The time I finally stopped greasing every single bolt on a bike

For about 5 years I greased every thread I touched. Pedals, stem bolts, caliper mounts, you name it. Then last winter I had a customer's seatpost slip no matter how tight I cranked the binder bolt. A older mechanic named Hank watched me struggle and said "you're lubricating the friction you need, son." Turns out torque specs assume dry threads on certain parts, and I'd been overtorquing things like brake caliper bolts for years without realizing it. Has anyone else had to unlearn a habit that seemed right but was actually causing problems?

2 comments

2 Comments

owens.cameron23h ago

Hank's advice is good for some things but Ive been greasing threads for about 10 years now and never had a seatpost slip or a bolt back out. The trick is knowing WHERE to grease and where not to. Seatpost binder bolts are actually one spot I ALWAYS grease because the clamp needs to squeeze the post evenly without binding up. Dry threads can actually give you a false torque reading where the bolt feels tight but really it's just binding from friction and not actually clamping hard enough. On brake caliper bolts I use a tiny bit of anti-seize instead of grease. Its a different compound and prevents corrosion without throwing off torque the same way. I think a lot of mechanics go too far one way or the other without actually testing things for themselves.

-1

kim81918h ago

Also you're assuming everyone torques their bolts to factory spec every time which is just not realistic. A lot of people go by feel and grease can make it way too easy to over-tighten and snap something, especially with smaller bolts. If you're greasing seatpost binder bolts you're basically asking for a cracked frame or stripped threads when someone who doesn't know what they're doing grabs a torque wrench.