Originally Posted by
HillRider
I have three Ti frames and have used plumber's Teflon tape on my bottom bracket cups for many years. It provides complete protection against bi-metallic corrosion and seizing, prevents any water incursion and, best of all, never squeaks. It's also a lot less messy than anti-seize which stains anything and everything it touches.
I use grease on pedal spindle threads, water bottle cage bolts, headset cups and seatposts and have never had any problems with any of my frames including a 23 year-old one with 75,000 miles ridden in all types of weather.
I've also heard of using teflon tape as a substitute for anti-seize on bottom bracket threads. I did consider using it when building up my new Ti frame earlier this year, however, I came across Shimano anti-seize for Ti and it seemed to fit the bill for me. It's messy but it does come with a built-in applicator brush so at least you can control the mess to a degree. One of my concerns was not achieving good enough coverage with the tape, a concern the anti-seize mostly eliminates. That's just me though. Hillrider definitely knows what he's talking about
Here's my DS BB cup when I was installing it:
Originally Posted by
Wattsup
A related question please... I had been thinking of doing this stuff myself, but I found out a LBS of good repute will do it all and more (new hub bearings) for $180. I've been riding through mud, water and rain for three months now, so I'd like to get this stuff done as soon as yesterday. I don't want this BB seizing in my new frame!
What tools would I need to accomplish what we've talked about here....headset removal and treatment as suggested, bottom bracket, etc. Any estimate of total cost of parts, and the general difficulty of doing it correctly for a first-time newb?
Thanks!
When you say headset removal, what did you do in the first place? As others have said, so long theres some sort of grease in there, you'll be fine for a while. I used carbon-friendly grease on the crown race as I was installing onto a carbon steerer.
Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
Depending on the area cost of living $180 for a bike overhaul (usually also assuming no issues that cost more time/tooling) is pretty cheap. I would really want to be sure of a shop's motivation to do all these little extra steps on reassembly before I would blindly expect this level of attention.
Headsets were asked about and I really didn't answer completely. One issue I see every so often is with a threadless headset/fork/stem is that the spacers between the stem and the rest of the system can corrode really badly. To a point where they effectively lock the adjustment to where it was before the corrosion happened. Just about every bike I see (and have removed the stem on) has no lube or other compounds on the fork's steerer where the stem and spacers are located. Most of the time it's a non issue, casual use/dry conditions/no aggressive sweat or salt water. But it get's a pain to have to saw off these spacers (and be careful to not nick the steerer) when doing what should be a quick and easy overhaul. So I advise applying a thin coat of some lube/compound on the steerer. Andy
I think this is really good advice as well. Just watch you don't get grease on the steerer where the stem clamps it, particularly if your stem pinch bolt tightening torque is limited by the fact you're running a carbon steerer.
I have no idea what you get for $180 in terms of LBS labour where you guys are but for a 'premium service' in London (full strip down to frame, check and refit components), you'd be looking at around £120 plus parts.