# Which oil for Mavic hub?



## tantra (Jan 8, 2008)

I recently performed a ceramic bearing upgrade on my R-Sys wheels. The Mavic manual specifies their special mineral oil for the freewheel. I couldn'f find it anywhere so I used auto engine oil. The freewheel is very draggy now (ghost pedaling). What oil works well for Mavic hubs?


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## naawillis (Oct 6, 2004)

judging by your handle i might suggest some sensuous, warming oils


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## Cyclo-phile (Sep 22, 2005)

Yeah, the motor oil is going to be waaay too thick. Have fun getting that out of there.

Once you have it all cleaned up put on some Pedros Road Rage.


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## Applesauce (Aug 4, 2007)

tantra said:


> I recently performed a ceramic bearing upgrade on my R-Sys wheels. The Mavic manual specifies their special mineral oil for the freewheel. I couldn'f find it anywhere so I used auto engine oil. The freewheel is very draggy now (ghost pedaling). What oil works well for Mavic hubs?


Motor oil is definitely not mineral oil. Were you thinking about that when you decided to use motor oil instead of mineral oil? I mean, baby oil is mineral oil! Motor oil is...well, motor oil.

Having said that, a "very draggy" freewheel is not going to slow you down - at all, ever, in any way. (Unless it fails to engage, which is a different symptom of the same disease.) I would be way more worried about motor oil degrading or otherwise damaging the seals than I would about a little drag.

Having said all that, I use Pedro's Syn-Grease or Prep-M, because either one makes them (my Record and Chorus hubs, at least) silent, and I care far more about noise than the chances that a "very draggy" (extra-kitsch, cross-dressed?) freewheel might slow me down.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Body oils*



tantra said:


> I recently performed a ceramic bearing upgrade on my R-Sys wheels. The Mavic manual specifies their special mineral oil for the freewheel. I couldn'f find it anywhere so I used auto engine oil. The freewheel is very draggy now (ghost pedaling). What oil works well for Mavic hubs?


Freehub body, of course. You don't need the MAVIC oil, but you do need something relatively thin. I grease my Campy freehubs with no problems, but the MAVIC units don''t have ratchet notches as deep as Campy, and so are more susceptible to problems if your lube is too thick.


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## CarbonFrame (Feb 5, 2005)

*I second the Road Rage!! (That sounds funny)*

I went through this when I swapped freehub bodies. I could not find the Mavic Oil so I called Mavic. They said to use the Pedros Road Rage. Things are working well with the Pedros. Good Luck!


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## rdolson (Sep 2, 2003)

I've used TriFlow with good results on my Mavic SL3 freehub...


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

On ceramic bearings, you need to use special ceramic bearing oil, which is made from ground up baby seals. You need to use mineral oil in the freehub body.


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## tantra (Jan 8, 2008)

Applesauce said:


> Motor oil is definitely not mineral oil. Were you thinking about that when you decided to use motor oil instead of mineral oil? I mean, baby oil is mineral oil! Motor oil is...well, motor oil.
> 
> Having said that, a "very draggy" freewheel is not going to slow you down - at all, ever, in any way. (Unless it fails to engage, which is a different symptom of the same disease.) I would be way more worried about motor oil degrading or otherwise damaging the seals than I would about a little drag.
> 
> Having said all that, I use Pedro's Syn-Grease or Prep-M, because either one makes them (my Record and Chorus hubs, at least) silent, and I care far more about noise than the chances that a "very draggy" (extra-kitsch, cross-dressed?) freewheel might slow me down.


In fact, motor oil IS mineral oil plus additives. See: http://www.mobil.com/Australia-English/LCW/Audiences/Synthetic_V_Mineral.asp
In airplanes we use straight mineral oil to break-in engines. That's why I used motor oil in the Mavic hub. But the stuff I used is too viscous.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Sending cyclists to the drugstore, needlessly.*



tantra said:


> In fact, motor oil IS mineral oil plus additives.


Absolutely. The Mavic "mineral oil" admonition is a translation error. A lazy translator saw _huile minérale_ and incorrectly assumed that it had to be "mineral oil" in English. _Huile minérale_ means "oil extracted from the earth," as opposed to _huiles végétales_—vegetable oil. I have no idea why Mavic doesn't fix this silly mistake in their instructions.


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*5w-30*

The most comon oil for autos is 5W-30 and it will work just fine.


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## rubenxaus (Jun 13, 2006)

I tried 2-stroke oil on my Kyrium, worked well at first but didn't seem to last. So I switched to using grease and just forget about coasting drag... always pedaling. Helps keep you go fast. ^+++++^


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## cyclust (Sep 8, 2004)

If you put a few drops of solvent, such a mineral spirits, in there now, it should thin the oil down a bit and solve your problem.. Personally, I like to use a thicker oil, or even grease, in my freehubs, as it quiets them down. I recently packed my D/A freehub with marine grease, and it is nearly silent! Of corse that's only when I'm coasting. When I'm pedaling up hill, there's still this sound that sounds like a dog panting...


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## Cyclo-phile (Sep 22, 2005)

Caution! Everyone suggesting grease is not using Mavic hubs! Stick with an oil based lube such as a chain lube for the Mavic freehub bodies. Grease or thick oil will cause drag which in turn will greatly increase the likelihood of chainsuck.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Not a solution*



cyclust said:


> If you put a few drops of solvent, such a mineral spirits, in there now, it should thin the oil down a bit and solve your problem.


Not really, because the solvent will evaporate in a day or two and you will be back to the original lube viscosity.

Per what the others are saying, grease is OK for Campy and Shimano, but not for MAVIC. Their ratchet depth and contours are such that heavier lubes may cause problems with pawl engagement, particularly in colder weather. With MAVIC, you try different oil viscosities, but not gear lube and not grease.


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## Bontrager (Feb 7, 2006)

My LBS says he uses shock oil VERY sparingly per Mavic.


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