Super Sciency Cold Weather Lube Test

Last week a collegue who's name starts with a T and ends with an IM advised me to rebuild my shimano freehub body with Phil Tenacious oil after I mentioned that it had frozen up once on the way to work. I mad a lockring tool on the grinder and followed the instructions over at Icebike.org. Fast forward to today, the temperature upon my departure for the shop was -14F with a windchill of -37F. My freehub body was so sticky I had to walk halfway to work, and didn't dare coast once I finally got it to catch.

I've decided to take advantage of the temperatures and test some different lubricants for freezing point.

Procedure:

I've dumped or dolloped 9 different lubricants onto two metal plates. One will remain inside, the second will sit on the top of the bikeshop dumpster, starting at a temperature of -14,F with a windchill of -37F.

I will check the lubes against the control once an hour to see which stay least viscous, by poking them with a metal pick, or my finger. Very professional, I know.

The Lubricants:

Finishline Teflon Grease:

The standard grease we use in the shop, fairly lightweight, white in color. Seems to work ok on most bearings. I'm generally not too impressed with this grease, it seems to separate easily, and becomes runny in the presence of even the slightest amount of solvent.

Park Polylube 1000:

Green in color, thicker than Finishline Teflon. Seems to be more waterproof/solvent proof, and long lasting. This is what I use when it really counts.

Mag-1 Lithium Grease:

Recommended on the icebike.org freehub rebuild article. Consistancy somewhere between Park and Finishline greases. Vomit colored.

Pedros Chanj Chainlube:

Environmentaly friendly chainlube made without petroleum, for hippies. Seems to work ok during the summer, but a little bit dirty. I dont' have much firsthand experience with it.

Tri Flo:

Smells like bananas. An effective, but absolutely filthy chainlube. Great for squeaky doorhinges. Good all around lubricant/penetrating oil (think: Liquid Wrench substitute).

Finishline Cross Country Lube:

My standby wet weather, long lasting chainlube. Pretty thick, extremely dirty, and fairly long lasting.

Finishline Teflon + Chainlube:

My standby summer/dry weather lube. Works well, fairly clean but needs to be applied often.

Finishline Pro Road Ceramic chainlube:

Extremely dirty, I dont know what this is REALLY meant for, but I certainly wouldn't be putting it on my road bike if I had one. I had to re-do a drive train clean once after accidentally grabbing this bottle instead of the Teflon +. Will turn your entire drive train black in an instant. Tim's has had good luck with this as a winter lube.

Phil Tenacious oil:

Super thick, sticky oil. Magical properties that make it almost invincible. The only oil I would accept as a grease substitute in certain circumstances.

The Test:

Hour 1:

The temperature is now -6F, windchill of -26F.

All three of the greases have gelled. The park grease is the hardest, and is approaching rock consistancy quite quickly. The Finishline teflon grease seems to be doing the best. The cross country is also beginning to get pretty thick. The teflon + actually appears to have ice crystals in it. The Phil Oil is very thick. The marks left in it with the pick are staying visible in the pool of oil. The rest of the chainlubes are have no noticeable changes.

Hour 2:

Temperature: -6F, -23F windchill.

No noticeable changes, except that the Finishline Pro Road Ceramic has begun to gel.

Hour 3:

No changes.

Conclusion:

Much to my surprise the most freeze resistant grease seems to be the Finishline Teflon grease. The Park Polylube seems to be pretty much worthless below zero, unfortunate because this seems to be one of the more waterproof greases I've found. I'm also suprized that the icebike editors have had good luck with the Mag-1, it doesn't seem much better than the Park. Perhaps it softens up quickly with movement. It is, however, less viscous than the Phil Oil. It appears that almost any of these lubes would be more desireable than the Tenacious Oil below freezing. The stuff is great in the summer, really waterproof, but below zero it goes down for the count quickly. I'll be rebuilding my freehub body again using the Finishline Teflon Grease on the pawls, and probably the Mag-1 on the bearings (a thicker grease is necessary to get the 50 1/8” bearings to stay in place while sliding the outer cover over the pawls). I'm guessing the Mag-1 may be a superior in it's water resistance. Perhaps another test...