Greasy disappointment

wrote:
About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.
...
To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was no
good, pretty much about to cake up.


For what it's worth, many people in the amateur astronomy community
swear that Super Lube is the best stuff you can easily buy--for
telescopes (which get left sitting for long times between use, get used
in both 100+ F and sub-freezing temperatures, and are sensitive to
creeping lubricants) as well as lots of other stuff:
http://www.super-lube.com/greases-ez-44.htm
It's available direct from the manufacturer, or from many retailers
online as well as brick-and-mortar places.

The reason they claim it's so good is that it's very difficult to get it
to separate. Greases are a liquid base and a solid lubricant; what
happens with most greases is that the two will naturally separate over
time (like you said, what grease was still left in the hub, was caked
up). Most cheap greases separate quite badly if left sitting still; they
depend on motion to keep them mixed. The liquid base and solid
lubricants in Superlube are very resistant to this separation.

I haven't tried it (for a bike or telescope) but then I haven't gotten
around to tearing down my telescope and relubing it this year, either.
I'll probably get some SuperLube for that, just because the opinion
online is so unanimous.

There are a few other industrial greases mixed similarly to what
Superlube uses, but they cost quite a bit more for smaller quantities
than the Superlube stuff does.
~

On Dec 29, 6:04*pm, wrote:
About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. *Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.

Had some time over the holidays, decided it was a good time for
overhaul, decided to open up the aforementioned hubs even though I
didn't think they really needed it.

To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. *Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was no
good, pretty much about to cake up.

Now before you say grease must have washed out, this bike has never
seen water. *No rain or washes.

Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've seen,
but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. *I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. *Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.

I've pretty much concluded that Phil Wood grease is better than white
lithium (the stuff that we used back in the 80s), but not by much. *As
soon as I find a better grease that doesn't cost an outrageous amount
I'm going to stop using that green gunk, at least in my hubs.

Phil does seem kinda 'dry', that is, like jello instead of 'grease'.
It doesn't seem very 'sticky'. Pedros synthetic seems like it works
well but I also use boat bearing grease(blue) gotten at the local
hardware store, probably the best. Don't ever use black/dark brown
grease even if it is cheap. Cannot tell if it's dirty by looking at
it.

On Dec 30, 7:15*am, Qui si parla Campagnolo
wrote:
On Dec 29, 6:04*pm, wrote:



About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. *Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.

Had some time over the holidays, decided it was a good time for
overhaul, decided to open up the aforementioned hubs even though I
didn't think they really needed it.

To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. *Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was no
good, pretty much about to cake up.

Now before you say grease must have washed out, this bike has never
seen water. *No rain or washes.

Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've seen,
but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. *I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. *Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.

I've pretty much concluded that Phil Wood grease is better than white
lithium (the stuff that we used back in the 80s), but not by much. *As
soon as I find a better grease that doesn't cost an outrageous amount
I'm going to stop using that green gunk, at least in my hubs.

Phil does seem kinda 'dry', that is, like jello instead of 'grease'.
It doesn't seem very 'sticky'. Pedros synthetic seems like it works
well but I also use boat bearing grease(blue) gotten at the local
hardware store, probably the best. Don't ever use black/dark brown
grease even if it is cheap. Cannot tell if it's dirty by looking at
it.

I consider that a positive attribute. You wear white pants to the
Chinese buffet?

landotter wrote:
On Dec 30, 7:15�am, Qui si parla Campagnolo
wrote:
On Dec 29, 6:04�pm, wrote:



About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. �Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.
Had some time over the holidays, decided it was a good time for
overhaul, decided to open up the aforementioned hubs even though I
didn't think they really needed it.
To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. �Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was no
good, pretty much about to cake up.
Now before you say grease must have washed out, this bike has never
seen water. �No rain or washes.
Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've seen,
but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. �I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. �Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.
I've pretty much concluded that Phil Wood grease is better than white
lithium (the stuff that we used back in the 80s), but not by much. �As
soon as I find a better grease that doesn't cost an outrageous amount
I'm going to stop using that green gunk, at least in my hubs.
Phil does seem kinda 'dry', that is, like jello instead of 'grease'.
It doesn't seem very 'sticky'. Pedros synthetic seems like it works
well but I also use boat bearing grease(blue) gotten at the local
hardware store, probably the best. Don't ever use black/dark brown
grease even if it is cheap. Cannot tell if it's dirty by looking at
it.

I consider that a positive attribute. You wear white pants to the
Chinese buffet?

if you go to a good one here in sf, sure.

but i think peter makes a very good point - and there's a lot to be said
for grease in tubes rather than tubs - it stays clean.

DougC wrote:
wrote:
About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.
... To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was no
good, pretty much about to cake up.


For what it's worth, many people in the amateur astronomy community
swear that Super Lube is the best stuff you can easily buy--for
telescopes (which get left sitting for long times between use, get used
in both 100+ F and sub-freezing temperatures, and are sensitive to
creeping lubricants) as well as lots of other stuff:
http://www.super-lube.com/greases-ez-44.htm
It's available direct from the manufacturer, or from many retailers
online as well as brick-and-mortar places.

The reason they claim it's so good is that it's very difficult to get it
to separate. Greases are a liquid base and a solid lubricant; what
happens with most greases is that the two will naturally separate over
time (like you said, what grease was still left in the hub, was caked
up). Most cheap greases separate quite badly if left sitting still; they
depend on motion to keep them mixed. The liquid base and solid
lubricants in Superlube are very resistant to this separation.

I haven't tried it (for a bike or telescope) but then I haven't gotten
around to tearing down my telescope and relubing it this year, either.
I'll probably get some SuperLube for that, just because the opinion
online is so unanimous.

There are a few other industrial greases mixed similarly to what
Superlube uses, but they cost quite a bit more for smaller quantities
than the Superlube stuff does.
~

interesting. but confusing. silicones are notorious for creep and
contamination, so were lubing a telescope, i'd want to be dead sure i
got the right stuff, /and/ that their separation practices in factory
were sufficient.

On Dec 30, 11:11*am, jim beam wrote:
landotter wrote:
On Dec 30, 7:15 am, Qui si parla Campagnolo
wrote:
On Dec 29, 6:04 pm, wrote:

About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.
Had some time over the holidays, decided it was a good time for
overhaul, decided to open up the aforementioned hubs even though I
didn't think they really needed it.
To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was no
good, pretty much about to cake up.
Now before you say grease must have washed out, this bike has never
seen water. No rain or washes.
Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've seen,
but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.
I've pretty much concluded that Phil Wood grease is better than white
lithium (the stuff that we used back in the 80s), but not by much. As
soon as I find a better grease that doesn't cost an outrageous amount
I'm going to stop using that green gunk, at least in my hubs.
Phil does seem kinda 'dry', that is, like jello instead of 'grease'.
It doesn't seem very 'sticky'. Pedros synthetic seems like it works
well but I also use boat bearing grease(blue) gotten at the local
hardware store, probably the best. Don't ever use black/dark brown
grease even if it is cheap. Cannot tell if it's dirty by looking at
it.

I consider that a positive attribute. You wear white pants to the
Chinese buffet?

if you go to a good one here in sf, sure.

but i think peter makes a very good point - and there's a lot to be said
for grease in tubes rather than tubs - it stays clean.- Hide quoted text -

Which is why I use tubes. But on another issue, I bought some auto
wheel bearing grease (can't remember the brand, but I still have the
can), and it was very specific about what cars it could be used on.
For example, it could not be used on Lincolns or some other domestic
brand. Is there some ingredient in these greases that eats rubber or
something, or is there some reason for not using a particular wheel
bearing grease on a bike? -- Jay Beattie.

On Dec 30, 7:47*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
On Dec 30, 11:11*am, jim beam wrote:



landotter wrote:
On Dec 30, 7:15 am, Qui si parla Campagnolo
wrote:
On Dec 29, 6:04 pm, wrote:

About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.
Had some time over the holidays, decided it was a good time for
overhaul, decided to open up the aforementioned hubs even though I
didn't think they really needed it.
To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was no
good, pretty much about to cake up.
Now before you say grease must have washed out, this bike has never
seen water. No rain or washes.
Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've seen,
but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.
I've pretty much concluded that Phil Wood grease is better than white
lithium (the stuff that we used back in the 80s), but not by much. As
soon as I find a better grease that doesn't cost an outrageous amount
I'm going to stop using that green gunk, at least in my hubs.
Phil does seem kinda 'dry', that is, like jello instead of 'grease'.
It doesn't seem very 'sticky'. Pedros synthetic seems like it works
well but I also use boat bearing grease(blue) gotten at the local
hardware store, probably the best. Don't ever use black/dark brown
grease even if it is cheap. Cannot tell if it's dirty by looking at
it.

I consider that a positive attribute. You wear white pants to the
Chinese buffet?

if you go to a good one here in sf, sure.

but i think peter makes a very good point - and there's a lot to be said
for grease in tubes rather than tubs - it stays clean.- Hide quoted text -

Which is why I use tubes. *But on another issue, I bought some auto
wheel bearing grease (can't remember the brand, but I still have the
can), and it was very specific about what cars it could be used on.
For example, it could not be used on Lincolns or some other domestic
brand. *Is there some ingredient in these greases that eats rubber or
something, or is there some reason for not using a particular wheel
bearing grease on a bike? -- Jay Beattie.

More likely that your tub of grease contains an ingredient which
reacts adversely with some ingredient in the Lincoln et al factory
grease. -- Andre Jute

On Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:47:06 -0800, Jay Beattie wrote:

On Dec 30, 11:11Â*am, jim beam wrote:
landotter wrote:
On Dec 30, 7:15 am, Qui si parla Campagnolo
wrote:
On Dec 29, 6:04 pm, wrote:

About six months ago I overhauled my Shimano XT hubs with Phil Wood
grease. Packed new bearings with very liberal amounts of the green
goo.
Had some time over the holidays, decided it was a good time for
overhaul, decided to open up the aforementioned hubs even though I
didn't think they really needed it.
To my surprise, the bearings and races were BONE DRY. Plenty of
grease had shifted over to the "untraveled" parts, but it too was
no good, pretty much about to cake up.
Now before you say grease must have washed out, this bike has never
seen water. No rain or washes.
Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've
seen, but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.
I've pretty much concluded that Phil Wood grease is better than
white lithium (the stuff that we used back in the 80s), but not by
much. As soon as I find a better grease that doesn't cost an
outrageous amount I'm going to stop using that green gunk, at least
in my hubs.
Phil does seem kinda 'dry', that is, like jello instead of 'grease'.
It doesn't seem very 'sticky'. Pedros synthetic seems like it works
well but I also use boat bearing grease(blue) gotten at the local
hardware store, probably the best. Don't ever use black/dark brown
grease even if it is cheap. Cannot tell if it's dirty by looking at
it.

I consider that a positive attribute. You wear white pants to the
Chinese buffet?

if you go to a good one here in sf, sure.

but i think peter makes a very good point - and there's a lot to be
said for grease in tubes rather than tubs - it stays clean.- Hide
quoted text -

Which is why I use tubes. But on another issue, I bought some auto
wheel bearing grease (can't remember the brand, but I still have the
can), and it was very specific about what cars it could be used on. For
example, it could not be used on Lincolns or some other domestic brand.

possible. different seal materials. notably, the expensive seals are
tolerant of more lube types - so what you say prejudices me even more
against domestic garbage than i am already.


Is there some ingredient in these greases that eats rubber or something,
or is there some reason for not using a particular wheel bearing grease
on a bike? -- Jay Beattie.

depends on the seal. i've not seen any seal material issues with bike
stuff.

On 12/29/2008 7:24 PM John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

On Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:15:30 -0800 (PST), landotter
wrote:

On Dec 29, 7:04 pm, wrote:

Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've seen,
but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.
Get the cheapest tub that Autozone has on sale. I have a half used tub
of "Coastal" black grease that I got for $3 a couple years ago. Smells
like a brake shop and the grease stays put. Bike bearings do not need
fancy grease--just a good amount, and proper adjustment.

Yeah, I use something similar from an auto shop -- "Lubrimatic Marine
Grease" or something.

Dang. I'll buy anything with the word "lubrimatic" in its name. Makes me
feel both tempted and frightened at the same time.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"
Bend, Oregon

On Dec 30, 2:14*pm, Mike Rocket J Squirrel
wrote:
On 12/29/2008 7:24 PM John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:



On Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:15:30 -0800 (PST), landotter
wrote:

On Dec 29, 7:04 pm, wrote:

Please recommend a decent grease for hubs that's better than Phil.
I'd use the Shimano grease, it's pretty much the best stuff I've seen,
but that stuff costs over $10 for 5 oz. *I have 5 bikes, all
functional, i.e. ready to ride. *Don't want to go broke on grease
alone.
Get the cheapest tub that Autozone has on sale. I have a half used tub
of "Coastal" black grease that I got for $3 a couple years ago. Smells
like a brake shop and the grease stays put. Bike bearings do not need
fancy grease--just a good amount, and proper adjustment.

Yeah, I use something similar from an auto shop -- "Lubrimatic Marine
Grease" or something.

Dang. I'll buy anything with the word "lubrimatic" in its name. Makes me
feel both tempted and frightened at the same time.

Sorta Popeil-y, ain't it?