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Just saw a shop use regular grease on a carbon steerer clamp and it made me cringe

We had two bikes come in last month, both with creaking stems. One had a carbon paste on the steerer, the other just had a thick layer of Phil's grease. The greased one kept slipping and creaking after we torqued it to spec, about 5 Newton meters. We cleaned it off, applied some Finish Line Fiber Grip, and the noise was gone instantly. The paste has those tiny grit particles that bite into the carbon without crushing it. Has anyone else had a customer bring in a bike with the wrong lube in a critical spot like that?
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3 Comments
thomas346
thomas3469d ago
Ugh, classic mistake. Grease just lets things slide, you need that grit to lock it in. Fiber Grip or any carbon paste is the only thing that works right.
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sarah531
sarah5319d agoTop Commenter
Wait, isn't 5 Nm a bit low for a stem?
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bennett.riley
Honestly Sarah, that spec's for the faceplate bolts, not the main clamp.
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