Greasing UT BBs?

[akelman]

Old Potatoe recommends liberally greasing not only the threads but also inside the cups of UT bottom brackets, yes? I found one thread that seems to indicate as much, but it's not as crystal clear as I'd like. Thanks.

[terry]

I do. Grease can't hurt.

[jamaris]

Originally Posted by akelman

Old Potatoe recommends liberally greasing not only the threads but also inside the cups of UT bottom brackets, yes? I found one thread that seems to indicate as much, but it's not as crystal clear as I'd like. Thanks.

There should be enough grease in there that the cups don't creak from touching the bearings, but not too much grease that it collects inside the cups and ruins the bearings since there is a small gap.

[ultraman6970]

Always grease a lot everywhere with UT. In the threads I put grease and teflon tape and crank the crap out of them.

[firerescuefin]

Originally Posted by jamaris

There should be enough grease in there that the cups don't creak from touching the bearings, but not too much grease that it collects inside the cups and ruins the bearings since there is a small gap.

I don't understand this post at all..."collects in the cups and ruins the bearings"...how is it ruining the bearings?

[jds108]

Originally Posted by firerescuefin

I don't understand this post at all..."collects in the cups and ruins the bearings"...how is it ruining the bearings?

I don't understand that quote either. To the OP, I'm not worried about water intrusion (i.e. down the seattube) with my particular frame, so I only grease the contact area of the cup and the bearing to prevent squeaks. That's working fine for me on my installs.

If you do eventually get squeaking, google "roguemechanic" and the shims that he makes for UT BBs. But I'd say not to bother with buying/installing this unless you develop a squeak and think it's the crank axle/bearings shifting side-to-side during pedaling.

[FlashUNC]

Grease it all. Don't forget the UT bolt either. That's another common creak point.

I will also be OCD and grease the gaps in the UT teeth to eliminate creaking too.

[cfox]

Originally Posted by jds108

I don't understand that quote either. To the OP, I'm not worried about water intrusion (i.e. down the seattube) with my particular frame, so I only grease the contact area of the cup and the bearing to prevent squeaks. That's working fine for me on my installs.

If you do eventually get squeaking, google "roguemechanic" and the shims that he makes for UT BBs. But I'd say not to bother with buying/installing this unless you develop a squeak and think it's the crank axle/bearings shifting side-to-side during pedaling.

do not google the roquemechanic. the slight spring-loaded play from the wavy washer is by design and is not what can make a UT BB creak. the only way a UT crank will creak is if the BB isn't square, the BB threads are shot, or you didn't use grease. If your BB is narrower than Campy's spec, THEN you need a shim.

[akelman]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Grease it all. Don't forget the UT bolt either. That's another common creak point.

I will also be OCD and grease the gaps in the UT teeth to eliminate creaking too.

Yeah, I grease the Hirth bolt (or whatever it's called) and the teeth. I only tripped myself up about the cups themselves, because I had some dim memory that grease can be a problem for the bearings. That said, I was pretty sure Old Potatoe uses grease on his builds, which is good enough for me. Still, I wanted to check.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by akelman

Old Potatoe recommends liberally greasing not only the threads but also inside the cups of UT bottom brackets, yes? I found one thread that seems to indicate as much, but it's not as crystal clear as I'd like. Thanks.

'liberally greasing not only the threads but also inside the cups....." seems pretty clear to me.

Grease is never a problem with bearings, ever. Not sure what jamaris is talking about.

[akelman]

Thanks, Peter. As ever, much appreciated. Turning to the issue of clarity, you know how the signal-to-noise ratio can be in some threads. Plus, I'm an idiot. Anyway, thanks again.

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by jds108

If you do eventually get squeaking, google "roguemechanic" and the shims that he makes for UT BBs.

Don't bother. It is very obvious rougemechanic doesn't understand how the ultra torque system works. I wouldn't let him, or his ideas, anywhere near my bike.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by akelman

Thanks, Peter. As ever, much appreciated. Turning to the issue of clarity, you know how the signal-to-noise ratio can be in some threads. Plus, I'm an idiot. Anyway, thanks again.

No stupid questions, just stupid answers sometimes.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by thirdgenbird

Don't bother. It is very obvious rougemechanic doesn't understand how the ultra torque system works. I wouldn't let him, or his ideas, anywhere near my bike.

10-4 on that.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by cfox

do not google the roquemechanic. the slight spring-loaded play from the wavy washer is by design and is not what can make a UT BB creak. the only way a UT crank will creak is if the BB isn't square, the BB threads are shot, or you didn't use grease. If your BB is narrower than Campy's spec, THEN you need a shim.

Not true. The clicking is real and can and does happen when the faces are perfectly parallel. I can attest to this. My BB is perfectly square/parallel and the threads were also perfectly cut, yet I had the clicking. The width of the shell was a bit undersized. The newer cups seem to have changed design and eliminated the clicking that rougemechanic talks about. When I put a new set of cups on I did not need the extra wavy washer. An extra wavy washer or shims was the only cure for shells that were a bit under width with the older cups to solve the clicking issue.