Haven't any people on YouTube heard of grease?

It's been driving me nuts. It's not an OCD thing before anyone mentions it: OCD is a crippling thing that can really muck up your life, no, this is just really, really annoying, and I realise it's frankly my problem, but still...

"Welcome to *random RC YT channel* next up we are maidening *latest test subject* from our friends at Hobby Bang!

Presenter waxes lyrical about foam, flaps, lights, fan blades, paint jobs and...retracts. They always love the retracts. They place the model in the take off position, kick open the throttle and...

*squeaksqueaksqueakvrooooommmmmsqueaksqueaksqueak*

For the love of the gods people, just a tiny bit of lithium grease on the axles!! Please!!

Ahem. as you were.

Grease is the word, John Travolta and Olivia Newton John would both agree with you.

Grease on the axle would attract dirt and would quickly turn to grinding paste.

Just a dot of 3 in 1 would do it.

As said before don't use grease as it picks up dust etc and turns into grinding paste , use a drylube ie a dry siliconespray/ ptfe spray etc

That's good advice.

You won't need grease on any models featured on my YouTube channel. None of my models have a undercarriage

Mine is just a vlog about RC glider flying from slopes & flat fields.

A470 Soaring - RC Glider Flying in Wales

I don't know about OCD, but worrying about a smear of grease on a model's axle attracting grit and causing havoc is to me, OTT. I doubt if it makes a blind bit of difference, and if the grease was to be contaminated, I should think it'd take ages to have an effect on anything. Not what you want in your car, motorbike or pushbike's bearings I grant you, but in a model's plastic wheel bushes? Nah. So unless you fly in sand dunes.....relax and don't worry.

Edited By Cuban8 on 24/11/2020 09:40:19

Yeah, that was exactly my reaction when I read the advice above too. As a cyclist I know the importance of using the right lubricants in the right places, but many parts on a bike will do hundreds of thousands of revolutions in their lifetime in all kinds of conditions, perhaps even millions - how many will the average undercarriage axle do?! By all means use PTFE based "dry" lubes if you want, but you will have to reapply more often than a grease or wet lube. I just can't see a grinding paste ever being formed when the average axle might only turn a few hundred times per flight session.

Edited By MattyB on 24/11/2020 09:49:23

On the subject of lubrication - Does anyone lubricate lecky outrunner bearings? They seem to keep turning without much attention and doing lots of work as well.

You shouldn't lubricate sealed bearings - if they are worn out you just replace them (though I've never had to on any of the motors I use). However, the tiny motors used in smaller quads sometimes have bushings instead of bearings, so they can benefit from a very occasional application of a synthetic lubricant.

Edited By MattyB on 24/11/2020 10:52:46

If the bearings are shot then no alternative but to replace them, they'll be sealed for life with no further attention required. Ball and roller bearings can fail due to incorrect type of lubrication and even too much lubrication, so care needs to be taken.

I'm willing to be enlightened here -

As a cyclist I've used precisely two lubricants, to whit, chain lube for chains, and the most basic of greases for, well, everything else.

Bikes are just about the lowest demand for lubricants that is possible - low rpm, low heat, low mechanical load.... at least that's what I thought.

If you only cycle occasionally for the odd commute or recreational ride you can probably get away with just grease and chain lube, but if you are doing more miles on nicer bikes with more expensive components it pays to use the right lubricants. Here are some specific ones off the top of my head - if you're a road biker the suspension ones may be foreign and unnecessary to you, but everything else applies...

• Wet and dry chain lubes (depending on conditions). Can also wax chains (full immersion) if you prefer that option
• Copper slip / anti-seize compound (anywhere you don't want parts to seize on - pedals are a prime example. and some will use on square taper BBs and the back of disc brake pads too)
• Carbon assembly paste, used at the interface between a carbon component and either a metal or carbon frame; allows you to use reduced torque when tightening
• Fork seal grease - used when servicing forks to lubricate the foam seals
• Different weights of suspension oil (forks and shocks)
• Silicon spray - perfect for lubricating fork stantions prior to rides (in between lower leg services)
• Bog standard lithium grease (general purpose - seatposts, headsets, stems etc)
• WD40 - A water displacer, it's good for flushing brake/gear cable outers if you are only replacing the inner. Some people will swear the stuff is the devils work on bikes and will destroy seals and flush grease out of every nook and cranny, but as long as you don't go crazy with it near your drivetrain or wheel bearings you should be ok
• Aerosol spray grease - brilliant for inside a sticky shifter

One addition... Please please, no 3 in 1 anywhere near your bike! It's horrible stuff; fine for the mower, but gums up and attracts dirt like nothing else making a nasty grinding paste for expensive drivetrain components.

Edited By MattyB on 24/11/2020 16:22:49

What about your legs MattyB

Olive oil and winter green? Smells just as good a castor oil in glo fuel

ernie

I've noticed that plastic wheels on some of my I/C models have worn much quicker than I would have expected. I have put this down to the wheels spinning during flight, maybe just due to air flowing over them but possibly also due to engine vibration / resonance. I've certainly seen them spinning whilst flying.

Gary,

I don't think that wheel spinning in the air does any significant wear. I have done more flying off hard strips than grass and I have been surprised just how much tire wear there is: one has to replace the tires every few years. When one takes off and lands on grass, there is nowhere near the same tire wear, but the axles still take a hell of a bashing, even though it may not be very apparent. The main wear is to the holes in plastic hubs, and then the (inevitable) cracking of those hubs.

Fair enough.

I'd contend some of those are for assembly rather than moving part lubrication, but I'm nit picking. I have used GT85 for clearing water and holding off tin worm, and fork oil in forks, again wouldn't have thought of them as lube. Never really done carbon.

3 in 1 is, well, cheap.

Ah, there's nothing like the heavenly smell of embrocation in a time trial changing area. Me? I used it occasionally but the best is baby oil if it's raining.

I was a serious cyclist for years (8 to 10k miles/year) and rode every day, including 120 work miles/week throughout the year, but I must admit most of my lubrication was on a somewhat ad hoc basis. Assembly of bearings was usually from a tube of Campagnolo white grease, though what it actually comprised I've no idea. I used to clean chains with petrol (outside - it's very cheap cleaner) then relubricate with a spray of chain luricant. Winter was worst when I never saw my bike in daylight and once had a puncture becaue I'd worn the tyre right through - repaired with a polythene bag to get me home .

Still ride but not so much.

Geoff