An absolute solid video - watching from London, UK. Thank you for diving deep into the nitty gritty of bicycle components and doing the real trial and error work to see if we really do need expensive stuff to achieve good results with bicycle related equipment. Much appreciated!
The most detailed explanation on the bearing. Although there are a lot of videos explaining why ceramic bearing is not good for load usage in cycling, there is no one explaining about the lubrication, not to mention grease vs oil. Really awesome.
Great! Bear in mind that friction of bearing and friction of bearing UNDER LOAD are different. Grease/lub aims at reducing friction under load. Those freely spinning crank/jockey wheels/hubs in bike shows sometimes use no grease/lub in the bearing and are misleading
Great video! 2 thumbs up! Looking forward to the next video about ceramic bearings! please compare them with good quality steel bearings and what sort of differences users can expect. My suspicion is that it will be a miniscule difference.
kudos for making such a great video. It would be interesting to know how much faster would someone go with light low friction grease in their hubs compared to a thicker grease - I'd imagine that in real world conditions, the difference would be very very small, but i could be wrong.
You have to do full ceramic or no ceramic to achieve the benefit. IF you use dissimilar materials the harder surface will win out (ceramic) and create deformities along the races. Great video btw! Excited about the next one!
What a amazing video! So much explained, i wonder how long you study for this. Tks a lot Steven! Do you have an idea about when the next episode will come? Congrats for your channel! I never saw something so deeply explained!
I saw that there is an NLGI grade for grease. From 000 to 6 (000 being very fluid and 6 extremely hard). For bottom bracket bearings, the ideal is 00 to 1 if I'm not mistaken.
Hi Sir! I've read a number of comments, didn't find Q&A on where to get bearings with grooves that eliminate need for retainers? Neither have I found Q&A on ideal composition of nano lubricants...commercial brands may differ from country to country, yet...what's the good stuff!? Thanks a lot for your great videos!
Hi oz! Yes, I was referring to bearings for bikes. I believe you explain nano lube composition in ep. 4. Was looking for a product but not certain about it's adequateness. Regs from Spain!
Excellent video as always I'm guessing all the hype about ceramic bearings is actually the lube being used fast but not very good for wet climates and more for the velodrome
Nice video, my tip; When popping your seals off there is a risk of damaging the lip. So pop them off on the outside race not the inside because the outer lip stays static and is not as crucial for sealing.
I have started packing my bottom bracket bearings with marine grease used for boat trailers. Great for longevity as it copes with the wet weather and with the slow rpm of the cranks I have not noticed any extra effort to overcome the extra resistance. The time I save on maintenance is well worth any time I might be losing on my commute :)
+Michael Rush Glad you liked the Vlog Michael. Bike fitting is very controversial and subjective to personal requirements altho maybe covering the basics would be ok? What do I do...Im retired. Worked in the bike industry most of my life,so Oz cycle is my outlet for helping people where possible. :)
Ah, makes sense. I thought your technical skills with bikes were far superior to us mere mortals! Your Vlog's are so well detailed they provide people with average technical skills to have a crack at the more complicated maintenance tasks, which is great. I think even a basic bike fit run through would be fantastic as most weekend/social riders don't need the $400+ bike fit from the quasi biomechanist! Also, a live stream Q & A session on youtube or Facebook would be brilliant. Thanks for all your great work and you seem to young to be retired!
very good video. my bike hubs dont have ant retainers. is that because its a low end bike? £500 bike. could I put retainers in the hubs to get improved performance?
hai oz. super nice video. thankyou for the research! from what i see in the comments section, you recommend the medium greaser like finish line or white lithium. so, how the nano lube? is it better? or is it used together with the medium greaser? or i can use the nano lube alone. because what i get in my local market is only the nano lube for car engine, which is the lube need to be mixed with the engine oil.
Why then Shimano is using usually 9 bearings in rear hub and 10 in front? It's not a mechanical bearing but isn't principle the same? Edit: they are in different sizes, so how this is affecting?
Why are hub grease thick and viscous when this video shows that a thin lubricant is more efficient and causes less friction on the bearings? BTW, skateboarders lub their bearings with thin oil.
A thicker lubricant will remain with the bearings longer where as thinner lube is less friction but will spin out of the bearing quicker. Using a thinner lube will require less time between relubrication.
The notion that lubricants cause friction is totally wrong-minded. Dry clean bearings spin freely, because they have no significant mass, and lubes add a miniscule level of material resisting the spinning. Add the mass of a wheel, or rider, and the lube's very slight internal friction is overwhelmed by the rotational forces, and both oils and greases form critical boundary layers between the metal to metal parts, so things with quality lube are suspended on that thin film. Remove it, and you will soon destroy the bearings from pressure and contamination and corrosion, if not stainless or ceramic. Using quality bearings with adequate lube that is resistant to water contamination provides 99.9% of the friction reduction one can obtain, and dwelling on the anal aspects of hypothetical (read: magical) gains left to wring out of super-duper bearings with super-duper lubes misses the mark by a mile.
Hi great video, but, but, but I have a bike with the wonderful BB30 and have grown tired of of having my factory authorized dealer repair it every 4 to 5 months. Yes it spins great for a while but soon creaks and groans. So taking things into my own hands I repacked them with Molybdenum grease and coated the outsides with Copper grease (heat and water resistant for south Florida conditions) Yes it probably slows the bearing down but I have not had a creek in over 8 months since I have done this. I will deal with the loss of speed and not have to worry if the bike is going to creek every time I take it out....
+Joe Martinello Good move Joe. There is a permanent solution to creaky bb....I will be uploading the video this Wednesday. It may be your solution if it creaks again.
@@stevenleffanue 23 Months and creaking grrrr. . Way better then the 3 or 4 months I was getting with silicone grease. This time I am trying automotive "Disk Brake Grease". I live in South Florida where the average temperature is in the 90's F. My assumption is the greasing is melting in the heat and slowly leaking out. The disk brake grease has a very high melting point. Will update.
Luckily I remember watching your video . use your method to Find out what cause the noise on my bike took me few hrs . Free hub body internal bearings clean & Re grease now no more noise. Thank you very much for sharing.
DO NOT remove the grease from your bearings. The sticktion from grease is negligible as compared to the losses you will get when running a hot and poorly lubricated bearing. The no load spinning bearing test is flawed and shows a lack of understanding of how bearings work and what their intended purpose is.
Completly wrong! You have tested unloaded bearings, while you should have tested them with a LOAD. With a load, the dry bearing will have more friction and last a really short time before failure.
ive been riding road and mountain for 20 years and sometimes the small amount of friction from the grease in the bearing means nothing when u have 29 inch wheels and a fat arse rider. i cant c myself bonking 1 k from the finnish thinking geez i should of cleaned my bearings u might gain 3 watts but the where will be severe. if u wanna save watts clean your drivechain every week lube and pollish everything
DO NOT repeat DO NOT ever use PETROL for degreasing or cleaning ever !!!!!! it is too volatile and it's flash point is very low... Kerosene is very effective and reasonably safe to use out in the open air. there are many degreasers available in spray form, like WD-40. NEVER bring petrol into an enclosed area , garage, home , basement, or place of work when the fumes can escape the approved container. watch videos on the internet on how people set themselves on fire with petrol.
I can't believe I just watched a 21 minute video on bearings. Very good and interesting video. Thank you!
+GC Thank you for that comment GC, that means a lot :)
the only one cycling channel owner that understand mechanics ... keep it up
An absolute solid video - watching from London, UK.
Thank you for diving deep into the nitty gritty of bicycle components and doing the real trial and error work to see if we really do need expensive stuff to achieve good results with bicycle related equipment.
Much appreciated!
Nice schooling me.
I needed to have knowledge about bearings and shafts.
The most detailed explanation on the bearing.
Although there are a lot of videos explaining why ceramic bearing is not good for load usage in cycling, there is no one explaining about the lubrication, not to mention grease vs oil.
Really awesome.
+Adam Queen Glad you liked the details Adam....hope to be able to do the same about ceramic bearings soon.
Never tire of watching your videos.
Dangnably informative vid, Oz.
Great! Bear in mind that friction of bearing and friction of bearing UNDER LOAD are different. Grease/lub aims at reducing friction under load. Those freely spinning crank/jockey wheels/hubs in bike shows sometimes use no grease/lub in the bearing and are misleading
Great information... Thank you for your investigation and sharing!
man you gave me a lot of insight into bearings
Fantastic video. Well explained!!!!
Great video! 2 thumbs up!
Looking forward to the next video about ceramic bearings! please compare them with good quality steel bearings and what sort of differences users can expect. My suspicion is that it will be a miniscule difference.
kudos for making such a great video. It would be interesting to know how much faster would someone go with light low friction grease in their hubs compared to a thicker grease - I'd imagine that in real world conditions, the difference would be very very small, but i could be wrong.
Very, very useful and informative... thanks..!! 👍👍👍
really super detailed informational video..Thanks..
You are the man playa...!!!!!
5:10 BKXC cameo ha ha oz cycle always enjoy your videos too, subscribed recently.
You have to do full ceramic or no ceramic to achieve the benefit. IF you use dissimilar materials the harder surface will win out (ceramic) and create deformities along the races. Great video btw! Excited about the next one!
+Kaylan Gray Yes thats one problem Kaylan.
What a amazing video! So much explained, i wonder how long you study for this. Tks a lot Steven! Do you have an idea about when the next episode will come?
Congrats for your channel! I never saw something so deeply explained!
+Afonso Ramos Got the Tour down under in Janurary so episode 4 prolly Feburary/March,Afonso.
I saw that there is an NLGI grade for grease. From 000 to 6 (000 being very fluid and 6 extremely hard). For bottom bracket bearings, the ideal is 00 to 1 if I'm not mistaken.
For most bottom bracket bearings a medium viscosity grease will do fine.
Very clear. Thank you.
Good Job! Good Stuff! When can we see the episode 4?
+N Garcia Thanx. Yes episode 4 is in the planning but prolly about three months away still.
who makes multi layered bearings for bikes?
Brilliant Information.
I've used Slick 50 PTFE grease on my cup and cone hubs before, it just turned into grey mush.
Hello, great video! Did you make a part 4 video regarding ceramic etc? I can seem to find it. Thanks, Bobby
Not yet Bobby...workn in it :) .
Ok cool. Good luck with it. Your videos are top-notch, and I know how much work goes into them. Well done!
Top stuff
Hi Sir! I've read a number of comments, didn't find Q&A on where to get bearings with grooves that eliminate need for retainers? Neither have I found Q&A on ideal composition of nano lubricants...commercial brands may differ from country to country, yet...what's the good stuff!?
Thanks a lot for your great videos!
Are you refering to bearings for bicycles or another industry?
Hi oz! Yes, I was referring to bearings for bikes. I believe you explain nano lube composition in ep. 4. Was looking for a product but not certain about it's adequateness. Regs from Spain!
What about headset bearings should you go with a thin lubricant like mineral oil or grease.
+Bryan Lewis Grease will keep out dirt and moisture better than oil, Bryan.
thanks.. great explanation
Excellent video as always I'm guessing all the hype about ceramic bearings is actually the lube being used fast but not very good for wet climates and more for the velodrome
Nice video, my tip; When popping your seals off there is a risk of damaging the lip. So pop them off on the outside race not the inside because the outer lip stays static and is not as crucial for sealing.
Yes thats true,thanx David
I have started packing my bottom bracket bearings with marine grease used for boat trailers. Great for longevity as it copes with the wet weather and with the slow rpm of the cranks I have not noticed any extra effort to overcome the extra resistance. The time I save on maintenance is well worth any time I might be losing on my commute :)
que liquido uso para limpiar los rodamientos
Paraffin oil,available from pharmacy,cosmetic outlets and veterinary supplies.
What bearing grease should be used for the hubs and BB? Apologies if I missed your recommendation.
+Aaron ___ Medium thickness,like Finishline or White lightening lithium grease is ok,Aaron. Fill rate of 60 -70% for hubs, 80% for BB.
Another great Vlog Steven! Curious to know what you do in real life? Look forward to future Vlog..........how about one on bike setup/fitting?
+Michael Rush Glad you liked the Vlog Michael. Bike fitting is very controversial and subjective to personal requirements altho maybe covering the basics would be ok?
What do I do...Im retired. Worked in the bike industry most of my life,so Oz cycle is my outlet for helping people where possible. :)
Ah, makes sense. I thought your technical skills with bikes were far superior to us mere mortals! Your Vlog's are so well detailed they provide people with average technical skills to have a crack at the more complicated maintenance tasks, which is great.
I think even a basic bike fit run through would be fantastic as most weekend/social riders don't need the $400+ bike fit from the quasi biomechanist! Also, a live stream Q & A session on youtube or Facebook would be brilliant. Thanks for all your great work and you seem to young to be retired!
Thank you. Learn a lot..... cant wait for the new episode.......
very good video. my bike hubs dont have ant retainers. is that because its a low end bike? £500 bike. could I put retainers in the hubs to get improved performance?
+Max Williams Not really Max as the hub body needs the races removed then to be machined square to fit a bearing. Best to buy new gear.
oz cycle thanks. Learning curve
+Heinocraft Yes thats generally right.
Something to ponder....
hai oz. super nice video. thankyou for the research! from what i see in the comments section, you recommend the medium greaser like finish line or white lithium. so, how the nano lube? is it better? or is it used together with the medium greaser? or i can use the nano lube alone. because what i get in my local market is only the nano lube for car engine, which is the lube need to be mixed with the engine oil.
+Kevin Kurniadi If the viscocity of the nano lube is like normal bearing grease it should be fine Kevin.
thanks a lot!
Why then Shimano is using usually 9 bearings in rear hub and 10 in front? It's not a mechanical bearing but isn't principle the same? Edit: they are in different sizes, so how this is affecting?
Traditionally front hub body sizes are smaller than rear so smaller bearings were used in front hubs.
Why are hub grease thick and viscous when this video shows that a thin lubricant is more efficient and causes less friction on the bearings? BTW, skateboarders lub their bearings with thin oil.
A thicker lubricant will remain with the bearings longer where as thinner lube is less friction but will spin out of the bearing quicker. Using a thinner lube will require less time between relubrication.
The notion that lubricants cause friction is totally wrong-minded. Dry clean bearings spin freely, because they have no significant mass, and lubes add a miniscule level of material resisting the spinning. Add the mass of a wheel, or rider, and the lube's very slight internal friction is overwhelmed by the rotational forces, and both oils and greases form critical boundary layers between the metal to metal parts, so things with quality lube are suspended on that thin film. Remove it, and you will soon destroy the bearings from pressure and contamination and corrosion, if not stainless or ceramic. Using quality bearings with adequate lube that is resistant to water contamination provides 99.9% of the friction reduction one can obtain, and dwelling on the anal aspects of hypothetical (read: magical) gains left to wring out of super-duper bearings with super-duper lubes misses the mark by a mile.
"Last longer , go faster" [click on video]. Oh, it's about bike maintenance. :(
unloaded friction doesn't tell the whole story though.
anyone try BCW Lube for bearing ?
Hi great video, but, but, but I have a bike with the wonderful BB30 and have grown tired of of having my factory authorized dealer repair it every 4 to 5 months. Yes it spins great for a while but soon creaks and groans. So taking things into my own hands I repacked them with Molybdenum grease and coated the outsides with Copper grease (heat and water resistant for south Florida conditions) Yes it probably slows the bearing down but I have not had a creek in over 8 months since I have done this. I will deal with the loss of speed and not have to worry if the bike is going to creek every time I take it out....
+Joe Martinello Good move Joe. There is a permanent solution to creaky bb....I will be uploading the video this Wednesday. It may be your solution if it creaks again.
Thanks I will use the Loctite next time I need to repair...
Now at 14 months and over 5000 miles without a creek since using Molybdenum grease......
Thats great Joe.
@@stevenleffanue 23 Months and creaking grrrr. . Way better then the 3 or 4 months I was getting with silicone grease. This time I am trying automotive "Disk Brake Grease". I live in South Florida where the average temperature is in the 90's F. My assumption is the greasing is melting in the heat and slowly leaking out. The disk brake grease has a very high melting point. Will update.
Luckily I remember watching your video . use your method to Find out what cause the noise on my bike took me few hrs . Free hub body internal bearings clean & Re grease now no more noise. Thank you very much for sharing.
DO NOT remove the grease from your bearings. The sticktion from grease is negligible as compared to the losses you will get when running a hot and poorly lubricated bearing. The no load spinning bearing test is flawed and shows a lack of understanding of how bearings work and what their intended purpose is.
Completly wrong! You have tested unloaded bearings, while you should have tested them with a LOAD. With a load, the dry bearing will have more friction and last a really short time before failure.
ive been riding road and mountain for 20 years and sometimes the small amount of friction from the grease in the bearing means nothing when u have 29 inch wheels and a fat arse rider. i cant c myself bonking 1 k from the finnish thinking geez i should of cleaned my bearings u might gain 3 watts but the where will be severe. if u wanna save watts clean your drivechain every week lube and pollish everything
+Jase Davies Agree with you Jase. Its really about 'marginal gains' and for serious to pro-riders.
splitting hairs of less than a tenth of a watt. Negligible. Durability trumps this
DO NOT repeat DO NOT ever use PETROL for degreasing or cleaning ever !!!!!! it is too volatile and it's flash point is very low... Kerosene is very effective and reasonably safe to use out in the open air. there are many degreasers available in spray form, like WD-40. NEVER bring petrol into an enclosed area , garage, home , basement, or place of work when the fumes can escape the approved container. watch videos on the internet on how people set themselves on fire with petrol.