Greasing a crankset?

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phourgenres
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:19 pm

by phourgenres

I finished installing my new crankset today, but despite that fact it moves just fine, it doesn't seem to spin as freely as my other crankset. With the new one if I give it one hard push with my hands it will only turn half a revolution, with the other it would turn a couple of revolutions. I thinking this could have been a problem from when I greased it. There was already some factory grease on the bottom bracket, but I wasn't sure if it was enough so I added a thin coat of park tools grease around the crank axle on top of that. The factory grease seemed very jelly-like. This grease seemed more vicious.

Is there a special grease that you should use?

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stella-azzurra
Posts: 5066
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:35 am
Location: New York

by stella-azzurra

This has nothing to do with the grease you used. It's more about whether you installed it correctly e.g. torque values used. If you did install it correctly then use it for a while and see if it spins better later on. It might be that it's new and the bearings have to been used yet.
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

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socratease
Posts: 160
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:25 pm

by socratease

Greasing the crank axle isn't going to affect how it spins. The bottom bracket uses sealed bearings, which come pre-packed with grease, and that's whats doing the rolling. What type of bottom bracket is it? Likely, its just seal drag, which will decrease with some use. If you have a shimano-type crank where you can adjust the preload, the preload might be too high. If its a sram crankset/bb, those seals are tight, and take a bit to wear in.

phourgenres
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:19 pm

by phourgenres

Brand new 6700 Ultegra BB, used SRM Dura Ace 7800 crankset.

I will ride it for a for a 100 miles and see what happens.

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michel2
Posts: 1144
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:47 am
Location: somewere floating between here and the other side

by michel2

ill bet a 100 bucks that when you grease the bearing you will get even less revolutions !!(-:
also worth mentioning, make sure the bottom bracket is machined
but it also very well possible ur new cranckset has different seals there for more or less drag...
i woulndt worry to much about it

PoorCyclist
Posts: 783
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:26 am
Location: California's country side

by PoorCyclist

Hi.. When I put sticky grease on the side of sealed bearings it will affect the spinning. It doesn't hurt anything because eventually the grease will find out a place to settle after riding and the crank will spin well again. Putting on the spindle for the bearing race shouldn't affect it.
I think things will settle down after a while, however it's not a good idea to mix the grease because you don't know how they will react to each other. You either clean all the factory stuff and replace with your own favorite.

The only time this is a problem is with headset bearings, if you coat it with too much grease then it's a slushy to turn and you won't be able to get a sense to set the preload.

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