Found out I'd been greasing freehub pawls with the wrong stuff for 11 years | Bicycle Mechanics - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Found out I'd been greasing freehub pawls with the wrong stuff for 11 years
A rep at the Interbike booth in Reno asked what I used and when I said white lithium he just went quiet for a second. What are you all running in there these days?
Wondering why the rep went quiet on you though, because white lithium isn't actually the worst thing for pawls. It's thick and it stays put, the real problem is it gets sticky in cold weather and can make the pawls drag instead of snapping back fast. Most freehub bodies want something light and thin so the springs can do their job, like a light oil or a proper freehub grease that won't gum up. So you didn't wreck anything for 11 years, you just had slow engagement and maybe some skipping you never noticed. The rep probably went quiet because he knew you'd been running it forever with no issues and there was nothing to sell you.