[CC09]

well i took my bike apart in preparation of getting it home next week and cause i dont need that extra distraction exam week. i noticed a fair amount of grease on the steerer tube, from the headet im assuming? i have an integrated headset. so, when i get home and put my bike back together next week, should i put some grease into the headset? i use pedro's syngrease currently for my "greasing needs". should i just put some in the headset and maybe on the steerer tube where the integrated headset goes and call it a day? or do i need to do more? anything else i should watch out for in rebuilding the bike? i left the cranks, bottom bracket, fd, and rd on. i know to pack it carefully in the car, but otherwise can i just re-attach everything to the bars, wrap it up, (put grease in headset/steerer tube?) throw the fork and stem on, add wheels, lube the chain and go? or is there more too it?
thanks

 

[bikeboy389]

well i took my bike apart in preparation of getting it home next week and cause i dont need that extra distraction exam week. i noticed a fair amount of grease on the steerer tube, from the headet im assuming? i have an integrated headset. so, when i get home and put my bike back together next week, should i put some grease into the headset? i use pedro's syngrease currently for my "greasing needs". should i just put some in the headset and maybe on the steerer tube where the integrated headset goes and call it a day? or do i need to do more? anything else i should watch out for in rebuilding the bike? i left the cranks, bottom bracket, fd, and rd on. i know to pack it carefully in the car, but otherwise can i just re-attach everything to the bars, wrap it up, (put grease in headset/steerer tube?) throw the fork and stem on, add wheels, lube the chain and go? or is there more too it?
thanks

I'm not sure why you'd want to grease your headset or steerer tube. Sure, you want your bearings to be properly lubricated, but unless your integrated headset is VERY unusual, you have sealed bearings in there--you might not even be able to get grease into them. And I don't see any sense at all in lubing your steerer tube--there are no moving parts in contact with it. The bearing race at the bottom is (or should be) rigidly attached. I suppose you might want a little grease at the top to get the top parts to slide on easier (it's a real bear with King headsets, for instance), but that's about it. Or if your steerer is steel, it doesn't hurt to put a thin coat of grease on it to protect it from corrosion, but that's hardly what we're talking about here.

If in doubt, check out the Park Tools website's how-to section for maintenance tips on integrated headsets.

 

[CC09]

thanks. the prompt for my questions was that there was a fair amount of grease or gunk on the steerer tube itself when i pulled it and was unsure what i was supposed to do.

 

[felt35]

I apply grease to the steerer tube because it passes thru metal/plastic spacers and the metal stem. These are metal-metal contacts, and grease 1) protects 2) lubes and 3) decreases squeeking noises.

The part of the steerer tube inside the headtube doesn't need any lube on it, however, as it doesn't contact anything. But a thin layer certainly won't hurt anything and may protect the metal as noted above.