Ah yes, the sound of balls rolling around in the BB. Definitely due to the lower viscosity of the Phil grease. I found an old tube from the 70s in some of my bike junk. It seems more viscous than the modern Phil grease.
I've been trying some German made synthetic grease. It has the same look and consistency as Campy grease. I've noticed that BB and hub bearing tend to roll around a little with it indicating that under use it's a lot less viscous than when first assembled.
We used Pennzoil or Quaker State heavy duty automotive wheel bearing grease back in the 70s. I found in several of my older bikes it's held up for 20-30 years without hardening or breaking down.
Both brands were extremely viscous "fiber grease". They were a little stiff in very cold weather but thinner greases tended to ooze out of headsets, hubs and BBs in the Southwest heat (plus it was dirt cheap).
There was no distinct ball race area in the older Stronglight BB cups. When assembled, the balls tend to ride a little higher up the side of the cups than on some other makes The loose balls will look like there's room for an addition one. I tried 12 balls per side once - no go!
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Benjamin I Cole wrote:
> I always use grade the new grade 25 bearings. The cups & spindle races
> look perfect in this '71 or '72 Motobecane that is really not showing
> wear on any of the components.
>
> The stronglight bb parts all seem to match. The gap with 11- 1/4"
> bearings is more than i'm accustomed to seeing with any other set i've
> worked on. The bb is running totally smooth but the bearings can be
> heard slapping into each other with every rotation. There is plenty of
> grease but it is Phil Wood grease which may be the problem? I suppose
> with a thicker grease, i may not have the noise. I've never had this
> problem when assembling Campy loose ball sets.
>
> Ben Cole
> Springfield IL