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I hope you enjoy your day.

A few days after of using my bike I have some troubling feeling about it. I can hear a cracking sound or something similar, and on the internet I found out the cause.

I concluded and was hoping that the problem is only the seatpost.
But I've found another one. When I pedal, the bike also create a cracking sound, especially when pedalling too hard. I hope that with a little bit of cleaning and lubrication I would be able to fix that.

But sadly again, sometimes I also hear the sound when I brake too hard.
I hope it's gone. For now, my seatpost is slipping when I seat on it.

My questions is: since my bike frame is made of an aluminium, what kind of grease should I use?
In the shop that I visited only "Ceramic" or "Teflon" were available. Which one is most suitable? Please remember that my frame is aluminium and the seatpost is steel.

Which grease is suitable for two different materials, in my case aluminium and steel?

I found those on the internet and they are available in my local bike shop:

  1. http://www.finishlineusa.com/products/bicycle-greases/ceramic-grease-advanced-bearing-lubrication

  2. http://www.finishlineusa.com/products/bicycle-greases/premium-grease-made-with-teflon-fluoropolymer

Little hard to find:

  1. https://www.parktool.com/product/anti-seize-compound-asc-1

Which priorities should I take into consideration given the choices above?

Thanks

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  • 1
    @ojs that depends how old/cheap your bike is. I've got a steel seatpost on a steel MTBSO I use as a beater, and I've got another in the garage from its predecessor - a '92 Raleigh no-sus MTB.
    – Chris H
    Sep 23, 2018 at 15:27
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    Use a magnet to distinguish steel from other metals.
    – Carel
    Sep 23, 2018 at 15:45
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    A bike that creaks when braking sounds really dangerous. Try to exactly locate its source, because that may hint at a cracked frame. And you absolute do not want to be riding a cracked frame!
    – cmaster - reinstate monica
    Sep 27, 2018 at 7:09
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    I'm not sure we are talking about the same kind of sound. When you say "cracking sound" I translated into "creaking sound" (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/creak), because that is what you may usually hear with a bike. A creaking invariably means that parts are rubbing against each other which shouldn't. (Metal on metal!) The word cracking sound is not normally used, but if it is used, it would mean a single sharp "tack" or "bang". Creaking is similar, but many small "tack"s in quick succession. Have I misinterpreted you? Can you describe the sound in more detail?
    – cmaster - reinstate monica
    Sep 27, 2018 at 20:32
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    I would describe the sound in the video as clicking sound. That's much, much less dangerous than a creaking or cracking sound. So far, so good :-) Nevertheless, some part of your bike seems to have a bit of play that it shouldn't have. I guess you are braking with your front wheel? In that case, parts you may want to analyze for unwanted play are the mounts of the brake (dangerous if that's the reason), the steering bearings (can you move the fork relative to the frame?), the stem (if it's adjustable, check the joint), and the handle bars (very unlikely to be the cause).
    – cmaster - reinstate monica
    Sep 28, 2018 at 18:38

2 Answers 2

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A basic bicycle grease such as the Finishline Teflon grease is acceptable for seatposts, pedal threads, bolt in bottom brackets etc., and all bolts and threaded fasteners.

It's main use is for lubricating bearings but it does work for assembling components, preventing them from corroding together or creaking.

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8
  • What about the other grease options? I can use it too?
    – bagusa4
    Sep 24, 2018 at 14:09
  • @Bagusa4 That other grease is specifically for lubricating bearings, I would not use it on the seatpost. I imagine it's somewhat more expensive.
    – Argenti Apparatus
    Sep 24, 2018 at 14:18
  • The word "I would not use it on the seatpost", it is not good because will make it worse or because it's just more expensive? Because I would like to use that to the other components too, I think I will like to choose the best one :)
    – bagusa4
    Sep 24, 2018 at 17:09
  • @Bagusa4 there is no ‘best’ grease. An expensive grease designed for bearings won’t perform better than the basic stuff on the seat post.
    – Argenti Apparatus
    Sep 24, 2018 at 17:23
  • So the conclusion is the expensive grease just will worth better on the bearing but not the basic stuff like seatpost, but I can choose the expensive one for the better used on the bearing and can be used it too on the seatpost without different? because in my opinion, it would be better when I choose grease that can be used for all components and get maximum performance :)
    – bagusa4
    Sep 24, 2018 at 17:42
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After thinking longer about feeling unwell. I research little bit longer about what is the suitable grease for seatpost, especially on aluminum material.

I found out on the internet talking about using a grease on the bicycle. In there, they said about do not using the grease on the seatpost because can cause damage on the bicycle. The reason is that grease can make the seatpost slip and must tighten the clamp more and more which can cause bad for the bicycle or cause the crack sound because over tighten on the clamp.

The advice they have given is used like "Assembly Paste", like this product "Anti Seize Assembly Lubricant", which specifically designed for use such as in the seatpost area. Because the cause of problems in seatpost is corrosion, erosion, abrasions, due to large friction which results in changes in size at seatpost, and then makes the other problems such as crack sound and slip.

Then the result is "Assembly Paste" prevent all the causes, and I will go for it.

The references

Thanks to all who have participated. I hope this can be a useful reference.

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