^Loctite per directions and past prior success. Works as an anti-seize agent as well.

I had some difficulties installing my own Phil Wood BB recently...no matter how well I thought I'd cleaned the threads, and even using a pretty generous amount of the blue thread locker that they include - the damned cups kept backing out after a few hours of use. When I asked the owner of my favorite bike shop about my problem - he gave me some of his "Loctite Primer" to use, and Voila - everything is fine now and I love my new bottom bracket. BTW, it comes in a spray too :innocent:

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-19269.../dp/B00FKFGSHE

I'll have to remember that, thanks for the tip. Did you let it set for 12-24 hours before riding when you originally installed it? I think not doing that, and not thoroughly cleaning the BB shell (fresh from the factory, probably had some oil in it) was causing problems. Basically, it was new bike day and I was impatient. I'll know for sure when I ride it after work today. I've never had any problems with them in my Steamroller.

As a side note, I think every shop where I live would look at me sideways if I asked for help with a $120 square taper BB requiring proprietary tools.

im telling you, man. silver grade antiseize.

Yup - in my zeal to do everything right, I let it sit a full 24 hrs every time. I had Frame-saved my frame while it was broken down so maybe that had something to do with my problems, and cleaning the shell a 3rd time was the charm or maybe it was the primer - but finally everything clicked and now I am quite happy with it :thumb:

I'm not saying you're wrong (haven't tried it), but having a locking compound to hold the cups in place seems completely necessary as there's nothing else keeping them in place. I don't see how antiseize alone would do that, especially over months of use?

I didn't use thread locker on my Phil cartridge BB and have never had any problems. Are you sure both cups are pressed onto the cartridges properly?

Huh. Yep, I always visually verify that the outer bearing races are seated against the cups.

Today I sized down in a jersey. Took back the one I originally purchased but never wore or cut the tag off. It is a local shops club jersey and it was a bit flappy. The one I got today? Tighter than a second skin. Into my second month of a diet and lifestyle change and while I have lost weight and some inches, oof, this one makes me feel a bit self conscious.

Haha. I (unknowingly) bought a race-cut size L jersey last year when I was still at like 200lbs. Talk about motivation to cut back on the beer.....:lol:

Took the GT out for its first ride today, just under 30 miles. Can definitely feel the extra weight on hills, but it feels super smooth on the road. Have to switch out the seat post though, since I can't get it low enough with the Thomson setback post I got. Swapping it with my track bike's post for now.

today i got stung by an unknown insect during a ride. right on my stomach. sucks.

Right side is quiet, putting power through the left side still causes noise. Anti-seize/teflon tape is next. :crash:

Are you using two tools or just one?

Two.

IMO the creak is probably caused by a "gap". The threads in the frame aren't exactly the same size/shape as the threads on the BB. The difference is probably almost microscopic. But it's enough to allow a rocking movement.

Repeated movement will push soft things away, like grease, anti-seize, etc.

As a "solid", Teflon tape will occupy the gaps and cannot be pushed aside, and will neither decompose, nor wash out. Think about why plumbers use it.

Wrap the BB with one spiral and screw it in. If it screws in easily, remove it and the Teflon tap. Apply two wraps (or 1.5 overlap) and try again. Repeat this process of increasing the overlap and thickness until it takes a good amount of effort to screw it in. Not enough to F things up, but it should require a firm effort to turn it all the way from the first turn to the last.

The C&V guys swear by this. When I think about a 40 year old bike that has seen a gazillion miles and had the BB replaced many times over the years it makes perfect sense to me.

Like I've said, I've never done a BB before.

But I have used it on motorcycles where the male/female threading interface felt poorly matched (sloppy) and I was worried about the fastener coming loose.

was that green ss that replaced that surly chased and faced?
i think teflon tape is a bad idea and seems like a super huge pain to remove all that film out of your bb threads after the fact.

Teflon "tape" has zero adhesive and is almost effortless to remove.

It's TEFLON after all. It was invented for "Non-stick" purposes.

No, but the threads are fine and facing is a non-issue in this case.

Easier than cleaning dried Loctite out of the threads, I can assure you.

Silver anti-seize is the worst thing I've ever done to my bike. Bleeds everywhere and is an enormous pain to clean (especially from threads).

It's got its uses, but never again on my bike. Waterproof grease does the job just fine in most cases, and I'd go the teflon tape route to address the issue described here.

today i got 4,000 miles for the year. took me 7.5 months to achieve this year that took me all of 2016 to do.

bleeds everywhere?

You know you only need a very thin coat on the threads, right?

At any rate, I've never seen such over-thinking and over-analyzing in regard to installing a square-taper bottom bracket in my life.

i can hear that creaky bb from here.

Grease is all you need unless you're dealing with a Ti frame.