Old 02-19-19, 10:53 AM
  #6  
Andrew R Stewart 
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Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB

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I see a few aspects that haven't been mentioned. First is the topic of "torque", or maybe over torqueing. Since this is within the control of the person holding the wrench I see less issue with lube allowing over tightening then some will claim. After all the correct torque is the minimum amount needed to secure the parts and not be over the stated max. This approach places the emphasis on the clamping pressure, which is easier to describe via the threaded fastener but ultimately it's about holding force.

Next up is the consequence of under or over torqueing. Under has two failure modes IME. One is the parts slip, like a wheel in a horizontal drop out, a seat post in the frame, cables in their anchor bolts, spoke nipples on a spoke or the bars within the stem (and other examples). Each has it's issue if happening while riding but again the person doing the work is responsible to test the security of the fasteners they work on. The other mode is after even less attention of the user, the fastener loosens so much it gets lost. But again both modes are under the control of the user, person doing the work. Proper service technique is to test before riding and also to periodically check all the fittings after use. Again lubed threads have little to do with these failure modes when the real; failure is the person and their methods (or lack of more often).

Now too high a torque is a bit different in it's failure modes. Often the failure is a cracking/breakage of the fastener or the part. Not something you want to happen while riding at the limit But I go back to my earlier qualifier of "proper torque", that it's the minimum needed to secure the part/fastener. When the part isn't held securely with the torque range max listed then there's something wrong with the assembly (a lack of assembly paste, incompatible parts or dimensions, wear not dealt with...) Once again this is within the responsibility of the person doing the work.

So what's my take away? Lubing will make future servicing easier and provide less chance of corrosion (galvanic or oxide) collection. How tight to make stuff is the responsibility of the person doing the work. If that person doesn't really understand what effect they are producing then they shouldn't be doing the work. (And the extension of that last statement is that as the "fudge factor" of material/weight/design has been reduced in the pursuit of "maximum performance" the skill set the person doing the work has also evolved. Home mechanics take note...) Andy
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