Towards a Zero Maintenance Bike: Servicing my Rohloff w/ Phil Waterproof Grease

[jags]

Excellent lads thanks ,i guess i might need a new set of bearings but there not  completly gone only a very small bit of play in them  but thanks for all the links Andre.
Dan its the Raleigh sorry i should have said that..
thanks lads.

jags

[Andre Jute]

Photo essay:
Towards a Zero Maintenance Bike
Servicing the Rohloff EXT Clickbox
with Phil Waterproof Grease

Oh, well. Doing the annual gearbox oil change, talking to gawkers, I forgot I was running an experiment to see if the EXT clickbox would go 5000km/3000m (the mandatory main oil service interval) with Phil's Waterproof Grease. So at a fraction under 3000km, without thinking, I cleaned the EXT unit and filled it with fresh Phil's Waterproof Grease, and refitted it.

The Phil's stood up well for 3000km; there was no sign it wouldn't have lasted to 5000km total. Phil anyway claims this grease is waterproof, implication permanently, until contaminated with dirt. The well-engineered parts of the Rohloff EXT clickbox are too close-fitting to let in dirt, though it won't keep out water if submerged, and water would eventually carry in enough dirt to contaminate the grease. Didn't happen to my bike though, so it is merely a theoretical speculation for the consideration of those who routinely ford streams at least to hub height.

I conclude that it is extremely likely that with high quality grease the EXT click box factory-recommended service interval of 500km (five hundred kilometers) is, for my sort of road use, totally over the top. The EXT click box can go 3000km for sure and very likely the full oil service interval of 5000km with a single load of grease.

[Danneaux]

Great follow up report,  Andre; thanks.

Having used Phil Wood waterproof grease happily for 35 years, I can confirm it is waterproof to military specs. However,  even it will eventually saponify with continued submersion; the color is the clever clue: It will turn from its usual blackish - green to a minty hue closer to the Celeste - like color of the tube. This is the indication it needs changing.  Old tubes of the stuff get blacker and can even separate but can be kneaded in the tube to restore usefulness prior to application.

My Nomad's ext shift - box is still humming along happily after removing the cover and pumping it full of this grease some time ago. It hasn't run out, but nicely forms a new seal against the backing plate whenever it is reattached.

All the best, 

Dan. (...who still thinks Phil Waterproof is the only grease that smells good enough to eat)

[il padrone]

Umm....

I have checked and regreased the EX box about twice, in 20,000kms. Maybe three times  

I last checked it at around 17,000kms and the grease (Finish Line teflon) was still white and clean. I don't foresee any problems - gear shift is smooth and light, nothing looked at all of concern.

[mickeg]

Photo of EX box in dusty conditions.  I suspect in this case the oil from the Rohloff breather is the reason that the whole area is a dust magnet.

[jags]

why is that called an xbox

[energyman]

Probably to annoy the other people !

[jags]

  probably.
i could never figure out what the hell rohloff lads were on about there xbox,
i thought it was one of those tv games

[Andre Jute]

It's an "EXT clickbox". EXT stands for External, to distinguish it from the other Rohloff system, called "internal", where to save a few grams, and make exposed cable for old roadies to feel comfortable with, your ekshul cable is led right inside the gearbox.

[sd]

Does this apply to the other gear click box the one thats above? I have never heard that you need to grease them. Can't remember ever seeing it on Rohloff service book/videos

[Andre Jute]

Does this apply to the other gear click box the one thats above? I have never heard that you need to grease them. Can't remember ever seeing it on Rohloff service book/videos

It applies only to the EXT Rohloff setup, where both cables run sheathed all the way to the gearbox and are terminated in a little black box that attaches to the gearbox with a thumbscrew. If your setup doesn't look like the last (reassembled) photo at
http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLINGRohloffEXTservice.html
you don't have the EXT box, you have bare wires covering the last section to the gearbox.

Sure, it's in the manual.

If you mean instead the rotary gearshift on the handlebars, it doesn't get greased as far as I know.

[Andre Jute]

Phil Waterproof Grease in EXT klickbox at 500km. The grease seems good, so I closed it and will inspect it again at 1000km. If your Rohloff box is fairly new, you should squirt some grease in here at 500km intervals just like it says in the official handbook. I'm running an experiment to see what service interval is really necessary. (See above where I carelessly cleaned out grease still good at 3000km, which is how come the experiment starts over from scratch.)

With thanks to Anto for the gift of the Phil, and to Dan for handling postal arrangements.

[Danneaux]

Hi Andre!

A small point, but it is Phil Waterproof Grease and Phil Tenacious Oil. The distinction is important because they are intended for vastly different purposes and have different characteristics and viscosities and behaviors in use.

There's a lot of whitish lube residue in the photo, most likely the result of your past Finish Line White Teflon grease still in the box. I recall you did not clean it out of the interior when you added the Phil. If it were all Phil the residue would be dark green only, as it is in the tube. What you have is a mix of the two. The Phil tends to become a mixture of oil and grease over time, and this can and will mix with other lubricants if they are present when Phil Waterproof Grease is employed.

All the best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

A small point, but it is Phil Waterproof Grease and Phil Tenacious Oil. The distinction is important because they are intended for vastly different purposes and have different characteristics and viscosities and behaviors in use.

Thanks, Dan. I made the correction. Shoulda checked the tube!

EDIT: I take up Dan's other point below.

[mickeg]

My Phil grease is dark green in color, did they change the formula?  Mine is decades old, thus I assume yours is newer.