Anyone used “damping” grease in their headset bearings ?

I’ve been reading about the cane creek “Visco” headset that is available for folk who would like to dampen their steering a little ( for various reasons) . I keep feeling like I’d like to try one out ..particularly on my Fatty as I’ve been loosening my grip on the roughstuff and thought it might add a little extra safety margin as well as other unnecessary benefits I won’t go into detail about as no doubt I’ll be told i don’t need it ! I like to experiment but at £100 a pop I had been wondering about whether I could thoroughly clean out my headset bearings and repack them with an extremely viscous “damping” grease ..such as ;

https://shop.newgatesimms.com/product/tribosyn-320-blue/.

Just wondered if anyone had tried similar beforehand and whether it made a noticeable difference or just felt horrible ?

The Visco headset does seem to get good reviews generally so there do appear to be benefits to be had .  The grease linked to above is very expensive and normally sold in largish amounts but someone does 1 gram of the green version for a £5er on ebay then £3 extra per gram .

Worth a go or a waste of time ?

I cant see what difference it would realistically make to be blunt.

It can make a difference but it’s mainly about reducing shimmy in the front end of lightweight road bikes. You could try any needle roller bearing headset with some really thick grease in it for that.

If you want something that works for the handling and wheel deflection over the rough I doubt there’s anything to gain,the forces from the wheel/steering are so much higher than any damping the headset can generate. Having said that the Cane Creek is adjustable.. but balancing that with a generally free steering action might be tricky.

Is it made from genuine snake oil? I’d make sure the snake oil you’re contemplating buying is real snake oil before you splash the cash.

Just overtighten your headset, job done.

…but someone does 1 gram of the green version for a £5er on ebay then £3 extra per gram

You can beat the ebay price by buying a 6 x 15g sample pack for £25 https://shop.newgatesimms.com/product/damping-grease-trial-pack/ You can also get a 30g pot of “blue” for £24.50. I’m not sure how many headsets you can do with small amounts though

If you buy a sample pack, sell the lighter grades to camera enthusiasts who apparently damp the movement and noise in their lenses with it, molgrips will have a pot to quieten the Merc’s sunglasses holder flap-action, etc.

Fill the bearings with silicone sealant?

It might sound like a stupid idea, but you started it 🤔

Lauf actually sell a bearing with the damping grease in already.

https://www.bikeradar.com/news/fsa-lauf-damped-headset-bearing

I tested a bearing  filled with the fancy grease for a while and it might have reduced some vibration, it was marginal at best. Certainly not effective as a steering damper, the cane creek one is better in that regard.

Surely the leverage you create at the ends of the bars would overcome any grease regardless of how thick it is as there’s hardly any in there

Peel any seals off and clean away any grease so that time and corrosion kick in for you?

My old Triumph had a friction steering damper on it which you screwed down to prevent the dreaded “tank slapper” scenario, made the steering horrible at low speeds mind you. I think there is such a thing as a Newtonian shear liquid which increases in viscosity as the speed of shear increases or something like that. Fine adjustment mechanisms on things like binocular or fine adjustment mechanisms use Kilopoise grease.

Pack it full of custard. Hopefully the Newtonian shear force works like custard ( or cornflour) did for Jon Tickle

I love that brainiac video.

Especially

-the panic in the eyes of the people who haven’t done their sums properly and need to order in several tonnes of custard at short notice. Where do you buy a tonne of custard to be delivered ooohh, right now?

– when they try to get him out of the custard and it properly grips onto him. They pull harder, it latches on 😱🤣🤣

Telly is often super slick, no mistakes allowed, that video is clearly someone thought it was a great idea and it was absolutely much arder than they had appreciated

Back on topic. I bought some super sticky marine grease from a recommendation on here. It’s horrible to work with, but the bearings do seem to roll a bit slower. Maybe that’s my bias. I’ve not had anything I’ve used it on go rusty in the last two years of using it.

Might not damp your head set, but it’s stopped mine rusting. All my bikes have had mudguards for 20 years and I’ve had plenty of dead bearings in the past.

I think peanut butter might work better than custard

Wait no, use marmite! That’s even stickier.

I use damping grease on all my bikes. Its brilliant stuff. So is the stripey paint I’ve just done my living room with.

Make sure you’ve a left handed Allen key to do the stem back up afterwards

Sometimes seems that asking a question on here that others may not see the point in draws in a collection of unhelpful and mostly unfunny comments .. presumably hoping to attract a bit of “cred” amongst other similarly minded members of the “gang” . Presumably it makes you feel good ?  but anyone who’s been on here a decade or more may remember there’s been a few casualties when the “pack” gather in sufficient numbers. It reminded me that on one occasion at least one of folk  was literally bullied to death , or at least the treatment he got on here no doubt contributed. I’m all for a bit of teasing and humour .(.maybe it’s because I’m tired of people and often unwell ) but I see the trend  everywhere people making unhelpful comments jostling for points in their imagined tribe . No doubt there’ll be more to come . Just to confirm…nothing on this thread was particularly unfair ..in fact I’m unsure why I made this comment ..but I did . Sorry if anyone doesn’t like it ..being outside the herd all my life I often  speak my mind on subjects the majority wouldn’t give a second thought about .

Presumably it makes you feel good ?

I just like to help folks avoid snake oil.  ‘Damping grease’ probably has a place somewhere in engineering. I’m not convinced it’s in a properly adjusted headset. I’d expect grips to make a bigger difference to steering feel than grease. 🤔 though I suppose grips aren’t cheap.

Edit – but, you are right to raise the question of awareness between gentle teasing, banter, and dismissal or bullying

🤷🏻‍♂️ what next in the snake oil stakes,HiFi Ethernet cables or switches? https://chord.co.uk/product-category/connections/english-electric/

I think peanut butter might work better than custard

Smooth or crunchy?

The managing director of Muc-Off is currently stroking his chin and making notes about future product lines.

It reminded me that on one occasion at least one of folk was literally bullied to death ,

Who was that?

Sorry if my reply wasn’t helpful.

There are always unhelpful jokey replies on here. It’s just how it is. It’s very similar to the level of Jokes in my workplace.

Video by the manufacturer explaining damping grease, pretty interesting

Using it on a motorbike throttle (jump to 1:25)

I just like to help folks avoid snake oil.  ‘Damping grease’ probably has a place somewhere in engineering. I’m not convinced it’s in a properly adjusted headset.

Late to this .. there’s a number of riders who have tried this stuff and similar solutions for certain bike types and have found benefits worth sticking with. If this is snake oil so are 2 clicks of HSC or a token in your fork. It’s fine tuning, that’s all. Most bikes won’t need it, most riders won’t need it. That doesn’t make the fine tune irrelevant to all though.

New Cane Creek Hellbender 70 Visco Headset has Tricks

I don’t think anyone would be able to tell the different between a headset with damping grease and one without.

Presumably Cane Creek thought the same, as their headset has a set of rotating damping plates in it designed to produce friction using the grease…

I don’t think anyone would be able to tell the different between a headset with damping grease and one without.

Testers who’ve ridden the Cane Creek report it has an effect but adding different grease to a normal ball bearing headset, I would expect you’re right. Would be interested to try but the bearing size / path isn’t going to move much grease. A needle roller bearing headset with damping grease? I’d be tempted to take a tenner bet that I could pick the bike with one fitted if it were a road or gravel ride. MTB, not so sure.

I reckon that the grease on its own will probably have no discernible effect. However some sort of steering damper on a Fatty is not a bad Idea as lots of actual racers have found. In fact Iditarod legend Mike Curiak runs the Cane Creek Visco headset adjusted to be as stiff as possible AND a Hopey adjustable steering damper (if you are not familiar with these they have an adjustment knob on top for on the fly adjustment and can be adjusted to be almost locked when on max).

Even the video up there talks about ‘a customers perceived benefit to the blue grease’…
I can see why the specific headset works.
To add thick grease to a headset which has huge levers and then your hands to operate, I just don’t buy it.

The grease works in thin shear applications – Cane Creek have added as many discs/layers of as larger diameter as is possible within a headset to maximize the shearing effect. Shoving this type of grease in a normal headset will have no discernible effect at all.

The grease works in thin shear applications – Cane Creek have added as many discs/layers of as larger diameter as is possible within a headset to maximize the shearing effect

Exactly. I don’t understand how a grease would damp a bearing with ball or roller bearings. The diagram above reminds me of viscous couplings where the viscosity of the fluid changes due to the shear speed of the plates and will lock them at a predetermined speed. That sort of fluid won’t make any difference to a regular bearing.

I’d like to try one out ..particularly on my Fatty as I’ve been loosening my grip on the roughstuff and thought it might add a little extra safety margin as well as other unnecessary benefits I won’t go into detail about as no doubt I’ll be told i don’t need it !

Might be worth sharing what issues you have/benefits you are looking for – as people may have alternative suggestions to improve your comfort/stability on the bike.

Maybe other things like grips, stem, tyre inserts… I dunno.