Bearings packed with copper grease ...

bice
bice Posts: 772
edited March 2016 in Workshop
I was out with my cycling club on Sunday and talking in the pub about packing bearings in an old Seventies bike I use for commuting.

The other rider said I should use copper grease! I have never used copper grease for anything other than threads to stop them seizing. Surely, copper grease in bearings would just act as a grinding paste, I said, or clog them up.

He was adamant it would be an excellent idea: the metal particles would be far softer than steel and would help keep the bearings smooth.

It was astonished, but this guy is a very experienced cyclist. What's more he is an engineer. What's the view?

Comments

  • wishitwasallflat
    wishitwasallflat Posts: 2,927
    Copper grease for stuff that doesn't move but you don't want to seize up - normal grease for stuff that moves. Bearings rock-n-roll super web grease.
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Bikes that age are completely arthritic, so he probably has a valid point.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    bice wrote:
    It was astonished, but this guy is a very experienced cyclist. What's more he is an engineer.

    He sounds like a useless engineer, to be fair, and even experienced cyclists can talk utter bollox from time to time. Copper 'grease' is not technically a grease anyway, as it is not designed to lubricate in the way that a 'normal' grease would. It is designed to act as a barrier/anti-sieze compound. Using it to pack bearings would be an excellent way of destroying the bearing in double quick time...
  • bice
    bice Posts: 772
    JGSI wrote:
    Bikes that age are completely arthritic, so he probably has a valid point.

    Ho, ho. Old frames can be very good ... and arthritis affects moving parts.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    maybe the conversation was taken out of context? If you have a pitted cup and cone bearing, you can pack some copper paste and run it for a few miles to polish off the pitted areas. Then you wash everything off with petrol and repack with proper grease. I had access to silica for chromatography, that mixed with grease does the job better, but copper paste is an alternative
    left the forum March 2023
  • bice
    bice Posts: 772
    Now that does sound possible. I don't think the context was wrong but he may well have assumed that all 30-49 year old bikes would be run-down and neglected and therefore this would be a solution. He DID refer to pitted ball bearings. But I do not have those. I keep the bike in quite good state. A bit dirty, except the chain, but well maintained.

Categories