low speed application you don't want a grease that is too thick but similarly you don't want it to run right out od the bearing! For cycling you want to also consider how the thickener behaves at low temperatures (below zero) - you want it to still be able to leach out the lubricating oil! If the load is such that you need a thicker consistency this will affect its performance - to get around this there are load-enhancing additives that are £££ but entirely unnecessary for cycling - load is not really a limiting factor for us!</p> <p>Base oil viscosity is usually selected based on speed and bearing size - for cycling I don't think we have anything that requires anything fancy. </p> <p>Additives are of particular interest for us because with cycling you will get water ingress - so you want rust inhibiting additives. You also want an additive that stops the grease being washed out by water! This is why I recommended the trailer axle grease for marine applications! A lot of cycling greases also use friction-reducing additives such as Teflon. </p> <p>The Italians I mentioned were probably trying to minimise friction as much as they could by using a grease that was not too thick but still matched the viscosity requirements. I guess the grease probably had special anti-friction, load-enhancing additives and silly temperature range (very low to very high!)</p> <p><em>"Would an "average" bicycle-shaped-object notice if someone used some vaseline?</em><br /> Initially probably not - I don't know what the lubrication properties of Vaseline are but I suspect that it is not a true grease - having a soap and oil. A grease is not what lubricates the bearing but rather the oil that is leeched out of the soap or thickener. With Vaseline I think we may be stuck purely with a very viscous lubricant - so high friction. Also I suspect it will react poorly to water ingress - therefore after a few weeks riding in a wet and salty Scottish winter the bearing would start to be affected by corrosion and potentially the Vaseline may be washed out by water! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211604 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:58:47 +0000 I were right about that saddle 211604@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@kaputnik</p> <p>Vaseline isn't a grease - that's an emulsion of soap and oil where Vaseline is petroleum jelly. Grease is supposed to shear under load to have an oil-like viscosity yet stay in place when not under stress. I think Vaseline would have a bit more drag.</p> <p>I'm not aware of any cataysis by mineral soaps or oils. You may be thinking of anti-seize which is vital where steel meets alloy. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211603 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:51:46 +0000 I were right about that saddle 211603@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I use a big tub of <a href="http://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/fusionpds.nsf/files/c0d701ced8c690b480257796002fef7b/$file/lm.pdf">Castrol LM.</a></p> <p>One thing to note - anti-seize is not grease. I've come across hubs packed with Copaslip before. This isn't a good idea as it isn't really a lubricant. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211599 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:29:56 +0000 wingpig 211599@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have some red stuff from a tube and some white stuff from a tub. Tend to use the red stuff for bearings and the white stuff for threads. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211597 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:14:38 +0000 kaputnik 211597@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Naive question - would the sort of forces and stresses experienced by the bearings in a bicycle frame really require specifically magic grease formulations?</p> <p>I seem to recall the Bicycle Works recommending a big tub of marine grease at one point when asked what sort of grease to use.</p> <p>I'm still going through a big tube of generic white grease I bought at the Bike Chain about 5 or 6 years ago. I'd have gone back for more sooner if it wasn't still doing the job.</p> <p>Would an "average" bicycle-shaped-object notice if someone used some vaseline?</p> <p>Vaguely recall that some specific grease formulations should (or should not) be used when it's not just steel-on-steel to prevent a catalytic reaction. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211594 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:09:40 +0000 steveo 211594@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>Don't think we've had a thread on this.</em></p> <p>I'm shocked we've had <em>everything </em>else!</p> <p>I always just use generic white teflon grease big tube last years with my maintenance regime...</p> <p>Next time I'm out I'll look for the trailer stuff, don't think I'll experiment with aerospace stuff though! :D </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211592 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 11:59:34 +0000 ivangrozni 211592@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I actually work for a bearing company - there are legends of Italian colleagues (permanently) borrowing aerospace-grade grease (€100+ for a tube) from test rigs for use on their racing bikes. Not convinced it would have made much of a difference..... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16048#post-211588 Wed, 10 Feb 2016 11:44:00 +0000 chdot 211588@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Don't think we've had a thread on this. </p> <p>@Ivangrozni posted on hub thread. </p> <p>"For grease - the usual recommendation is trailer axle grease - you can get it from marine supply shops online. If memory serves me right it was a lot cheaper than bike-specific greases!"</p> <p><a href="http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16044#post-211586" rel="nofollow">http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16044#post-211586</a> </p>