Grease for hub service? Is this ok?

lvquestpaddler

Plan to strip down the old deore hubs I have to see how the cup and cones etc are doing. The outcome of this will determine whether I need new wheels but, if all is ok I plan to rebuild the hubs with new bearings. I've got some grease in the shed which is

(Tractor grade!!!) CLAAS -Multipurpose lithium EP2 grease- contains EP additives for bearings under heavy loads and high pressures and temperatures.

Can This be used in a deore hub or do i need to buy some tiny tubes of super expensive bike specific grease from the LBS?
Seems to fit the criteria for a hub? :?

Andy B

I'd use a Teflon grease, Lithium grease can dry out.

D-Cyph3r

I've been using Rock-n-Roll Super web for bearings lately, good stuff so far and not stupidly expensive.

cooldad

Plain old bearing grease from Halfords. The car side, not the bike side.

Deputy Dawg

Sure it'll work. You may need to service your hub a bit more often than if you used a teflon grease is all.

lvquestpaddler

Just stripped the front hub all looks ok, gave it a good clean no signs of any wear and no pitting so put it back together with the EP2. Plan to do this every year now so will see how the grease fares...

Andy!

I use Weldtite Bike grease with teflon. £3.99 a tube from CRC and will last you ages.

£9.99 if you get the pack with a grease gun which is very handy to have.

cavegiant

I use two main greases, slick honey for inside suspension, finish line ceramic grease for everything else.

The cermaic grease is just a better version of teflon grease, It is AMAZINGLY water resistant with a low surface energy.

A bit more expensive, but worth it in the long run.

lithium grease can damage some parts, just struggling to remember which. I think it is rubber or plastic...

edjo

the grease you have is fine...it just needs to be kept an eye on and i'd service every 6months so that when you go into winter they've just been done and have a fresh seal to keep them running.

as for lithium greases damaging rubber / plastic, the oil within the grease is the issue and this is the case for many greases. as pao and ester have opposite affects on rubber / plastics, they are usually balanced so that there's a minimum affect...cavegiant, this is why the lubricating oil in the Finish Line Ceramic grease is made up of both these fluid types...

desweller

The stuff you've got will be fine. If you're desperate to change it then get a pot of this:

Comma bearing grease

If there's no damage to the bearings or races then don't replace them, there's no need to do so.

lvquestpaddler

They seem fine so far. I've bought new bearings to put in them too to help prolong their life. Must admit have been a bit naive/complacent regarding hub maintenance thinking deore seals must be superb compared to the OE M475 hubs that were on the original bike...how wrong I was.
I've two sets of wheels I've serviced, both have issues with wear and split seals etc. Thankfully one set is fine cup and cone wise, will replace the bearings and steal a dust seal from the other wheel which is shot to replace the split one at the front end.
One set is going to end up either on a rat bike/winter wreck made up of spares, and the other will be set number two(road) as I've just spanked the credit card for new DT x1800 wheels and 595 Deore brakes from Merlin(£300 down from £600? Well...how could I resist!!! )
The deore/aci/x455 wheels aint bad, I may attempt replacing the front hub and do the spokes to plain gauge DT, and the back wheel is ok bar breaking brake side spokes continuously. Having read the thread on wheels this seems to be slacker rather than tight spokes(breaking at bend in the hub always) I may get new PG spokes and redo them all too one by one without taking the wheel to bits....

Andy!

shimano hubs can sometimes come with quite a worrying low amount of grease from new.

Furry Mommy

Mmmmm....I've been reading a few articles of what greases to use for hubs, headset etc and while I have my own opinions even I do get a little confuddled over which greases are best for which job.

So I'll just use the product names not to disparage the companies but for ease of description and get on with it.

Generally I use the Weldtite white Lithium Grease for most jobs including hubs and headsets, while I am aware that this grease can (and does) emulsify with water ingress and can dry out after prolonged periods but I use the first "issue" as a guideline of when it is time to re-build the hubs - even though I tend to strip the hubs every 6 months or so due to the mileage I tend to do, so normally resolves the second "issue".

The Weldtite red Teflon Grease I have used in the past again for both hubs and headsets but I have found that this really does not have the required viscosity for these jobs where longevity is required, especially in moving parts that do get warm - seems to leak out that bit more than the white grease. Though on moving parts that tend to get removed/cleaned/re-greased on a regular basis or are completely static that do not get that warm it seems to work great such as derailleur jockey wheels, as these get re-greased every other chain clean/scrub.

I have even used on occasions molybdenum disulphide grease for bearings due to its high temperature, high viscosity but the expense never really seemed to justify its use for bicycles, so I leave that for the spring air rifles nowadays though it did work very well.

As to static items on a bike, well it has to be copper slip (of one variety or another) but stick to the tubs from motoring suppliers as it is far cheaper than the tubes you can get from bike shops - though do be warned it can increase the dissimilar metal reaction due to its increased electrical conductivity, especially for some dynamo systems that use the frame as a negative/earth conductor.

OK non of this is scientifically proven, just from what I have been doing for 30 odd years as both an engineer and as a cyclist - there are all sorts of grease out there for all sorts of jobs/conditions but generally the lithium based cycle grease is more than suitable for nearly every job I need on a bike with the caveat as long as your maintenance interval is correct - hubs every 6 months, headsets every 12 months, jockey wheels every 3 months/every other chain clean (all dependant on mileage & conditions).

Furry Mommy

I did forget to add - find a nice friendly vet's and ask nicely to buy some 50ml syringes as these are great for a cheaper grease applicator that those you can purchase from you LBS.

journey_man_pro

Morris lubricants k99 water proof marine grease is what I use, mainly as its free from work.