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Had a customer in Tucson convince me grease is overrated for bottom brackets
This guy rolls in with a 20 year old mountain bike, never once greased the bottom bracket, and it spins smooth as butter. I've been slathering that stuff on every install for years because that's what the old shop lead taught me. He said I was just making a mess that attracts dirt and grit, and honestly after cleaning his setup I see his point. Has anyone else found less prep actually works better on certain builds?
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scott.olivia17d ago
Drove past my old shop last week and saw the new kid using a whole tube of grease on a single hub. Made me think about this guy you met. Sometimes less really is more with this stuff.
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barbara_jenkins6617d ago
20 years without a drop of grease on the bottom bracket and it still spins smooth? That blows my mind honestly. I've been doing this for like 15 years and always thought you had to pack that thing full to keep it quiet. But now that I think about it I've seen so many old bikes come in with all this black gritty sludge from overgreasing and they just need a full rebuild. Maybe the sealed cartridges on modern stuff don't even need the extra lube anyway. I'm actually tempted to try a dry install on my next commuter build just to see what happens.
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