Bicycle Mechanics - Teflon tape on BB threads.

So I'm up in the middle of the night working on my bike, (as I'm apt to do when I'm on night shifts) I'm overhauling to the BB, cleaning the drivetrain, when I remember the idea of using "plumbers" or teflon tape to silence noisey BB shells.

As I've been informed overtime some aluminum bikes develope this little creaking sound in the shell as they get older. No amount of grease or maintenance will entirely cure this condition. It will quiet it, but not silence it.

For the record my bike set up is a 99 Rocky Mountain "Thin Air" with the Octalink Shimano XT cranks and BB. I'm pretty anal about maintenance for the most part too. I keep the BB shell and arms torqued down to spec. I have a nagging fear of my crank arms coming off during a ride :eek:

So I started to wonder. Does the teflon tape work at helping solve this problem or is it just make the job more of a pain in the arse in the end? I've encountered this creaking issue many times and have just done overhauls to quiet it. I am wondering if this is a feasible way to shut it up or is it time to buy that Ti frame I've been dreaming about? :D

If the threads are old and aren't quite tight, go for it. I've put teflon tape on the threads of a few BB's before, without problems. Otherwise, just use a bit of Permatex Anti-sieze.

The teflon tape works fine, you don't need skads of it, just a turn or two. It just provides a "bushing" between the cup and shell.
Are you checking your crank bolts with a torque wrench(sounds like you are) or just cranking on them every now and then? Some people like to tighten every screw until it turns a little more and if it is already tight this will lead to problems.

DARN!!! I was hoping that some one would say buy that Ti frame but oh well. I'll try to remember to pick up some tape at the hardware store for the next BB overhaul. Thanks guys. :beer:

Hey Stiffee_shane, go buy that Ti frame! Send my the RM. I need a frame for my next "project" bike.

L8R

If you buy the Ti frame your BB won't creak It will quietly bond it self to the shell so that it may one day torment you with its complete inability to come out.
You would, of course, install yours properly with lotsof Ti antiseize. But once I had to remove an XT spline BB (customer installed) from a Litespeed(this guy also pressure washed his bike, often). The non drive cup came right out, but the drive wouldn't move. Worked up to the two foot pipe and ripped the splines out of the cup. Ended up driving the axle out and sawing thru the cup in three spots. Then I popped them out with a chisel and hammer. Took about an hour.

Originally posted by Rev.Chuck
If you buy the Ti frame your BB won't creak It will quietly bond it self to the shell so that it may one day torment you with its complete inability to come out.
You would, of course, install yours properly with lotsof Ti antiseize. But once I had to remove an XT spline BB (customer installed) from a Litespeed(this guy also pressure washed his bike, often). The non drive cup came right out, but the drive wouldn't move. Worked up to the two foot pipe and ripped the splines out of the cup. Ended up driving the axle out and sawing thru the cup in three spots. Then I popped them out with a chisel and hammer. Took about an hour.

Ouch!!! I definately will keep that in mind for sure.