What grease to use in rear hub rebuild?

[surreypete]

Hi, whilst my cassette is off and I'm sorting out the spokes in my rear wheel I thought I would strip, clean and regrease the rear bearings in my Cannondale, Coda hub.

I cleaned everything out, checked for signs of wear and everything seems good, I want to regrease the ball bearings and rollers before I put everything back together.

The question I ask is, I have a tub of car grease, Castrol LM that I use for doing car wheel bearings and was wondering if it's suitable for use in the rear hub or should I get a bike specific grease?

Cheers.

[tino]

Hi surreypete i recomended this .
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/CM400B00-Phil+Wood+Grease.aspx.
i used this grease and works great

[Joe_W]

I used generic bearing grease (got a small amount from our university's mech workshop) but recently bought grease by Dynamics

[DaveM]

There's probably some reasons bike specific grease is better under certain situations. But auto bearing grease is good quality and will work fine.

[KC-Steve]

(03-10-2010, 10:52 AM)surreypete Wrote:  . . . I cleaned everything out, checked for signs of wear and everything seems good, . . .

OOPS! I just looked at the date of your post! Sorry. The info below might help others though.
(^^ )

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Hi Pete,

It's not often I get a chance to help you because you are very knowledgeable about bikes.

But I do have a photo of recent freewheel rebuild that shows wear and tear on the bearing cones. But what isn't apparent in the photo is that the camera lens is telephoto (magnified) and those defects are quite small to see, especially for those of us over 40 yrs old to see.

When I first saw those defects I thought maybe it was writing (didn't make sense, writing on the cone?) until I shot this photo and looked at it closer.

I just thought it might help.

Steve

[trevgbb]

I use this;
http://www.weldtite.co.uk/productdetail/389/pages/lubricants/lithium-grease-tube.aspx
they also have a lot about bike maintenance on the site.
and the pic from KC-Steve shows a badly pitted cone which should be replaced both sides, together with the bearings, as reuse will immediately damage the bearings and the inner bearing cups( if not already damaged) and possibly ruin the hub.
When re-assembling, make sure that the right hand (drive side) locknuts are very tight and carry out final adjustment on the lh side, otherwise the rh cone may screw itself inwards and again ruin the hub.

[xerxes]

Lithium grease is the bog standard grease you get in big tubs at any car spares shop, like this: http://www.nielsencdg.co.uk/acatalog/Comma_Grease_.html, so don't waste your money on small tubes sold by bike shops.

I use it for assembly, threads seatposts etc. to stop them seizing and I use a better and more expensive PTFE/Teflon grease for packing bearings.

[az2008]

Which grease to use is like which religion is true.

I like <a href="http://www.pacifictrailers.com/trailer-wheel-bearing-grease/">Lubrimatic Marine Bearing grease</a>.

My local Lowe's sells it for $3.60 US for a 14 oz cartridge. I push the grease out, into a plastic food container which I cut a whole in the top, and have a brush stuck into it (a brush from the hardware store, used for apply flux to pipes before soldering).

I use a plastic spoon to spoon grease into this <a href="http://www.harborfreight.com/3-oz-mini-grease-gun-93486.html">inexpensive mini-grease gun</a>. I just leave the spoon in my homemade plastic container (for brush-on grease).

I like my setup because it's cheap, and the grease appears to be exactly the same as what Park Tool sells under their own name. Same color and feel. The grease is designed to be submerged in salt water. That's significant protection. I live in a dry climate and would prefer to use Super Lube synthetic grease. It might be lighter with less rolling resistance. But, it's not widely carried around here, and costs 3-4 times more.

If someone doesn't like the mess of my homemade tub and refillable grease gun, Lubrimatic comes in 8-10oz squeeze tubes for about $7 US. And, they sell a <a href="http://www.boatinggearcenter.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_10001_10001_12801_-1_lube">thread-on nozzle for $12</a>. That's like the Finish Line nozzle, but less expensive.

There may be better greases, better applicators, etc. But, I like cheap.

[GeorgeET]

Ye , 10-4 to marine grease. Bel Rey products are very high quality. I use their marine grease on my motorcycle and bicycle bearings.

As per KC Steve old post I just did the hubs on my bikes and the cones had wear similar to your photo. I use a magnifying glass or a visor hood with magnifying lenses. That works great.

Its next to impossible to find replacement cones that fit the axle threads and the seals. For the dealer its cheaper to replace whole wheel.(labor is expensive) You can find a complete axle set but seals may not fit the new cones.

[Jordan300]

I have the spider web crease and it works great. It's one of those things you buy and then just have for a long time. I've had mine for like 3 years. I don't use a lot of it so it lasts forever.