Do You Need To Bike Grease? (Beginners Guide)
The top priority of any bike owner is to maintain the life span of the bike and keep its performance level at 100%.
This implies taking into consideration every step geared towards the proper running and functioning of your bike.
While there are many ways you can maintain your bike to keep it at its maximum performance level, ranging from regular cleaning and checks, is bike greasing also important?
Yes, it would be best if you biked grease, which is essential to ensure your bike functions properly. Without bike grease, you will likely experience friction with your bearing running roughly and wearing rapidly.
What Are The Uses of Bike Grease?
Grease is a semi-solid liquid made up of lubricants and soap. It is essential in maintaining the efficiency of a bike as its uses can never be overemphasized.
Bike grease plays a key role, not just in providing longevity of the life span of your bike but also in making sure you avoid carrying out unforeseen costly repairs.
It is important to note that grease is typically used for either lubricating moving parts or places where the lubricating oil won’t stay in position and as an assembly aid.
As such, you need to use high-quality grease always. Some of the various uses of bike grease are listed below.
- Grease is used to reduce friction and hence provides less wear and less noise. This, in turn, enables smooth distance rides with reduced drivetrain wear.
- Grease is used in preserving chain rust and breakage. Greasing your bike helps inhibits moisture and other external particles from reaching the iron in the metal, hence protecting the oxidation of the iron, resulting in no rust.
- Grease products keep vital bike components contact-free and prevent them from seizing. The solid lubricant found in anti-seize is designed to resist high temperatures and prevent parts from galling and seizure even under highly stressful environments; copper grease is an anti-seize compound.
- Grease usage protects your bike from corrosion by forming a protective barrier.
- Greases help keep your bike waterproof, acting as sealants to prevent the ingress of water and incompressible materials.
Remember that after you grease your bike, you are expected to wipe off the surface oil, or gunk and dust will stick to it, resulting in an increased chance of your bike experiencing friction and drive wear quickly.
Also, you have to strike a balance between the amount of grease you apply as it is expected not to be under or over the needed quantity.
Can You Use Any Grease On A Bike?
While you can use any grease on your bike, it is essential to remember that your bike has specifications.
And not just any grease can be used on it even if it serves the needed purpose; you have to understand that using the wrong grease on your bike can sometimes be disastrous.
Therefore, before using any bike grease, you have to consider if it will be appropriate for your bike or not.
Also, different parts of your bike would sometimes require different greases; before using a special grease, you have to consider if it suits the bike part you plan on using.
For example, for a bike using ceramic bearings, you must apply safe ceramic grease to avoid causing any damage.
Also, if you are using a carbon fiber bike, you should know that you can’t apply just anyhow grease other than a carbon fiber paste on the seat post.
To achieve maximum performance of your bike, you always have to use the proper bike grease at every given time.
In choosing your bike grease, you should consider the following.
- The cost of the grease.
- The features and specifications of your bike.
- The capacity of the grease to handle high temperatures.
- The water resistivity of the grease.
Can You Use Car Grease For Bikes?
Yes, you can use car grease for bikes. You should remember that greases are designed for different loads and temperatures, and the type of grease you use is essential.
Putting the wrong type of grease can end up causing damage to your bike.
The bearings of your bike operate at a relatively low temperature, and as such, the grease used in cars is not well suited for a bike.
Although the white lithium grease, the most common multipurpose grease, is usually used in bikes, automobiles, and even homes.
It is an effective heavy-duty grease that will withstand extreme temperatures, protect against rust, reduce surface friction, and is water-resistant; white lithium grease is ideal for metal-to-metal surfaces and metal-to-plastic applications.
If you aren’t comfortable using car grease on your bike, you can always use bike-specific grease like the Phil wood grease, a high-quality grease formulated for cycling.
Do I Need To Grease Bike Pedals?
Yes, it would be best if you greased your pedals, maybe not as often as you do to other parts of your bike, but once in a while, you should grease your pedals to maintain the high efficiency of your bike.
Also, depending on the route and how often you ride your bike, particles such as sand and dust can get attached to the threads of your pedals, causing wear and consequently making it more challenging to pedal your bike.
Therefore, greasing your bike pedals is an essential thing to do. A few reasons why you should grease your pedals include:
- It helps prevent galvanic corrosion.
- It gives more comfort when pedaling.
- Smoothens installation.
- Increases durability.
To grease your bike, put some drops of the grease on the joint between your pedal and the crank arm.
Then, try to get the grease on the rotating part going around the spindle, which screws into the crank arm.
If you neglect to grease your pedal over a long period, it is most likely to get damaged and will need a replacement.
What Happens When You Don’t Grease The Bike Chain?
Greasing is one of the essential factors when maintaining your bike’s efficiency and lifespan.
Failure to grease your bike chain over a long period will result in rusting of the chain, thereby hampering the bike’s reliability.
Note there will be a measurable amount lost in the efficiency of a chain with dirt; talk more of a dry chain.
#1. Effects Of Having A Dry Chain Include
- A dry chain will easily snap, consequently dislodging from the sprocket.
- A bike chain lacking grease tends to make a lot of irritating noise, making you uncomfortable while riding.
- A dry bike chain will wear out completely.
Generally, a bike chain grease helps reduce mechanical resistance, increasing your bike performance and delivering a more enjoyable ride.
Therefore, regularly clean and grease your bike chain to attain a top-notch performance.
Can I Use Olive Oil on My Bike Chain?
Yes, you can use olive oil on your bike chain, although this can only be effective for a short time, as the greasing effects of olive oil are temporary.
But in case of an emergency, you can use olive oil other than leaving your bike chain to function dry, which will cause damage to your bike chain in the long run, requiring you to get a new chain for replacement.
Generally, using olive oil on your bike chain will automatically pose your chain to damage, don’t forget that some of these rancid oils can easily cause harm to some metal parts.
As such, you should not consider olive oil as your primary grease, and also, you should wash and re-grease your bike chain with the appropriate bike grease once you are out of your emergency.
Some of the things you should know before using olive oil as your chain grease include:
- Olive oil won’t have the same performance as specialist grease.
- Olive oil lacks the needed viscosity to penetrate.
- As a result, olive oil will probably break down faster.
- Also, olive oil tends to absorb and collect dirt faster.
- Considering the weather, olive oil will quickly solidify in cold weather.
Conclusion
Know that constantly greasing your bike is crucial in always maintaining and keeping your bike fit for use.
We have high-quality grease in the market, and you can always use the one most appropriate for your bike.
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