The shop owner who told me to stop greasing pedal threads was right

I've been building bikes for about 15 years, and I always greased pedal threads before installing them. It made sense to me, keep things from seizing. Then a shop owner in Tulsa, Bob, watched me do it on a customer's new crank and told me to stop. He said the grease actually lets pedals work loose over time, and he'd seen more damaged crank arms from that than from corrosion. I didn't believe him, but I tried it dry on my own bike last spring, torque wrench, 35 Nm. Six months and 2,000 miles later, not a hint of wobble. I pulled the pedals off last week and they came out clean, no squeak. Now I only use a tiny bit of anti-seize on steel frames, but never on aluminum. Anyone else been told the opposite by a mechanic they respected?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessaperry1mo ago

That "lets the pedal hammer itself loose" line really hit home, I had the same thing happen on an old mountain bike and blamed the crank. It took me way too long to realize my greasy habit was the actual problem. Solid advice from Bob, glad you found it before more damage.

fiona_hunt711mo ago

Took me about 10 years and a stripped crankarm on a friend's bike to finally listen to the same advice. I always figured grease was protecting things, but Bob was right that it just lets the pedal hammer itself loose over time. Now I run them dry on alloy and only a light touch of anti-seize on steel, and I've had zero problems since.