How & Where To Use Grease, Lubricant & Threadlock On Your Mountain Bike – The Complete Guide

Making sure your bike is clean, lubed and greased is vital for ensuring longevity of your components - but it can be confusing with the amount of different lubes and greases out there.

Also, it can be confusing where you should be using grease; assembly compounds and thread locks. So here’s our guide to the different options out there, and where you should use them…

Depending on the level of bike maintenance you plan on doing, there are a few basics that everyone should have in their collection:

- Water Displacer
- Chain lube
- General spray lube
- Grease

Water displacer is ideal for use after a wet ride or following cleaning your bike; to drive out the water from small moving parts like the chain. It’s also ideal to use on things like the cleats on your shoes to stop them from rusting.

Chain lube is the best thing for your transmission. Pick one that suits the conditions you ride in - more on that in a minute though.

The spray lube can get lube in to places that chain lube can’t go - like brake lever pivots; and the mechanisms on clipless pedals. Although you can use spray lube on your chain, it’s thin viscosity means it won’t stay in place as well as a dedicate chain lube.

Grease is a necessary essential for helping keep water away from moving parts like bearings, and for use when assembling certain bike parts.

Don't forget to let us know your thoughts down in the comments, subscribe to GMBN Tech and share this video!

Music:
Andreas Jamsheree - Lifestyle
Andreas Jamsheree - Load It Up

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[gmbntech]

Here's our complete guide to grease, lubricant, threadlock. Don't forget to share this one!

[hellcat]

great video, seriously you guys are awesome. I've always been mechanically inclined (maintenance electrician by trade, car junkie since forever) but when i got back into mountain biking i needed a resource for bike specific maintenance. You and your team produce excellent videos and very informative, I find working on my bike super easy (which is part of why i love doing the maintenance myself) but i still need a resource to lean on for specific information and you guys are bar none the best on the internet!

[dylanprovan]

Nice vid Doddy! But I was here mostly to find out what grease you use to do your hair.

[robd]

Can't believe no one has chipped in with "I use 3 in 1 oil for *everything* on my bike and its still going strong after 30

[archetypex]

Best spray lubricant is CRC silicone. 100% pure silicone lubricant no petroleum distillates. It's about five bucks and can works on every single pivot point and moving part on a bicycle. it also is incredibly useful for keeping rubber parts from drying out and can be a short-term water-resistant application on your clothing and shoes. 👍

[tommyestrada]

One comment about lubing the chain, I was taught a long time ago that the best way to lube your chain, was to do it after you got done riding, lube the chain really well then leave it, and before you go riding next time just take a rag to it, to clean off the excess. The lube has plenty of time to work its way into the rollers that way.

[chrlmn]

Dear sir, you do the very best tech-videos, I have come over this far! So please receive my warm and a very big THANK to you sir, for taking your time to instruct us with excellent insights and "how-to´s", and to enlight us in the many mysteries of taking the best care of our, often very expensive and loved MTB:s in order to make them working well when riding far from our homes! Wishing you and your team, a very good and happy new year 2018 and with all safe and many happy rides! /Best Regards from Sweden!

[thos]

Finally I don't have to bother friends and people around the internet anymore when I want to grease/clean something. Thank you for this video, I was really looking forward to it!

[frankyjager]

Nice video, as a new bike rider, super useful information.
Just a correction about Wd40 , it is not conductive.. far from it, it as a dielectric (isolation) strength of about 40 000 volts.

[Iheartdgd]

This is great video, very informative. Thanks Doddy and GMBN crew.
Don’t cut corners guys, keeping your bike lubed is very important.

[staceyfletcher]

Kid: sprays wd40 degreaser on his chain
Me: what you doin?
Kid: lubing my chain
🤨

[edmo]

it would be great if you guys were allowed by your sponsors to provide in depth similar products guidance . bike tagged products are expensive, and most have similar. bike world didn't invented those suplies. it would be good to let people know float fluid is synthetic gear oil (much thicker than silicon btw), also make people aware that generic grease is calcium or lithium based NLG-2 grease and they have differences. there are premium grease that stays there for longer, are more stable under bearings load or better water resistant, but any calcium based nlg2 will be pretty water resistant. suspension grease is just NLG1 grease (thinner). this was a good what is what video but I'm pretty sure your audience deserves a second more in depth grease video. grease is a science by itself and nobody better than Doddy to make it.

[stubblywillbert]

Great video guys, Would like to see a video on how to diagnose fix/replace rear suspension pivot bearings.. how are they fixed in the frame?
Also a video on how to upgrade the rear shock. Thank you

[rjuiszu]

Bummer I got that Finish Line Premium grease and didn't know Teflon was bad for carbon. Glad I saw this video.

[ledfeneri]

Just a tip, i use syringe for applying grease

[juhotuho]

I don't really care about bikes but was lookin for a general lubricant guide

And I found this very helpful 👍

[onsight]

you'll notice if your brake lever falls off ! 😂 love it
another Great vid Doddy 🤘

[doomweaver]

Smoove chain lube is awesome wet and dry and its longevity on the chain is incredible it makes all the others on the market look pretty poor and I've tested them in terms of chain wear and how much you have to apply and the price of it.

[ugoilgabbiano]

Is a how to ( and how often) service frame pivots scheduled any time soon? It will be very much appreciated! Thanks doddy, wonderful video.

[CofFDnSnaps]

Very helpful for us home mechanics. Nothing worse than buying something you think you need only to misuse it and cause damage or not need it and waste time and money.