- So walking into a bike shop, it can pretty confusing
with such a vast array of products on the shelves.
And what we're gonna tackle today is lubricants,
greases, and thread locks,
and where and when to actually use them on your bike,
as they are actually specific to each part
and also seasonal too, so let's take a look.
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So firstly, what is grease?
Well it's largely oil based, which makes sense
because it is after all, a lubricant,
and then you add in some thickener.
And what does that do?
Well, it turns into a semi-fluid kind of substance like this
so whilst it's not totally solid,
it's obviously not a liquid.
And then the viscosity of the grease,
so really that's the thickness,
that depends on how much thickener you're adding in.
Logical, right?
Now there are a lot of characteristics
that actually make up grease,
despite the fact that on first look,
it just looks like grease, doesn't it?
And there's three mains ones really to talk about.
Firstly, a level of water resistance.
For us cyclists, pretty important, isn't it?
Because we tend to ride our bike in the rain
a lot here in the UK.
I know some of you rarely see rain.
But at the end of the day, we all wash our bikes,
or though, I at least hope we all do anyway,
so the grease does need to have
a level of water resistance to it.
Secondly is actually the dropping point.
So that's the temperature in which a grease
is no longer a grease, and ends up dripping,
so turning into an oil or a lubricant.
And then finally are additives.
So that'll be things put in
to try and reduce or resist corrosion,
and in some cases, actually try and reduce friction too.
But where are we actually going to use grease on a bike?
Well, the way I like to think of it
is things which don't actually get taken apart that often.
So things like your bottom bracket threads,
if you've got a threaded bottom bracket.
All of your bearings, so particularly cup and cone.
I appreciate that with cartridge bearings,
it's not really that practical
to actually go in there and greases them
but you could still layer grease around them.
Also a brake lever assembly,
so actually those bolts that go through
and clamp the brake levers onto the handlebars.
Now I've taken off some handlebar tape
on people's bikes in the past,
and it's been absolutely disgusting there.
The amount of salt that has come through sweaty hands,
through the bar tape,
and it's almost corroded through bolts there.
So actually, by greasing them,
you gonna do yourself a favour in the long run.
And a final one is seat posts.
Now I'm gonna tackle them more later on,
because there are some special greases to use.
Now what grease to actually choose,
because there is a few different options out there.
But for a bike, go for something medium viscosity really
because will cover all your bearings,
and any jobs you need to use it for,
so any bolts and frames, that kind of thing.
So something like this.
It's pretty good, it's not too thick and it's not too thin.
If it's too thick,
then bearings aren't gonna be able to turn well enough,
and if it's too thin,
then it's not gonna stay around for long.
In the winter though, I actually use a special grease.
So I actually go to a boatyard and buy some marine grease.
Why do I do it?
Well, in the winter, the bikes tend to get more abuse
from riding conditions, and in particular,
salt off of the roads.
So that marine grease tend to stay around
a little bit longer, it does in fact last longer.
Important to remember though, use some gloves,
and also a workshop apron when using that marine grease,
because it's very sticky and very messy
and I've ruined a fair few jumpers, t-shirts, jeans.
I even got some on the carpet once
and got into a lot of trouble, so for your sake,
make sure you don't ruin a carpet, or clothes.
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Now special greases, let's take a look at those.
First, anti-seize or copper paste.
At first, they actually do in fact look like a normal grease
but they are different, and it's not just the colour.
They tend to be either silver or copper in colour,
and that's because, added into the compound of that grease
is actually ground up bits of either nickel or copper
which gives it that colour.
And why does it do that?
Well it's actually to stop those two components
that are being assembled together sticking,
and being a total and utter nightmare
to disassemble months later.
If it's ever happened to you,
you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
So where are you actually gonna use it?
Well it's great for applying to the surface
of two reactive metals.
So think about titanium and aluminium.
So in that case, bottle cage bolts,
perhaps stem bolts if you've got something fancy,
aluminium bottom brackets, pedal threads, that kind of thing.
So what's commonly known as fibre grip across cyclists,
it's not actually a grease as such,
and it's not set out to do the same purpose of a grease.
But what is it?
Well, it's a paste which is slightly tacky to the touch,
and in amongst that paste are actually, in most cases,
tiny little granules of plastic
that are ground up very very fine,
and that is in there to actually create friction, but why?
Well carbon is actually pretty slippery,
and in doing so, people in the past tend to have a tendency
to actually over torque bolts,
and therefore damage those expensive carbon parts.
So by using the fibre grip, it actually takes up
those tolerances slightly, improves the grip,
and in turn, you then don't have to over tighten
your parts and risk damaging them.
Now where are you actually gonna use it?
This one, if you read any internet forums,
is of somewhat of a divided opinion.
But I've spoken to some carbon fibre experts
and luckily, they've agreed with me on this.
Some areas could be,
if you're putting a carbon fibre seat post
into an alloy frame or a carbon frame,
carbon fibre steerer tubes, stems,
bar stem, into faces as well.
Also saddle rails is a very important one,
because they have a tendency to creak,
as well as people over tightening those carbon rails.
And finally, not very common,
but a THM Clavicula crank set because that uses
a carbon fibre spindle, as well as a carbon fibre crank.
And you certainly don't want to over tighten that one.
(upbeat music)
So thread lock, it does exactly what it says on the label,
it locks your threads, but why do you want to do that?
Well, firstly, there's a safety reason behind it.
So think about perhaps your stem bolts
and your disc rotor bolts.
Some manufacturers actually specify that as standard
from the factory, because ultimately,
you don't want those things coming loose.
If they come loose, you are going to know about it,
and it's not necessarily gonna be that pretty.
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Also, derailleur pulley wheel bolts,
that's a place where you can put some thread lock.
You could also it on some other bolts
that have a tendency to come loose.
But bare in mind that if those bolts are coming loose,
actually think about why, because this isn't a miracle cure,
it's not gonna solve it,
and investigate that loose bolt really.
Important to remember though, is to actually
don't mix your thread lock with a grease,
because it won't work.
And also, I personally, I never apply on aluminium bolts,
reason being, aluminium bolt heads are actually quite soft
quite often, depending on the grade of aluminium being used,
and it can round off if over tightened in the first place.
Now some manufacturers, they do actually specify as standard
and I have seen some chain ring bolts like it,
and those chain ring bolts weren't able to be released
without rounding off the heads of those chain ring bolts,
so I would personally avoid it, but ultimately,
stick to what the manufacturer recommends.
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Retaining compounds.
Now we're seeing a lot of bikes these days
with press-fit bottom brackets,
despite quite a few people out there not liking them.
The main reason being actually, is for the creaks.
But with a retaining compound,
you apply that in between the bottom bracket shell,
so the inner side of that, and the bottom bracket cups,
and effectively, it takes up those tiny, small differences
in tolerance between the two components
which, I'm lead to believe,
causes those creaks in the first place.
So by coasting it in that
and then fitting the bottom bracket in,
not only does it help to keep the cups in place,
but it's also, hopefully for you,
remove that annoying creak, give it a go.
(upbeat music)
So lubricants are an area
where there's quite a big bit of confusion actually,
when people walk into a bike shop
and see a whole wall full of different types.
Ultimately, you're gonna use them on your drivetrain,
although you can use them sometimes on cables,
to actually put a few drips in to get a cable
that's not working that well back up to speed,
although it's just a temporary fix to be perfectly honest,
pedals springs, that kind of thing.
But why actually do we need use it?
What's the purpose?
Well, efficiency, so to reduce friction of the drivetrain,
also to reduce wear, and then to reduce corrosion,
so any types of rust.
But what types are there?
Firstly, wet lube, obviously designed for wet weather,
and it's designed to stay on your chain and your drivetrain
in wet weather and doesn't wash off,
which is important for squeak-free riding,
as well as not getting rusty mid-ride.
That can happen, believe it or not,
if you're going for long enough.
The downside of it, to be perfectly honest,
is that a lot of dirt, grime, and dust
does get attracted to it,
so you need to keep a close eye on it
because your drivetrain is gonna wear
at a faster rate than using a dry lube.
Then we've got drive lube for dry conditions,
sounds logical, doesn't it?
Although it's still actually a wet liquid when it comes out.
But basically, if applied properly,
it then dries to leave a film-like covering
over your chain rollers, and it doesn't generally
attract a lot of dirt or dust either.
One thing though to bear in mind
is that if you do get caught out in rain,
then it doesn't hang around for very long
and it washes off pretty easily indeed.
Now there are also some specialist lubricants out there,
such as UFO Drip from CeramicSpeed,
which is applied in exactly the same way
as the previously mentioned lubricants.
However, it is actually really dry to the touch,
and actually it does come at a cost,
but the claims are that there's a reduced drivetrain wear,
and also, a reduced friction, so therefore,
making you go a little bit faster.
And also, there is the good old method of waxing a chain too
which is I did a video on, not that long ago.
Right, so how actually apply chain lubricant?
Firstly, a little tip of mine, this is just my own view
but you may well want to listen carefully.
I never actually use anything from an aerosol can.
Reason being, when you spray it,
you don't have full control of that so it could contaminate,
so it could well go into your disc brakes,
render them useless for a ride,
go onto the rim sidewall, not having great braking
if you're mixing lubricant with brake pads, are we?
So I go for something with a nozzle like this,
that I can actually drip onto the roller of a chain.
But how am I actually gonna do that?
Firstly, make sure you got a really really clean drivetrain,
so nothing on there, you've just washed it,
nice and clean and dry.
And then, find the joining pin
or the split link of the chain,
and get it in about the middle
of the bottom run of the chain,
so that's beneath the chain.
And then just apply a drop, so one single drop
to each and every roller but working backwards,
and then once that original starting point
comes back around, stop applying lubricant.
Then give it probably three or four revolutions backwards
with no lubricant coming out the nozzle,
and then wipe away any excess, and you're good to go.
Right, I hope that's been of use to you,
and I want to know as well,
what grease and what lube do you use,
in the comments down below.
And remember as well to give this video a big thumbs up
and share it with your mates too.
And also, check out the GCN shop,
and for a great video on how to wax your chain,
click just down here.