c/bicycle-mechanics

Debate: Grease vs anti-seize on pedal threads - which way causes less headaches later?

I had to make the call last week on a customer's carbon crank, went with anti-seize to avoid galling, but now I'm worried about it backing off if I didn't torque it just right. What's everyone running on aluminum pedals into steel or carbon cranks, and have you ever had one seize up either way?

Kicked my own bike wheel in frustration at a trailhead near Boulder

I was out on a group ride last Saturday and my rear derailleur started ghost shifting on a climb, so I yanked the shifter cable too hard and snapped it clean off the anchor bolt. Had to walk two miles back to the car while everyone waited, and that's when I stopped hating on indexed shifting and started treating cables like a wear item I actually budget for. Anybody else ever wreck something simple because you thought it was tougher than it is?

Hot take: Park Tool hex wrenches vs Bondhus - which is actually better for daily shop use?

Honestly, I've been going back and forth on this for like 6 months now. I started out using Park Tool ones exclusively because that's what the senior mechanic at my shop in Denver swore by. But after snapping two of their 5mm keys on stubborn bolts, I grabbed a set of Bondhus T-handles from Amazon for like 25 bucks. The Bondhus ones just feel tougher in my hands and the ball end seems to hold up better on seized cranks. But I do miss the lifetime warranty on Park Tool stuff even if I never had to use it. What are you guys running in your stand right now? Anyone else switch brands and notice a real difference?

I finally had a bottom bracket cartridge fail on a ride last month

I was out on a 40 mile loop near Lancaster, about 15 miles from my truck, when I heard this grinding noise coming from the cranks. At first I thought it was just the chain rubbing, but when I stood up to pedal the whole drive side started wobbling. Turns out the Shimano BB I put in 8 months ago had its bearing cage collapse. I coasted to a gas station and borrowed a hammer and punch from the mechanic to tap the crank arm back on every 2 miles. By the time I limped home I had to replace the whole BB and the crank arm because the splines got wallowed out. Anyone else had a cartridge bottom bracket just grenade like that with no warning signs?

Realized my chain was stretching way faster after I changed lube brands

I've been running the same drivetrain for about 4 months now, and last week I finally checked the chain wear with my Park Tool gauge. It read 0.75 already, which surprised me since I only put maybe 300 miles on it. The only thing I changed was switching from a wet lube to a cheaper dry wax one to cut down on cleaning time. Before that, my chains usually lasted closer to 800 miles before hitting that mark. Anyone else notice a big jump in wear rates just from swapping lubes?

Flashback to 2009 when my derailleur hanger snapped on a gravel road outside Nashville

Was doing a 40 mile ride and the whole drivetrain just locked up going up a hill. Had to walk 3 miles to the nearest gas station and borrow a pair of pliers to jury-rig it enough to get home. Anyone else had to improvise a fix in the middle of nowhere?

Debate: Should you grease the threads on pedal spindles or leave them dry?

At my shop last Tuesday, I had two old-timers go at it for a solid 10 minutes about this. One swears by grease to prevent seizing, and the other says grease makes pedals loosen up and fall off over time. I personally always dry-fit them, so which camp is actually right here?

That new guy at the shop told me I was wasting time cleaning cables with isopropyl.

He said just spray it with WD-40 and wipe, but after 12 years of doing it my way I tried his method and it actually worked better on a grimy Ultegra groupset - has anyone else switched to a faster degreaser and regretted it later?

The shop vet said never use WD-40 on chains and I argued for years

Honestly, I thought my coworker Dave was just being old school when he told me to ditch WD-40 for chain lube back in 2019. I kept using it on my own bike and customers' bikes because it was cheap and seemed to work fine. After about 6 months, I noticed chains were wearing out faster and getting noisy around 400 miles. Dave showed me the inside of a chain he cut open and it was basically dry sludge. Ngl, I switched to a proper wet lube after that and chains last me at least 800 miles now. Has anyone else had a similar wake-up call about something you thought was fine?

Overheard a kid call a quill stem "vintage" and it hit me

I was building up an old steel frame last week and some young rider walked by and said my setup looked like a museum piece. I remember when these were just normal parts, not some retro treasure find - anyone else feel like the timeline on what counts as "old" has gotten weird in the last decade?

Switched to Park Tool's spoke prep after using WD-40 for years

I used to lube spoke nipples with WD-40 at the shop in Denver until a master builder told me it degrades tension over time. Now I use Park Tool's SP-7 on every wheel build and the tension holds way more consistent. Has anyone else found a cheaper alternative that works as good?

Spent $80 on a Park Tool spoke tension meter and it finally showed me why my rear wheel kept going out of true

Switched from wet lube to wax for chain maintenance in Seattle

I ran wet lube for years and had to clean my drivetrain every 200 miles in this rain. A guy at a local shop recommended wax and now I go 500 miles before the chain even looks dirty. Anyone else find wax holds up way better in wet climates?

Serious question about chain lube: wet vs dry in the real world

I've been wrenching for about 4 years now, and I keep seeing people swear by wet lube for everything even when it's bone dry out. On paper dry lube picks up less grit, but every time I use it on a customer's commuter bike they're back in 2 weeks complaining about squeaking. Meanwhile wet lube is messy but seems to last way longer on actual roads around here. I tested both on my own bike over 200 miles each last month, same route, same weather. Wet lube held up for 180 miles before needing a wipe down, dry lube was gone by 80 miles. Am I missing something or do we just need to admit wet lube is better for most people's riding conditions?

Am I the only one who thinks indexed shifting is overrated for vintage builds?

I rebuilt a 1985 Centurion last month and put a modern 8-speed groupset on it with indexed shifting, but after riding it for two weeks I swapped back to the old friction downtube shifters. The indexing was fine on the stand but on the road it kept needing readjustment and never felt as smooth as my old friction setup. Anyone else prefer friction shifting for older bikes or am I just stuck in my ways?

I finally figured out why my chain keeps skipping on the stand after 8 months of frustration

Turns out I was clamping the frame too tight and flexing the dropouts on my old Raleigh at the shop on 5th Ave, has anyone else run into this with older steel frames?

I finally hit 100 complete rebuilds this week and it hit me different than I expected

I've been keeping a tally in my shop notebook for about 4 years now, just out of habit. Every time I fully strip down a bike frame and build it back up from the bearings to the shift cables, I put a little check mark. When I counted after finishing a 1992 Trek 5200 this Tuesday, I realized I was at exactly 100. It was weird because I didn't set out to hit any number, it just kind of crept up on me over time. What surprised me was how many of those early builds I would do totally different now, like how I used to not grease bottom bracket threads or would overtighten headset caps. The last 20 or so have been way faster and cleaner, with almost zero returns or complaints. Makes you wonder how many bad habits you can carry for years before you actually know better. Anyone else keep weird shop stats that surprised you when you finally added them up?

I used to think grease was grease until a Park rep set me straight

Heard a Park Tool rep at a demo last month say you should never use anti-seize on carbon parts because it can eat away at the resin. I'd been doing it for years on my seatpost and never had an issue, but apparently the aluminum particles in some anti-seize compounds react badly over time. Any of you guys seen actual damage from this or am I overthinking it?

Remember when bottom brackets were just cups and cones?

Spent 20 minutes trying to press a cartridge BB into a frame that was .2mm out of spec last week. Had me missing the old days when I could just adjust a loose ball bearing race and call it good. Anyone else find the older stuff more forgiving to work with?

Best shift I ever had was a Tuesday with 17 flats

Had a Tuesday back in July where I fixed 17 flats in a row, all from the same stretch of road with glass shards. Got so quick at patching tubes I could do one in under 4 minutes by the end. Anybody else have a day where everything just clicked into a rhythm like that?

Found a cheap way to fix squeaky pedals without replacing them

I had this annoying squeak coming from my left pedal that drove me crazy for like 2 weeks. Tried greasing the spindle but it didn't help at all. Then I remembered an old trick from a forum where you spray a little WD-40 into the pedal body where the bearings are. Worked like a charm and saved me $40 on new pedals. Has anyone else tried this or got a better method for silent pedals?

Found out the hard way why you don't use WD-40 on a bottom bracket

So last week I was trying to free up a seized bottom bracket on an old Schwinn I'm fixing up. I grabbed the can of WD-40 and just drenched the thing, thinking it would work like a miracle. Turns out that stuff just dissolves all the grease inside and makes everything worse. Had to pull the whole crankset off and spend 2 hours cleaning out the gooey mess with degreaser and a rag. Anybody else learn this lesson the messy way or just me?

That Park Tool spoke wrench set I bought was worth every penny

I spent about 35 bucks on a set of Park Tool SW-0 spoke wrenches after fighting with cheap multi-tools for years. Last week I trued a customer's wheel in under 10 minutes because the fit was perfect and no slipping. Has anyone else had a cheap tool cost them more time than it saved?

Wasted $60 on a fancy chain cleaner tool

Bought one of those chain cleaning machines with the rotating brushes and built-in reservoir. Used it twice and it just sprayed degreaser everywhere, made a mess of my shop floor. Took me longer to clean up than it would have to just scrub the chain by hand with a rag and some Simple Green. Anyone else ditch those gadgets and go back to the old way?

Serious question about failed wheel true with a spoke tension meter

I was in my garage last Saturday trying to true a rear wheel for a customer's commuter bike. The spoke tension meter kept reading way high on the drive side, but I was like nah it's fine. Then I finished the true, put it on the stand, and the rim looked like a potato chip. Spent 45 minutes loosening every third spoke and starting over. What finally worked was following the Park Tool tension chart exactly for a 32 spoke wheel at 100 kgf. Has anyone else fought a wheel that just would not hold true after building it up?