Fork/dropper grease...
 

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Fork/dropper grease options

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There's a multitude of options for lower leg wiper seals/dropper posts out there such as Sram Butter, Slick Honey, Stendec, RSP Slick Kick etc etc, but is there a motorbike/any other equivalent that does exactly the same job without the stupid MTB tax ie paying over the odds for tiny pots of grease?
Seems with other cleaning/maintenance products you can buy the same stuff for half the price simply because it isn't 'for cyclists'...

 
Posted : 25/01/2024 6:00 pm
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Not sure of any equivalent that works out cheaper, but I did buy a large tub of slick honey for about £40. I think it will out last me.

 
Posted : 25/01/2024 6:05 pm
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Onza - thanks.
That's the opposite end of the scale - more than I'll ever need 😉

 
Posted : 25/01/2024 6:13 pm
concept2 and concept2 reacted
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They're all a variation / rebrand of "Slickoleum" so the cheapest way is to buy a big 150z tub of that stuff and it will literally last you forever.

 
Posted : 25/01/2024 6:20 pm
 bens
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I bought the big tub of Sram Butter and it's great for forks. Seems a bit rubbish on my OneUp dropper though. It seems to turn into a thick, grey, sticky paste in not much time at all. Don't seem to stay slick and slippy in the dropper for some reason.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of these grease like Sram Butter, Slick Honey etc are all the same product in different tubs? 

 
Posted : 25/01/2024 7:59 pm
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Shell rhodina bbz grease.

 
Posted : 25/01/2024 8:40 pm
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I bought the big tub of Sram Butter and it’s great for forks. Seems a bit rubbish on my OneUp dropper though. It seems to turn into a thick, grey, sticky paste in not much time at all. Don’t seem to stay slick and slippy in the dropper for some reason.

I use it in by Trans-X type OEM dropper and it's perfectly fine, stays clean. The seal however is in good condition and I run a rear mudguard.

 
Posted : 26/01/2024 7:08 pm
 bens
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Yeah, to be fair I think it could be the dropper. It's always clean inside my fork and having just stripped the dropper on my hardtail, it's was squeeky clean inside so I guess I need to do something with the other dropper. I'll look into it if the bike ever comes back from it's warranty claim... 

 
Posted : 26/01/2024 9:17 pm
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I bought the big tub of Sram Butter and it’s great for forks. Seems a bit rubbish on my OneUp dropper though. It seems to turn into a thick, grey, sticky paste in not much time at all.

Any grease will do the same when mixed with filth ?
thats why they need regular service - one-up posts although great are not completely impervious to filth

 
Posted : 29/01/2024 3:49 pm
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The new V3 One Up dropper has improved seals as it was a bit of a weakness on the V1 and V2. OK if you live and ride in dry climates but not so good for the UK filth.

They're actually bringing out a seal upgrade kit so you can put the new seals on the V2 dropper which I think is really awesome.

 
Posted : 29/01/2024 4:30 pm
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People tend to use way  more grease than is required.
On the majority of forks, the only place you need grease is a very thin smear on the wiper, a bit on the air piston and a smear inside the left stanchion/air tube. The rest of the lubrication is from oil.
The same goes for most air shocks, just a very thin smear on the seals and then a few drops of either 15w50 (Rockshox) or 20wt Gold (F0x)
One of those tiny £10 pots of Slick Honey / Sram Butter will be enough to service a fork, shock, and dropper 2 or 3 times each. Yes really!

 
Posted : 29/01/2024 11:12 pm
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I use Slickoleum - developed for motos. A tube has lasted several years.

The new V3 One Up dropper has improved seals as it was a bit of a weakness on the V1 and V2. OK if you live and ride in dry climates but not so good for the UK filth.

I've replaced nearly every part on my V2 - it's Trigger's broom. Eventually the threads on the outer tube corroded to the point even a new top cap would pop off. So they sent me a new outer tube FOC!

 
Posted : 29/01/2024 11:25 pm
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They’re all a variation / rebrand of “Slickoleum” so the cheapest way is to buy a big 150z tub of that stuff and it will literally last you forever.

Would it be fine to use SRAM Butter instead of Formula Fork grease then?

I have a little screw can (30ml?) and it'll probably last me a decade at this rate.

Dynamic Seal Grease is different though, feels harder, and I read it contains PTFE. Not sure why but it's the recommendation for their shocks.

 
Posted : 29/01/2024 11:46 pm
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SRAM Dynamic Seal Grease is really weird stuff. Much more viscous than SRAM Butter / Slickoleum I bought a small tub of it because that's what was recommended in the service manuals of my SID / SIDluxe suspension. Anecdotally I heard that it plays better with the new Maxima oils Rock Shox is using now but then in the service manuals it says you can also use SRAM Butter or any combination of the above so I don't really know why they needed to develop a new lube.

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 8:43 am
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Timely thread - my tub of '90s Pace RC7 is nearly empty

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 10:43 am
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someone already mentioned Shell Rhodina BBZ - it IS the same stuff as SRAM butter, Slick Honey, etc - EXACTLY the same properties and constituents - except a 380g tube can be had for less than a tenner. Same size slickoleum is pretty much 4x the price....

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 10:51 am
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Timely thread, I was just thinking yesterday I need to re-stock and there must be a more cost-effective solution than those tiny tubs.

Googled the Shell stuff and this was the top result, anyone wanna go halves? https://www.qualitybearingsonline.com/shell-rhodina-bbz-18kg-special-purpose-grease/

😀

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 10:58 am
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Wow, 18kg of lube. That could probably keep the whole forum going for a lifetime.

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 11:14 am
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Googled the Shell stuff and this was the top result, anyone wanna go halves? https://www.qualitybearingsonline.com/shell-rhodina-bbz-18kg-special-purpose-grease/
/blockquote>

My retirement grease!

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 11:20 am
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Just get the 380g tube 🤣

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 11:27 am
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Just get the 380g tube 🤣

Unless I'm calculating wrong, I think it's actually a fair bit cheaper to buy the 380g tubs.

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 11:43 am
 a11y
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Googled the Shell stuff and this was the top result, anyone wanna go halves? https://www.qualitybearingsonline.com/shell-rhodina-bbz-18kg-special-purpose-grease/
/blockquote>

https://eng-ls.co.uk/buy-shell-rhodina-bbz-x-18-kgs - pfff, it's £401 for 18kg here. Or, if we can find 10 of us wanting 18kg each it's only £347ea 🤣

Has anyone found a decent price for a 380g tube of it? I can't find anything close to the 'less than a tenner' mentioned above.

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 12:16 pm
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Has anyone found a decent price for a 380g tube of it? I can’t find anything close to the ‘less than a tenner’ mentioned above.

I found 6 tubes for £9 each, but with VAT and shipping it worked out £12 a tube.

I'm thinking I might just stump up about £40 for a 500g tub of Slick Kick. I like the idea of having a lifetime supply and I know it's good stuff.

 
Posted : 30/01/2024 12:55 pm

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