Best grease/lube for DT Swiss ratchet system
Moderator: robbosmans
- VTR1000SP2
- Posts: 930
- Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:21 pm
I use whatever gear oil happens to be on the shelf in the garage. May be 75 or 90w at the moment. I clean and relube when chain gets waxed so quite frequently.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Focus Izalco Max - 4.84kg without pedals
Cervélo Áspero - 8.28kg
Trek Madone SLR Rim - 7.73kg
Standert Triebwerk Disc - 8.47kg
Cervélo Áspero - 8.28kg
Trek Madone SLR Rim - 7.73kg
Standert Triebwerk Disc - 8.47kg
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
www.starbike.com
-
- Posts: 3261
- Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:38 pm
The full DT 240 tool/service kit used to come with two tubs of grease - one for the ratchets and one for the bearings. I suppose they labeled the ratchet grease as the "red grease" since it was red and to differentiate it from the other one. Not too many use DT's bearing grease so knowledge and recollection of that has seemingly gone by the wayside.
-
- Posts: 254
- Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2017 5:55 pm
I use dumonde tech freehub grease on Bontrager hub (DT Swiss internals) and on my i9 torch hub. Works great.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have the red DT Swiss stuff as well, as it comes with their hub toolkit, but I’m not sure what’s so special about it. I have some of Dumonde Tech’s freehub oil but it’s certainly more the consistency of oil, not a grease. Didn’t know they made an actual freehub grease. Anyway, I have enough of the DT Swiss Red goop to last a long time. I don’t even own any DT Swiss hubs anymore so it’s just reserved for servicing others hubs, mostly Lightweights.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
I find that Weldtite TF2 teflon grease works well on star ratchet freehubs. I have a couple pairs of wheels with Hugi hubs that pre-date their purchase by DT, and also a couple of pairs of wheels with DT Swiss 240s hubs. They all get lubricated with the Weldtite grease, and the Hugi hubs have been running at least 20 years with that in use on the star ratchets.
http://index.weldtite.co.uk/products/de ... tube-150ml
http://index.weldtite.co.uk/products/de ... tube-150ml
Does anyone actually know what properties DT Swiss is requiring from a grease for their star ratchets. They want you to use their “red grease” but I’d like to know why. Does it resist being squished out of the teeth during the force of engagement better than other greases? I don’t know. But I always like to know the actual reason I’m using something, I mean the real reason other than just “cuz they said to”. And that doesn’t really satisfy my need to know the “why” behind it.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
That‘s actually what they told me a few years ago as I asked if I could use a different grease! They said that this grease has the specific greasing properties for the ratchet mechanism combined to the specific consistency so that it is not easily gone when it rains etc...Calnago wrote:Does anyone actually know what properties DT Swiss is requiring from a grease for their star ratchets. They want you to use their “red grease” but I’d like to know why. Does it resist being squished out of the teeth during the force of engagement better than other greases? I don’t know. But I always like to know the actual reason I’m using something, I mean the real reason other than just “cuz they said to”. And that doesn’t really satisfy my need to know the “why” behind it.
-
- Moderator
- Posts: 3669
- Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 4:57 am
Wonder how aquaproof past would go...
Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk
Using Tapatalk
That thought crossed my mind as well @Nefarious86, but I thought it might be kind of too “sticky” to really allow instant and complete disengagement when you stop pedaling and freewheeling starts. Plus, I generally like to keep the Aquaproof Paste away from any bearings as much as possible. I was mostly curious as to what DT Swiss’s rationale for using their red grease is. I’m sure there are other products which work just as well and I wouldn’t lose a second’s sleep over using an alternative in that application, providing it still allowed for easy disengagement while freewheeling. But since I have some of their “red stuff”, I use it just because well... it’s red. And red is unquestionably the fastest color in the universe.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ
Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓ Broad Selection ✓ Worldwide Delivery ✓
www.starbike.com
-
- Posts: 12458
- Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm
TonyM wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2019 4:44 am
That‘s actually what they told me a few years ago as I asked if I could use a different grease! They said that this grease has the specific greasing properties for the ratchet mechanism combined to the specific consistency so that it is not easily gone when it rains etc...
Mostly what it means is they chose a less viscous grease. I’ve mixed Krytox GPL-226 with VPF-1506 before to make it thinner for use in pulleys and such. It’s possible these “designer” greases are NLGI 2 greases with a bit of oil added and maybe some other additives PTFE. PTFE in applications like these is mostly marketing...it has an effect on efficiency, but on the order of a fraction of a fraction of 1%.