Hello everyone. I was googling some things about grease and found this forum, so I thought it might be a good place to bring up some topics that I haven't found answers to.
I'm a bicycle mechanic, and through the years of working in the cycling industry I've always liked to dabble in other mechanical hobbies and learn about different trades. I recently got to thinking about the role of lubricants in cycling applications. I figured it would do me some good in my trade if I better understood lubricants rather than just the classic "wet" and "dry" lubes for chains.
There are 4 main moving parts on a bicycle that require lubrication: the hub bearings, the headset bearings, the bottom bracket bearings, and the chain. Not to be dismissive, but I'm not too worried about those parts. The bearings on a bicycle aren't subjected to high temperatures, high loads, or excessive rpms.
So my questions has to do with non-moving parts. We use a lot of grease for threaded fittings and close fitting components (like the seatpost sliding inside the seat-tube). Wouldn't it technically be better to use an anti-seize lubricant for this purpose, rather than grease? I'd say the big reasons for greasing these parts are to avoid galling, oxidation, or corrosion from 1). dissimilar metal contact, 2). rain, snow, and salt, and 3). customers' sweat.
All of this thinking came about when I got a new grease gun and was trying to decide what to put in it. My other one already has my favorite bearing grease in it, and I got to thinking if another grease for the above applications was really the best solution. Anyway, I hope I can learn some things here. Thanks.
I'm a bicycle mechanic, and through the years of working in the cycling industry I've always liked to dabble in other mechanical hobbies and learn about different trades. I recently got to thinking about the role of lubricants in cycling applications. I figured it would do me some good in my trade if I better understood lubricants rather than just the classic "wet" and "dry" lubes for chains.
There are 4 main moving parts on a bicycle that require lubrication: the hub bearings, the headset bearings, the bottom bracket bearings, and the chain. Not to be dismissive, but I'm not too worried about those parts. The bearings on a bicycle aren't subjected to high temperatures, high loads, or excessive rpms.
So my questions has to do with non-moving parts. We use a lot of grease for threaded fittings and close fitting components (like the seatpost sliding inside the seat-tube). Wouldn't it technically be better to use an anti-seize lubricant for this purpose, rather than grease? I'd say the big reasons for greasing these parts are to avoid galling, oxidation, or corrosion from 1). dissimilar metal contact, 2). rain, snow, and salt, and 3). customers' sweat.
All of this thinking came about when I got a new grease gun and was trying to decide what to put in it. My other one already has my favorite bearing grease in it, and I got to thinking if another grease for the above applications was really the best solution. Anyway, I hope I can learn some things here. Thanks.