Hot take: I swore by greasing every bolt until a seized crank arm proved me wrong

For years I always put anti-seize on everything, including my pedal threads, because my buddy in Portland swore it was the only way to avoid stuck parts. Then last month I had a crank arm work itself loose on a 40-mile ride because the grease let the pedal torque itself deeper, and the shop guy at Bike N' Hike told me pedal threads need dry installation to stay put. Has anyone else found that popular DIY advice backfires in specific spots like on bottom bracket cups or disc rotor bolts?

2 comments

2 Comments

ward.mason24d ago

Funny you mention that. Started putting a tiny dab of grease on pedal threads after a similar scare, but now I torque them to 35 ft-lbs with a proper wrench instead of guessing. So far so good after a few hundred miles of gravel riding.

nora5424d ago

Wait, are you sure that's what the shop guy meant? Pedal threads actually do best with a tiny bit of light grease or anti-seize to stop them from seizing in the crank arm, but you gotta torque them to spec so they don't back out.