Shocking Pictures - Don't Open!

asm who would grease saddle rails?!?!?!

Well, i actually greased my saddlerails on my Long John1
Because the dumpstered Brooks didn't fit the seatpost properly, and made squeaking noises..

I put a bit of grease on saddle rails and on the inside of the stem-to-bars clamp as well.

I don't mean slapping it on. Just the most minute nano-smear. Partly for the anti-creaking reason mentioned above, partly as protection from the elements, and partly to aid tightening (like greasing the inside of a seatpost clamp so that it can tighten 'freely' against the seat-tube).

Don't care what other people do :/

yebogorgor "Q: My cranks get loose, quite quickly too; over about 10 miles or so from being solid to flopping about in the breeze. Any suggestions?
A: One or both of the cranks are ruined!"

shit, my lh crank does that. it fell off on my the way home last night. :-(

oo look, my first post. hello.

Welcome + your cranks are fucked !

Another reason why haj's bikes rule! ^^

+1 I actually put some on my rails the other day, this ancient 50s swallow was creaking like fuck.

I love Sheldon.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Well as you guys might have noticed, when it's related to bicycles, there will always have differents asnwers to a same question.
Front brake or brakeless, steel x titanium x alloy x carbon, Shimano or Campanolo, radial or crossed lacing etc. People just have different opinions...

I checked Royce Bottom Bracket Essential Fitting Instructions ("Disregard of these step by step instutions will result in eternal trouble with creaking cranks") and found this:

**
*4. Thoroughly clean the crank arm taper and axle tapers using an air drying cleaning fluid (such as Methylated Spirits). When clean DO NOT apply oil or grease to the axle taper or crank arm.

Bolts should be tightned using 20lbfft (27Nm) torque, and re-tightned after the first or second ride.***

Roberto Thanks for all the feedback!

Well as you guys might have noticed, when it's related to bicycles, there will always have differents asnwers to a same question.
Front brake or brakeless, steel x titanium x alloy x carbon, Shimano or Campanolo, radial or crossed lacing etc. People just have different opinions...

True but unless they are the same as mine they are wrong.

From I totalled a pair of 75's on a Royce BB because I didn't follow the instructions properly:

I was getting that annoying creaking sound from my BB/crank- due to that black Aluminium oxide layer that forms. To remove it I was told to use a rag doused in methylated spirit as well as fine grit paper (800 - 1200) on a small flat file.
I stupidly used white spirit. When the crank was refitted the bloody honkey spirit acted as a lubricant and helped the crank ride further up the taper which eventually began to foul the stay. (Plus that torque wrench's lowest setting was the advised setting for the BB- it probably wasn't very precise and over torqued adding to the expensive mess.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Well as you guys might have noticed, when it's related to bicycles, there will always have differents asnwers to a same question.
Front brake or brakeless, steel x titanium x alloy x carbon, Shimano or Campanolo, radial or crossed lacing etc. People just have different opinions...

I checked Royce Bottom Bracket Essential Fitting Instructions ("Disregard of these step by step instutions will result in eternal trouble with creaking cranks") and found this:

**
*4. Thoroughly clean the crank arm taper and axle tapers using an air drying cleaning fluid (such as Methylated Spirits). When clean DO NOT apply oil or grease to the axle taper or crank arm.

Bolts should be tightned using 20lbfft (27Nm) torque, and re-tightned after the first or second ride.***

Techincally once fitted you should have a gentle ride for about 100 yards then re-torque, then have another 100 yard cycle then re-torque. Each ride should increase in intensity until the wrench 'spins out' i.e. when the crank is a far up the taper as god intended.

grease everything...

tell it to Cliff.

Why shouldn't you grease saddle rails? What if it's creaking?

I've got a titanium bb spindle, and was under the impression that it needed a light layer of grease to prevent it seizing to the aluminum crank arms.

Its done now anyway, and I'm not dead yet so tou cant say 'I told you so'. If i kills me dead you still wont be able to tell me 'I told you so', because I'll be dead. So its win/win for me, ha! :S