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  #1  
Old 12-21-2014, 03:35 PM
FastforaSlowGuy FastforaSlowGuy is offline
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White lithium grease for BB?

I was out of my go to "Super Lube" synthetic grease so I threw a tube of WLG into my grease gun and reloaded my CK bottom bracket using their BB injector. seems to have cleaned out the old stuff just fine, but the cranks seem to have quite a bit more drag now. I've not used WLG on my bike before, so I'm wondering if it's just too thick, or if it will break in as I ride.
Thoughts?
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  #2  
Old 12-21-2014, 03:54 PM
LiveFreeOrDie LiveFreeOrDie is offline
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I wouldn't use white lithium grease. I got a tube of this for my DA 7700 BB and it works awesome. Or you can always spend a little more dough and use the Park Tool stuff. Either one is great. The key is to get waterproof/marine grease.
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Old 12-21-2014, 04:03 PM
Cicli Cicli is offline
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Any waterproof grass is fine. Bike specific lube is a expensive way to go. It's nothing special just make sure the parts are clean and you use good lube.
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  #4  
Old 12-21-2014, 04:04 PM
FastforaSlowGuy FastforaSlowGuy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LiveFreeOrDie View Post
I wouldn't use white lithium grease. I got a tube of this for my DA 7700 BB and it works awesome. Or you can always spend a little more dough and use the Park Tool stuff. Either one is great. The key is to get waterproof/marine grease.
I always thought WLG is waterproof.
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  #5  
Old 12-21-2014, 04:10 PM
ultraman6970 ultraman6970 is offline
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Lithium grease is fine, you can't tell about the drag once you are riding. Water proof is a plus big time. I think the campy one is lithium too.
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  #6  
Old 12-21-2014, 04:37 PM
abalone abalone is offline
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Something is wrong with yor bottom bracket. White lithium grease is no more draggy than standard grease. In fact, there should be less drag with the white lithium grease, but not enough for you to tell.
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  #7  
Old 12-21-2014, 04:42 PM
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rccardr rccardr is offline
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I don't know much about white lithium grease, don't use it myself, but recently restored a bike whose previous owner had used it on, in and around every bearing surface: hubs, BB, headset.

I'm assuming what the PO used was just junk, because the headset was quite literally ruined. It took hours to pick out the crumbly remains from 'twixt the balls in the BB races since no solvent I had in The Lab would work on it. All in all, not very satisfactory as a lubricative product.

Obviously not all WLG is made the same, but personally I'm going to stick with Phil or Park.
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  #8  
Old 12-21-2014, 08:39 PM
abalone abalone is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rccardr View Post
I don't know much about white lithium grease, don't use it myself, but recently restored a bike whose previous owner had used it on, in and around every bearing surface: hubs, BB, headset.

I'm assuming what the PO used was just junk, because the headset was quite literally ruined. It took hours to pick out the crumbly remains from 'twixt the balls in the BB races since no solvent I had in The Lab would work on it. All in all, not very satisfactory as a lubricative product.

Obviously not all WLG is made the same, but personally I'm going to stick with Phil or Park.

Phil and Park are just rebranded generic automotive grease.
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Old 12-21-2014, 08:49 PM
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rccardr rccardr is offline
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Any idea whose brand and product?
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  #10  
Old 12-21-2014, 09:35 PM
buldogge buldogge is offline
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I'm not saying it's identical…but…I've found this to be a close alternative:

http://www.autozone.com/greases-and-...se/945653_0_0/

-Mark in St. Louis

Quote:
Originally Posted by abalone View Post
Phil and Park are just rebranded generic automotive grease.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rccardr View Post
Any idea whose brand and product?
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  #11  
Old 12-21-2014, 11:18 PM
zerocool5468 zerocool5468 is offline
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the drag is likely in your head. did you retorque the cranks to spec?
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  #12  
Old 12-22-2014, 12:13 AM
ultraman6970 ultraman6970 is offline
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This is the thing... if the op is expecting to have zero drag when turning the crankset manually using lithium grease, then that is not going to happen. IME feels always like that, later on gets better but 100% new lithium (at least the one I use) in any bb feels like it had some drag. But at the time of riding you cant feel a thing, later one with the use the grease starts getting thinner and smoother.
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  #13  
Old 12-22-2014, 07:03 AM
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oldpotatoe oldpotatoe is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LiveFreeOrDie View Post
I wouldn't use white lithium grease. I got a tube of this for my DA 7700 BB and it works awesome. Or you can always spend a little more dough and use the Park Tool stuff. Either one is great. The key is to get waterproof/marine grease.
Why not?

Grease is oil in 'soap'. Oil if petroleum based is already waterproof(doesn't mix with water). Any grease is fne, for the OP or anything else 'bike'. It's sluggish cuz it's got lotsa of new grease in it.
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  #14  
Old 12-22-2014, 09:01 AM
FastforaSlowGuy FastforaSlowGuy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ultraman6970 View Post
This is the thing... if the op is expecting to have zero drag when turning the crankset manually using lithium grease, then that is not going to happen. IME feels always like that, later on gets better but 100% new lithium (at least the one I use) in any bb feels like it had some drag. But at the time of riding you cant feel a thing, later one with the use the grease starts getting thinner and smoother.
Not expecting zero drag, or even for my CK to spin like those silly ceramic bearings I have in another bike (yes, I can feel a difference while riding, but I'm not at all convinced that feeling is real). It just seemed particularly sluggish. Maybe I packed it tighter than usual or something. I'll double check the torque when I get home - I did the work by flashlight in my garage, so it's possible I misread the wrench.
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  #15  
Old 12-22-2014, 09:52 AM
LiveFreeOrDie LiveFreeOrDie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oldpotatoe View Post
Why not?

Grease is oil in 'soap'. Oil if petroleum based is already waterproof(doesn't mix with water). Any grease is fne, for the OP or anything else 'bike'. It's sluggish cuz it's got lotsa of new grease in it.
No real particular reason, I would just prefer to use something else. I've always thought the viscosity of lithium grease was a little too thin for my taste. I prefer something thicker. On the hand, white lithium grease is cheap and will work fine.
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