Originally Posted by
Ghrumpy
Of course.
Like I said, even if it does reach the bearing, it's not going to damage anything. It's just oil with some very soft sacrificial materials in it like copper and zinc oxide. Neither of those will do any damage to a bearing or race.
My argument is not that it "hinders the engagement." It's that it is rarely necessary, and more often can lead to overtightening.
This is incorrect. Lubricant will allow a proper crank to axle engagement using appropriate bolt torque. It will not help overtightening. I mean - you can overtighten and strip bolts if not paying attention, of course, but having a crank to axle interface lubed won't make any difference there.
Torquing it without lube on the interface, on the other hand, does cause problems, as was nicely explained in the link from Sheldon Brown's site.
Originally Posted by
Ghrumpy
The only time I could see using anti-seize on a taper is for a bike that will see extremely wet and salty conditions. Even in that case, you'll probably be chewing through BBs often enough that galling won't be a problem.
Shimano cartridge square taper BBs last surprisingly long, even with salty winter roads. I've been very happy, even with the "lower middle end" models.