to grease or not to grease
 

installing some bar end shifters (bar cons) in drop bars.
should i put a coat of grease on the inside of the bars or just go comando?

IMO anytime you put alum. against alum. you should put a thin coat of grease on the parts.

SS

well, I never have and never an issue either

There you go. Two responses - both answers. Perfect.

I never needed any aspirin over it. Do you actually have any experience with them or just speculating?

I hate to do this, but I'm siding with Sydney on this one. I've used bar end shifters for a dozen years. Never greased them. Rode in the rain and snow and muck. Never had a problem with them.

That's my experience, anyway.

Geeze...is that such a bad thing? Hope ya don't loose any points around here over it. ;)

:D

The problems with seatposts and stems are usually when its aluminum in steel. Al in al should be OK. Another vote for Sydney

I vote for grease and here are the three resons why.

1. My friend and I used to do a bicycle recyclery, working on twenty-thirty year-old bikes. We wished many times that folks had put that tidbit of grease on parts before assembly. We could tell when they did, and it paid off. Now, you might say that twenty years is a long time from now and what does it matter? My direct answer is that if you're writing on this list, you care enough about the bike that it will be around that long.

Furthermore: It does not take that long for parts to become seized. While aluminum to steel contact causes a higher amount of corrosion because of electrolytic action, any contact between any bare metals (aside from stainless steel) is bound to become fused by corrosion. Less so if you live in dry climates and more so in wet.

2. Personal experience with Shimano 9-speed barcons. I bought the bike in the spring with drop bars swapped for moustache bars. Mid summer I flipped and bent the bars. When I went to change them, the barcons were wretched to remove. Once removed, worked loose, there was no sign of lubricant that would have protected the surface from forming the white aluminum oxide that was present.

3. It takes but a few seconds to grease parts before assembly with big benefits. I've seen this working as a car mechanic too. Lots of saved time not to mention parts. Doesn't grease keep things from staying tight? It is slippery after all, right? Well, I and others have never had a problem. Most grease gets squeezed out. Do be careful about putting grease or oil into a hole with a bottom- the hydraulic pressure created when the screw/bolt is installed can cause the part to fracture. Some people are into loc-tite. I'm not, and it's fine others are. Loctite protects from corrosion, but be careful- some require you to heat the part for removal. If you forget, you or others run the mistake of stripping or breaking screw/bolt heads.

You can also use anti-seize compound instead of grease.

If you are worried about bolts/screws coming loose, aside from the loctite, you can use nylox nuts. The nylon insert keeps such nuts from vibrating loose. You should also utilize lockwashers. There are several types, imho the wave washer is best. It looks like a regular washer, except thiner, and if you look at it from the edge, is cupped, or waved. This gives it it's spring, which exerts pressure on the nut, or bolt to keep it from vibrating off. Star washers are not so good as they dig into the surface material. Split lock washers are what most people are familiar with. Their fault is that if tightened too much, the gap spreads out, and they lose their affectiveness.

To continue my lecture, something people don't realize is that bolts themselves are actually a type of spring. When tightened, the bolt is actually stretched, and this is what keeps it tight. That is why a bolt that is too large of diameter for a situation is not good- the amount of torque required to reach proper spring tension can destroy the parts. This is also why certain bolts, or studs on a car engine can only be used once. After the first use, they are keep their stretch and have no elasticity, or spring.

Okay, that's probably more than anyone wanted to know, so I'll end! But that's my argument, and you've got to admit it's a good one! good luck, : )

Neither have I with barends in years of use. What's your actual experience.... EH? Sparkplug? You'll note I didn't say not to do it, so knock yourself out if it gives you a warm fuzzie,and we can put another inane grease thread to rest..