Who it's for
Good fit
- Home mechanics who look after a family's or club's bikes
- Riders who re-pack hubs, headsets and bottom brackets as well as pedals
- Anyone filling a grease gun
Look elsewhere if
- Riders who only grease pedal threads a couple of times a year (buy the tube)
- Carrying in a travel or race-day kit
- Titanium threads (use anti-seize) or carbon clamp areas (use friction paste)
Compatibility
- Pedal threads and bearings
- Yes
- Other bike uses
- Ball bearings, threads and press fits (headsets, bottom brackets, cranks, hubs)
- Carbon parts
- Will not harm carbon fiber (Park Tool)
- Grease guns
- Fill with a clean spatula, or load a gun designed to fill from a tub
- Titanium threads
- Use Park Tool ASC-1 anti-seize instead
Pros and cons
Pros
- Four times the grease of the PPL-1 tube
- Same grease as the tube, so workshop and toolbox match
- Wide opening is quick for packing bearings and loading a grease gun
- NLGI Grade 2 suits pedals, hubs, headsets and bottom brackets
Cons
- An open tub picks up grit unless you keep it covered
- Needs a brush, spatula or grease gun to apply neatly
- Too much grease for riders who only maintain one bike
What it is
The PPL-2 is Park Tool’s general-purpose PolyLube 1000 grease in a 16 oz tub. It is the same polyurea, NLGI Grade 2 grease as the 4 oz PPL-1 tube, rated by Park for -30°F to 473°F (-34°C to 245°C) and safe on carbon fiber. Only the packaging and quantity change.
Park lists PolyLube 1000 for any ball bearing, thread or press fit, so one tub handles pedals, hubs, headsets and bottom brackets across many bikes.
Who needs a tub of Park Tool grease
Buy the tub if you go through more than one tube a year. In practice that means:
- Multi-bike households: greasing pedal threads and seatposts on every bike in the garage adds up.
- Bearing work: re-packing cup-and-cone hubs or pedals uses far more grease than threads do.
- Grease-gun users: a gun is the cleanest way to apply grease in quantity, and you fill it from a tub.
- Clubs and community workshops: one tub on the bench beats a drawer of half-used tubes.
If you only fit pedals now and then, the tube is the better buy: it stays cleaner.
Tub vs tube
| PPL-2 tub (16 oz) | PPL-1 tube (4 oz) | |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | 4 times as much | Enough for occasional jobs |
| Keeping it clean | Needs care every time it is opened | Sealed; dispense from the nozzle |
| Applying | Brush, spatula, gloved finger or grease gun | Direct from the nozzle |
| Best for | Bearings, multiple bikes, grease guns | Pedal threads, occasional bearing work |
Many home mechanics keep both: the tub on the bench and a tube in the toolbox.
How to keep a grease tub clean
Contaminated grease puts grit straight into bearings. A few habits keep a tub usable to the bottom:
- Close the lid every time, even for a minute’s break.
- Never dip a dirty finger or brush. Use a clean acid brush, a spatula or a gloved finger.
- Scoop from one side and smooth the surface flat, so you can see if anything has fallen in.
- Store it on a shelf, away from the floor and bench where filings and dust settle.
- Remove contamination at once. If you see grit, scrape out that layer and bin it.
Using it on pedals
For pedals, apply a thin coat on the threads before fitting and a generous fill in the bearings during a service. The left pedal is reverse-threaded; our step-by-step guide covers direction and torque, and pedal removal tools covers the wrenches.
Park Tool’s grease and lube range
PolyLube 1000 is Park’s all-rounder, but Park makes several related products. Each has a specific job:
| Product | What it is | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| PolyLube 1000 (PPL-1 tube, PPL-2 tub) | Polyurea grease, NLGI 2 | Threads, bearings and press fits in general |
| HPG-1 High Performance Grease | Highly water-resistant grease, NLGI 2, 4 oz tube | Bearings in wet and winter riding |
| ASC-1 Anti-Seize Compound | Anti-seize, 4 oz tube | Pedal and bottom-bracket threads, especially titanium |
| SAC-2 carbon and alloy compound | Friction-enhancing paste | Carbon and alloy seatposts, bars and stems (not threads) |
| GG-1 Grease Gun | Refillable grease gun | Applying grease cleanly in quantity |
For pedals, most riders need only PolyLube 1000, plus ASC-1 if they run titanium spindles. Compare these with other brands in our guide to bike pedal grease, lube and cleaners, or see the Park Tool brand page.
Alternatives to consider
Finish Line Premium Grease (1 lb tub)
A waterproof grease with extreme-pressure additives in a similar workshop size, with a 4 lb tub for busy shops.
Park Tool HPG-1 High Performance Grease
Park's more water-resistant grease (NLGI 2, -29°C to 282°C), sold in a 4 oz tube; a good second grease for wet-weather bearings.
Phil Wood Waterproof Grease
A classic sticky bearing grease for cup-and-cone pedals and hubs.
Shimano Premium Grease
Shimano's service grease, the one its manuals specify for its pedals.
Park Tool PolyLube 1000 Lubricant Tub PPL-2: FAQ
Is the PPL-2 the same grease as the PPL-1?
Yes. Both are PolyLube 1000; the PPL-2 is a 16 oz tub and the PPL-1 is a 4 oz tube.
Which Park Tool grease is best for pedals?
PolyLube 1000 covers pedal threads and bearings. Choose HPG-1 for bearings that see constant rain, and ASC-1 anti-seize for titanium spindle threads.
Can I fill a grease gun from the PPL-2 tub?
Yes. Load the gun with a clean spatula or by the gun's own filling method, and close the tub right after so dirt stays out.
Does bike grease go off?
Kept clean and closed, grease lasts a long time. Throw it out if it has grit in it or has separated badly, with oil pooling on top.