hey @Dave_Rome and anyone else with thoughts: who’s used any non-petroleum-based greases on their bikes? For all greasey purposes. Effectvieness, longevity, flavour etc. Thanks!
1 Like
I would be keen to hear of any recommended functional eco alternatives in the bike workshop in general.
I.e. workshop towels, degreasers, detergents etc
1 Like
Old clothing, bedsheets etc. can make for great workshop towels.
3 Likes
Yep, agreed. And in the absence of any textile recycling schemes near me it’s about the only thing I can do with old clothes that are too far gone to donate. A piece of soft cotton t-shirt makes the ultimate workshop towel.
1 Like
I tried bacon grease but got chased by dogs
5 Likes
This is definitely a tricky question. Often I find biodegradable claims to be a bit dubious. Finish Line has a new “Boosted” product line that claims to be plant-based but they don’t even say what plant derivatives are being used. I think it’s usually soy.
I’ve been trying it out as an everyday grease in some applications and it’s fine. Great to ease installation and maybe in some higher-rpm sealed bearings. However it is only NGLI 1 viscosity so I haven’t been liking it for coating and weatherproofing applications such as on headset bearing surfaces or in a loose-ball system. It also seems to separate a bit over time and needs to be re-mixed.
Pre-covid, I tried two different Bio-based greases and never got comfortable with either of them. My predominate observed issue was a thinning of the grease over a short period of time. The other concerns were with grease stability issues particularly with heat and known oxidative instability with vegetable based lubricants.
I have a significant investment in my bikes, components & bearings and made the decision to ditch the bio-grease in favor of a known quantity. I’m comfortable with that choice. I try to make conscious environmental decisions, but for me, vegetable-based lubricants have not reached prime time yet.
1 Like
I mean, how much are we really using?
Is quantity of application your question?
The average person rarely actually uses new grease. The bio alternatives are not sufficiently rated. I just don’t think it’s worth the bother.
I tried Muc Off Bio Grease once and it was by far the worst grease I have ever used! Bio, eco or fully-environementally-nasty, I don’t rate Muc Off products very highly to begin with, but this was almost comically bad! One wet ride or one cleaning and the grease was gone from the bike.
It did smell nice though, very fruity… and it’s red, maybe it’s not actually grease but strawberry jam… but I think jam would be better as a bike grease.
2 Likes
Former chemist here… for most of us a tube of grease lasts years and years. Whatever environmental benefits might come from non-petroleum grease are probably more than offset by decreased part life span. I would recommend avoiding forever chemicals and emphasizing longevity of parts.
3 Likes