SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

Green Oil Eco grease 200ml tube is a designed to be coupled with screw top guns, ensuring it gets exactly where its’ needed and in the correct quantities. There’s also a 100ml dropper bottle, easily stowed away in larger wedge packs in case you needed to strip and repack bearings in the back of beyond.

 

Green Oil has made this version much thicker, which bodes well for longevity and/or more challenging conditions. Exact composition is seriously hush-hush. However, they confirmed it’s made from a natural wax derived from plant oils grown here in the UK. 

 

It now features a sustainably sourced, rubber-based trafficking agent to boost longevity. Aside from being harmless to organic life, this also means it’s friendly to contemporary plastics, composites and rubberised components. Oh, and the packaging is also completely recycleable.

 

Flow rate is similar to stiff, petrochemical greases, meaning the rich goo is easily pinpointed into hubs, pedals, headsets and larger threaded areas such as bottom bracket cups. On the flip side, this thicker consistency means it cannot be drizzled into cleat bolts and similar fasteners - previous middle-weight versions could.  

 

Talking of which, its arrival coincided with several cleat swaps - a pea-sized blob seems sufficient to keep them slick and insulated from wet, salty corrosive elements.

 

Unlike lithium based preps, there’s little fear of galvanic corrosion (Where metals of different parentage exposed to the elements chemically fuse together) so I’ve mated titanium and aluminium/cro-molys e.g. seatposts, pedal threads without hesitation.

 

Two pea-sized blobs were sufficient for posts, although I’ve been a little more generous when it comes to old fashioned quill stems and headlock-type Aheadset preload bolts, especially on bikes without mudguards. 

 

The rich, luxurious texture sees threaded components such a pedals and derailleur hangers breeze effortlessly home, while even budget hubs and headsets feel buttery smooth. A lower melting point than old school lithium pastes means you should expect to wipe a bit of excess after a week or so to prevent it cultivating a grimy patina, especially in milder temperatures.

 

A diet of wet roads, frequent bucket washes with occasional garden hose tickling, suggests its superior to previous versions, which held out for about six months (four through winter on my ‘cross bike). Five weeks in; disassembly and inspection of headset components, seat posts, crank bolts and fixed sprockets confirmed it was staying put.

 

Those riding in the foulest weathers and wanting the longest intervals between servicing/strip downs are arguably best served by super stiff ceramics.  Otherwise, tentative conclusions suggest, Green Oil has devised a planet friendly formula that genuinely rivals bog standard PTFE blends in terms of lubrication, corrosion resistance and staying prowess. At £5.99 for the 100mml bottle and £8.99 for the tube as tested, the asking price is pretty competitive too.