Light grease for high engagement hub

[ATMan777]

Hi there,

I need a “light” grease for my Lyne high engagement hub but don’t want to pay the earth for something SRAM Butter. 
 

Any suggestions for a more affordable alternative that I can get from Builders or something?

Thanks

Adrian

[Barry]

I don't see why a few drops of Shimano mineral oil wouldn't work. Mavic use Shimano mineral oil in several service videos, so it may also be a good option for a Lyne hub.

[DieselnDust]

any lithium soap NLGI 0 or 00 grease will be fine. Avoid oils with low ISO viscosity numbers like Shimano mineral oil brake fluid as this will require frequent servicing. Mavic hubs usually only have two engagement pawls so the oil isn't being worked very hard.

This should work: https://www.greyhoundlubricants.co.za/product/greyhound-grease-li-ep00-500g/?srsltid=AfmBOoqtmzNHRb0Fb5wCtxrMyYplPFWhdEoZ0Hfw1a4a5sa8x99KLRl8

Edited April 3 by DieselnDust

[Barry]

 

11 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

any lithium soap NLGI 0 or 00 grease will be fine. Avoid oils with low ISO viscosity numbers like Shimano mineral oil brake fluid as this will require frequent servicing. Mavic hubs usually only have two engagement pawls so the oil isn't being worked very hard.

This should work: https://www.greyhoundlubricants.co.za/product/greyhound-grease-li-ep00-500g/?srsltid=AfmBOoqtmzNHRb0Fb5wCtxrMyYplPFWhdEoZ0Hfw1a4a5sa8x99KLRl8

It likely depends on what the OP means by "high engagement." Lyne should be pawl if not mistaken. For ratchet hubs, a low-viscosity grease would be suitable, while for pawl hubs, a light oil will provide sufficient lubrication. A ratchet and pawl freehub experiences very little friction stress when freewheeling, as well as during forward rotation or when locked. Most manufacturers recommend using light oil—even Shimano oil for pawl hubs—and light grease for ratcheting hubs. This ParkTool link contains useful information that may help make the choice easier.

https://www.parktool.com/en-int/blog/repair-help/freehub-service

Edited April 4 by Barry

[New world disorder]

Sram suspension grease is perfect.

[DieselnDust]

8 hours ago, Barry said:

 

It likely depends on what the OP means by "high engagement." Lyne should be pawl if not mistaken. For ratchet hubs, a low-viscosity grease would be suitable, while for pawl hubs, a light oil will provide sufficient lubrication. A ratchet and pawl freehub experiences very little friction stress when freewheeling, as well as during forward rotation or when locked. Most manufacturers recommend using light oil—even Shimano oil for pawl hubs—and light grease for ratcheting hubs. This ParkTool link contains useful information that may help make the choice easier.

https://www.parktool.com/en-int/blog/repair-help/freehub-service

Suit yourself. You do you and I’ll do with my 30years of petrochemical engineering and tribology.

 

I'll expand on why light oils are poor choices for modern freehubs though...

 

The Mavic freehub is in two parts. The inner section that stays on the hub has 2 wide pawls arranged at 180 degrees to each other. The freehub has a long interface with drive section of the freehub  and it has a labyrinth seal that interfaces with the hubs seal. This seal keeps oil inside and dirt out. The freehub also has a lubricant trap that is a groove that runs around the circumference of the freehub and allows oil to flow from one pawl to the other. The toothed ring the pawls interact with has deep troughs, unlike high engagement hubs that have drive rings  with very shallow troughs (teeth) in order to increase the number of engagement points. This also means  that the pawl springs have to be strong to hold the pawls down so they can engage with the drive ring. friction force = Force x mu.

Strong springs = higher friction forces. Light oils under high pressure will flow away from the pressure. In the Mavic hub the pawl springs are weaker and the lubricant trap ensures the oil flows back to a pawl. Despite this, Mavic hubs are notorious for a pawl jam, especially if they have not had a regular service. Water gets in and displaces the oil.

Shimano freehubs use a light grease. Servicing with a light mineral oil is just a stop gap to replace oil that has leached out of the grease. Eventually you will have to strip down , clean and reapply NGLI 00 grease because this is the only effective way of keeping water away from the pawls anchor point and preventing oil flowing out of the hub

Edited April 4 by DieselnDust

[warick_wrx]

Anyone aware of a local product similar to Molykote TP 42 Paste

[DieselnDust]

34 minutes ago, warick_wrx said:

Anyone aware of a local product similar to Molykote TP 42 Paste

why do you want to use this? It has a LOT of tackifier in it which when exposed to water will create a sticky paste in a freehub.

[warick_wrx]

16 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

why do you want to use this? It has a LOT of tackifier in it which when exposed to water will create a sticky paste in a freehub.

Ratchet type freebody hub, apparently is what the oem uses 

[DieselnDust]

9 minutes ago, warick_wrx said:

Ratchet type freebody hub, apparently is what the oem uses 

Molykote P-40 Metal-Free Paste (adhesive/corrosion resistance),

Molykote P-1042 (adhesive grease paste), and

Molykote D Paste.

 

these seem to be equivalents Molykote suggests

[Barry]

4 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Suit yourself. You do you and I’ll do with my 30years of petrochemical engineering and tribology.

 

I'll expand on why light oils are poor choices for modern freehubs though...

 

The Mavic freehub is in two parts. The inner section that stays on the hub has 2 wide pawls arranged at 180 degrees to each other. The freehub has a long interface with drive section of the freehub  and it has a labyrinth seal that interfaces with the hubs seal. This seal keeps oil inside and dirt out. The freehub also has a lubricant trap that is a groove that runs around the circumference of the freehub and allows oil to flow from one pawl to the other. The toothed ring the pawls interact with has deep troughs, unlike high engagement hubs that have drive rings  with very shallow troughs (teeth) in order to increase the number of engagement points. This also means  that the pawl springs have to be strong to hold the pawls down so they can engage with the drive ring. friction force = Force x mu.

Strong springs = higher friction forces. Light oils under high pressure will flow away from the pressure. In the Mavic hub the pawl springs are weaker and the lubricant trap ensures the oil flows back to a pawl. Despite this, Mavic hubs are notorious for a pawl jam, especially if they have not had a regular service. Water gets in and displaces the oil.

Shimano freehubs use a light grease. Servicing with a light mineral oil is just a stop gap to replace oil that has leached out of the grease. Eventually you will have to strip down , clean and reapply NGLI 00 grease because this is the only effective way of keeping water away from the pawls anchor point and preventing oil flowing out of the hub

No worries, all good! Thank you for the detailed explanation.

[ATMan777]

On 4/3/2026 at 8:14 PM, DieselnDust said:

any lithium soap NLGI 0 or 00 grease will be fine. Avoid oils with low ISO viscosity numbers like Shimano mineral oil brake fluid as this will require frequent servicing. Mavic hubs usually only have two engagement pawls so the oil isn't being worked very hard.

This should work: https://www.greyhoundlubricants.co.za/product/greyhound-grease-li-ep00-500g/?srsltid=AfmBOoqtmzNHRb0Fb5wCtxrMyYplPFWhdEoZ0Hfw1a4a5sa8x99KLRl8

Hi there DieslnDust - I'm almost afraid to ask this 😞 but here goes.  I was just about to order the greyhound grease you suggested.  Apparently Lithium based grease is not good for rubber seals though because it is petroleum based.  I'm concerned about damaging the outer seal on the free body.

Any thoughts on this?  Is there a reasonable silicone alternative?  Just checked the price of SRAM butter - R250 for 19ml!!! crazy.

[DieselnDust]

11 hours ago, ATMan777 said:

Hi there DieslnDust - I'm almost afraid to ask this 😞 but here goes.  I was just about to order the greyhound grease you suggested.  Apparently Lithium based grease is not good for rubber seals though because it is petroleum based.  I'm concerned about damaging the outer seal on the free body.

Any thoughts on this?  Is there a reasonable silicone alternative?  Just checked the price of SRAM butter - R250 for 19ml!!! crazy.

Yes Lithium based greases can cause seals swelling or excessive softening of the rubber over time. This is generally not an issue because if the use case is bearings and hydraulic systems then it will contain seal swell control additives or use a Li Complex thickener which is less prone to cause seal swell over 1000s of hours off service life. Products like Shell Gadus V80XE00 would fall into the this category.

Calcium based greases are better in this regard  but quite hard to find in lower NLGI consistencies like NLGI 0 or NLGI 00, even more hard to find in small packs sizes, unless for specialized application like bicycle parts(at the associated cost)SRAM Butter is also NLGI 2 which would be to "thick" for use in a free hub.

Is the Freehub fully serviceable, including replacement of the seal? If it is then the seal is a wear item and should be replaced once a year anyway, If its not replaceable then you're better off with using what the hub manufacturer recommended.

Or give these guys a call and ask for calcium based NLGI 0 or 00 grease

https://lubeline.co.za/pages/contact-us-western-cape-cape-town

You can also look for Buzzy's Slick Honey, Rock Shox Dynamic Seal grease (NLGI 0) but they're expensive

[dewaldsss]

On 4/3/2026 at 6:16 PM, ATMan777 said:

Hi there,

I need a “light” grease for my Lyne high engagement hub but don’t want to pay the earth for something SRAM Butter. 
 

Any suggestions for a more affordable alternative that I can get from Builders or something?

Thanks

Adrian

If you are based in western cape give me a shout, will give you some of my sram butter, I have a big pot!  

[droo]

If RS Dynamic Seal Grease will work, I have a bunch of it - I get 10x as much as I need with every RS shock seal kit I buy And I buy a lot of seal kits.

Free to collect.

Bring a wheelbarrow.

[DieselnDust]

20 hours ago, droo said:

If RS Dynamic Seal Grease will work, I have a bunch of it - I get 10x as much as I need with every RS shock seal kit I buy And I buy a lot of seal kits.

Free to collect.

Bring a wheelbarrow.

will definitely drop by to pick some up for my forks wiper seals.

Not sure its good for a pawled freehub though