Bicycle Mechanics - Grease for aluminum/aluminum contact.

Hey guys I am building up a new frameset and need some grease. I have an aluminum frame and aluminum seatpost. I see the LBS uses a red grease for the aluminum/aluminum contact points? Is that bike specififc? will any grease work?

i just use regular grease

Antiseize works well

Antiseize works well

+1 for anti-seize compound. It takes very little and it stays put.

Eric

Antiseize works well

I use anti-seize for pedal threads, crankarm bolts, bottom brackets shells, and spoke nipples. I use regular grease on most everything else including stems, seatposts, bottom bracket spindles, and of course bearings.

I believe the grease you are looking for is molybdenum disulfide (sp?). Dow chemical and probably other make it.

Any good grease will work. I use marine grease on about everything.

I believe the grease you are looking for is molybdenum disulfide (sp?). Dow chemical and probably other make it.

+1 on the moly grease

good stuff, slippery as hell, should prevent any shear wear from the two surfaces provided you maintain that lubrication level.

There are specific anti-corrosion compounds for aluminum to aluminum connections. You will find it with electrical supplies where it is used on aluminum electrical connections. Sometimes it is called OX-GARD, Aluma-Shield, DE-OX, NO-OX-ID, or NOALOX, etc. Silicone dielectric grease or plain old anti-seize will work but not as well as the aluminum specific formulations. Lubricant type greases will also "work" but not as well as any of the above, they will also make it easier to "slip". The local LBS may have some high $$$$ stuff also...

I believe the grease you are looking for is molybdenum disulfide (sp?). Dow chemical and probably other make it.

+1
Dow markets this stuff under the Molycote brand. Some of the best stuff out there.
Comes in brush on, spray, wet application, dry coating applications.

Permatex aluminum based anti-seize is very good for your intended purpose.

Grease will suffice, but won't hold up as long.

Which one you choose depends on how anally you love your bikes.
Hmmm, that didn't quite sound right.
:D

Use moly type or lubricants only if you want slip. Unless you are fond of bottoming out on a seatpost when hitting a bump you don't need -slip...:D

+1
Dow markets this stuff under the Molycote brand. Some of the best stuff out there.
Comes in brush on, spray, wet application, dry coating applications.

Permatex aluminum based anti-seize is very good for your intended purpose.

Grease will suffice, but won't hold up as long.

Which one you choose depends on how anally you love your bikes.
Hmmm, that didn't quite sound right.
:D

well he was talking about a seat post. Did I say that?

- Beavis

Fot seatposts you aren't looking for lubrication, you only want corrosion and moisture protection. ANY decent grease will work. Just clean the surfaces and regrease at least once a year.

IMO, there is nothing that works better than plain grease. Everything else works too - it just costs more.

FWIW, I use blue marine lube for all bike grease items. Not because there aren't other things that work as well, but because I use it for my trailer axles, outboard motor, fishing reels, etc. A small hand grease gun with a needle tip is very handy for all bike related maintenance.

That said, use what you've got. It would be silly to go out and buy "special" stuff to lube your post - bike seat post that is.

Any grease will work. Be sure to smear grease on the inside of the seat tube as well as on the seat post.

Any grease will work.

Agreed.


Be sure to smear grease on the inside of the seat tube as well as on the seat post.

Agreed. I find there are 1,000,001 uses for old toothbrushes on a bike .... and this is one of them.

I do a pretty good clean-up, WITH a toothbrush and WD-40, before the greasing part, though ... a touch of rust on a steel frame could help keep CF posts from slipping :D

Hey guys I am building up a new frameset and need some grease. I have an aluminum frame and aluminum seatpost. I see the LBS uses a red grease for the aluminum/aluminum contact points? Is that bike specififc? will any grease work?

For this purpose grease...as others have said, works just fine. BUT, as others have said too which I disagree is that you don't have to relube your seat post once a year. Huh? The grease is just sitting static on the post, it's not moving nor is it magically disappearing. The only time you need to regrease a seat post is if you take the seat post out or for some reason are constantly moving the post up and down like on a MTB.

The last time I greased my seatpost on my older road bike was about 10 years ago. Because of this question and some of the answers I read about regreasing I took my seat post out to look at the condition of the grease and here's what I found: The grease was still there on both the post and inside the tube, and the post came out easily-because of the grease of course, and the grease was clean. Like a jackash I am for removing the seatpost just to see what was happening I had to clean the post and the tube and regrease both! Technically though because the grease was still there and it was clean, I'm absolutely certain I didn't have to clean and regrease it and could have just reinserted the post and would have been just fine.

When you grease you only need a small amount to lightly cover both the post and the inside of the tube. Any excess grease will ooze out of the end of the tube after the post is installed and you will need to wipe this off of course. A thick coating will do you no extra good since the tolerances between the post and the tube is nil, thus a thick coat will just ooze a lot more and you've wasted grease.

PS: I just looked at a maintenance book I have, and it says to regrease it once a year. I don't think that's necessary especially after what I found and thought was true today. But if you anal about that kind of thing it wouldn't hurt.

For this purpose grease...as others have said, works just fine. BUT, as others have said too which I disagree is that you don't have to relube your seat post once a year. Huh? The grease is just sitting static on the post, it's not moving nor is it magically disappearing. The only time you need to regrease a seat post is if you take the seat post out or for some reason are constantly moving the post up and down like on a MTB.
If you ride in clean dry conditions, almost never get caught in the rain, and store your bike in a climate controlled area regreasing once a year may be too often. If your bike gets wet often or goes through a lot of warm/cold storage conditions, water and condensation can compromise the protection.

There are too many confirmed horror stories of greased seatposts seizing solidly after a few years to take the chance. An annual relube is a pretty small job.

We use to use Galvanox when putting 2 aluminum electrical wires together.

Use the RIGHT STUFF!! :D
It really doesn't cost much to have a few tubes/tubs/cans/bottles of the right products in the toolbox. Just buy them when you run into an application for them. A tube of aluminum anti-corrosion compound will last a normal person a lifetime. Same with a small jar or tube of Permatex anti-seize for use on steel to aluminum or steel-steel joints. There are anti-seize, anti-corrosion, or anti-galling compounds for other materials like stainless steel etc. I probably have at least two dozen specialty lubricant or corrosion inhibitors on hand. Materials collected over time as needed don't cost much. They sure beat the cost of ruined parts, not to mention your time trying to get frozen parts apart.

Antiseize works well

If this is what I refer to a copper-grease, I agree 100%, I use it on both my seat post and headset, and it works brilliantly.

If you ride in clean dry conditions, almost never get caught in the rain, and store your bike in a climate controlled area regreasing once a year may be too often. If your bike gets wet often or goes through a lot of warm/cold storage conditions, water and condensation can compromise the protection.

There are too many confirmed horror stories of greased seatposts seizing solidly after a few years to take the chance. An annual relube is a pretty small job.

I agree...it is a small job. I do ride mine in the rain, but still after 10 years it wasn't even remotely stuck. But that's why I wrote the PS after reading the maintenance manual.

If this is what I refer to a copper-grease, I agree 100%, I use it on both my seat post and headset, and it works brilliantly.

OT, or at least tangental: I've read that the copper anti seize is best for CF components. True?