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Changed my mind on threadlocker after watching a stem bolt back out on a customer's ride
I used to skip blue threadlocker on stem and brake bolts because I figured proper torque was enough. Then a regular brought his bike in about 3 weeks after I built it, and two stem bolts had walked almost a full turn loose. I torque everything to spec with a good wrench, so that bugged me for days. Talking to a guy at the shop in Tempe who's been building for 20 years, he said grease and vibration just win sometimes no matter how good your wrench is. Now I use blue on every stem and caliper bolt, and I'm trying to figure out if I'm overdoing it on stuff that gets adjusted a lot, like seatpost clamps.
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kaid5916d ago
Had a BMC come back last June with the left shifter pod loose after maybe 40 miles, and the bolt had backed off almost two full turns. That was the day I stopped trusting torque alone too. Same thing, good wrench, spec numbers, didn't matter, road buzz just eats that stuff alive. Now blue goes on every stem, caliper, and rotor bolt that touches a bike leaving my rack. For seatpost clamps and anything the customer messes with, I use the light stuff or just a dab on the threads so it still breaks free easy with a 4mm. You're not overdoing it, a caliper bolt walking out mid descent is a real bad day.
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