Grease on Carbon Fiber?
By Troublegum
@Troublegum (641)
United States
November 14, 2008 9:28pm CST
Ok, almost every major manufacture of carbon fiber seatposts recomends against putting grease on carbon fiber seatposts. On the other hand, there are a lot of people who have has issues with non greased seatposts seizing into their frames. So I know people who grease them, and people who don't. Incidentally I have never seen any of them delaminate as the manufacturers say they will. What do you do? Have you ever had grease damage the Carbon Fiber? Have you ever had one seize up on you?
1 person likes this
1 response
@Philbo (578)
• Canada
20 Jul 09
Never worked with carbon fiber seat posts but I have tried to get a seized steel one out of an old frame before and it was almost impossible. I took it over to my neighbor who lives in kind of a do it yourself junkyard. He could not get it out with regular tools. We drilled a hole in it. Stuck a metal shaft through the hole and tried to use the lever action to twist the stupid thing free. Then we heated it up with a torch. Still no luck. We finally put the cutting head on the torch and melted that sucker far enough down the frame tube to put another one in on top of it. My son is six foot four so he needed the seat way up anyway. Distorted the tubing only a little. He's been using this bike ever since. I'm sure as a real bike mechanic you're horrified. Seat post grease. Hey I will risk delaminating it rather than risk having to do something like that again.
@Troublegum (641)
• United States
21 Jul 09
Almost every mechanic has a simular story which is why we always shutter seeing the bikes come out of the big box stores without grease on the seatpost and pedals. Penetrating oil goes a long way, but it take patience.
