Cycling UK Forum

Has this been discussed before? I need help on:-
Fitting plastic BB cups (probably nothing needed)
Fitting aluminium BB cups (possible trouble here I expect)
Fitting aluminium seatpost (ditto)
Fitting s/s bolts
Fitting non-s/s bolts
Anything else?
Any links or help appreciated
Thanks in advance

I have been using copper slip on my titanium bike for eight years and had nothing "stick".
I cant say how easy it would come apart after twenty years because I cant seem to leave things alone on a bike for that long.

I asked Van Nicholas the same question when I got my first Ti bike and they said use copper grease for everything!

Rob

I used copper slip and it seems to work.

Threaded assemblies: copper slip. I use the stuff from Finish Line.

Press-fit alloy BB cups into ti shell: thin, sprayable anti-seize compound (apply sparingly). The same for metal seatposts in ti seat tube.

In the case of plastic press-fit BB cups into ti BB shell: nowt/bare.

Thanks for all the help folks.
Is there a problem with Ti frame and S/S bolts do you think since both are essentially corrosion free? I thought the main problem was with aluminium.

You have 2 dissimilar metals with SS and titanium, so there is potential for a reaction, but both metals are fairly inert, so the level of corrosion is very low using copper slip will be fine. Don’t forget though copper in copper slip is a sacrificial anode so whether it’s used on steel/ all or titanium/ss it needs replacing once in while.

NUKe wrote:You have 2 dissimilar metals with SS and titanium, so there is potential for a reaction, but both metals are fairly inert, so the level of corrosion is very low using copper slip will be fine. Don’t forget though copper in copper slip is a sacrificial anode so whether it’s used on steel/ all or titanium/ss it needs replacing once in while.

Interesting, I think the stuff I have is lithium based? Is that possible and is it a problem?

No lithium grease is fine the beauty of titanium is it’s corrosion resistance. Personally I use loctite for bolts. And coppaslip for B.B. threads, silicon grease for brakes, LM grease for bearings etc.

'copper greases' vary from a standard lithium grease with a bit of copper in it (just enough to make it look coppery) to stuff which is 50% copper by weight and has a clay thickener system. They are very far from all being the same.

cheers

Brucey wrote:'copper greases' vary from a standard lithium grease with a bit of copper in it (just enough to make it look coppery) to stuff which is 50% copper by weight and has a clay thickener system. They are very far from all being the same.

cheers

I tried to find some specs. but mostly failed, though Comma quoted about 9.5% IIRC. I couldn't find Comma in the size I wanted so I bought Silverhook in a plastic tube. Hadn't heard of them before - based in Harold Wood, London it seems.
Opened the tube and squeezed a bit out. Oh dear - looks like golden syrup - can't be much copper in this. Squeezed out a bit more since it might have separated out but just the same. Anyway, I squeezed out a fair dollop to put on the seatpost and after a while it started to look like I'd expect with plenty of copper plain to see. So the moral is that this stuff is probably OK but it's perhaps better bought in a tub so you can stir it if you need to.

NetworkMan wrote:Has this been discussed before? I need help on:-
Fitting plastic BB cups (probably nothing needed)
Fitting aluminium BB cups (possible trouble here I expect)
Fitting aluminium seatpost (ditto)
Fitting s/s bolts
Fitting non-s/s bolts
Anything else?
Any links or help appreciated
Thanks in advance

Just get the Finish Line ti-prep and that's where the story ends.
I've used it on many many titanium bikes and components, without asking myself what was the percentage of this or that component. It does a good job in preventing the parts from seizing and galling, on steel and aluminium frames too, that's what it counts for me

Gattonero wrote:

NetworkMan wrote:Has this been discussed before? I need help on:-
Fitting plastic BB cups (probably nothing needed)
Fitting aluminium BB cups (possible trouble here I expect)
Fitting aluminium seatpost (ditto)
Fitting s/s bolts
Fitting non-s/s bolts
Anything else?
Any links or help appreciated
Thanks in advance

Just get the Finish Line ti-prep and that's where the story ends.
I've used it on many many titanium bikes and components, without asking myself what was the percentage of this or that component. It does a good job in preventing the parts from seizing and galling, on steel and aluminium frames too, that's what it counts for me

Glad you like it. It's almost certainly just expensive copper grease.

NetworkMan wrote:

Gattonero wrote:

NetworkMan wrote:Has this been discussed before? I need help on:-
Fitting plastic BB cups (probably nothing needed)
Fitting aluminium BB cups (possible trouble here I expect)
Fitting aluminium seatpost (ditto)
Fitting s/s bolts
Fitting non-s/s bolts
Anything else?
Any links or help appreciated
Thanks in advance

Just get the Finish Line ti-prep and that's where the story ends.
I've used it on many many titanium bikes and components, without asking myself what was the percentage of this or that component. It does a good job in preventing the parts from seizing and galling, on steel and aluminium frames too, that's what it counts for me

Glad you like it. It's almost certainly just expensive copper grease.

https://www.evanscycles.com/finish-line ... h-EV171013
£8.50 to avoid problems on dozens of frames, including expensive >£2k titanium frames and their expensive components?
It's bargain for me

Gattonero wrote:

NetworkMan wrote:

Gattonero wrote:
Just get the Finish Line ti-prep and that's where the story ends.
I've used it on many many titanium bikes and components, without asking myself what was the percentage of this or that component. It does a good job in preventing the parts from seizing and galling, on steel and aluminium frames too, that's what it counts for me

Glad you like it. It's almost certainly just expensive copper grease.

https://www.evanscycles.com/finish-line ... h-EV171013
£8.50 to avoid problems on dozens of frames, including expensive >£2k titanium frames and their expensive components?
It's bargain for me

Glad you like it
Sadly, though, I suspect that it is out of production - as your out of stock link, and finish-line usa website seems to confirm. All I could find were three small inconvenient plastic sachets of probably err.. expensive copper grease