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I have recently rebuilt my road bike on a second-hand Seven Cycles Alaris titanium frame.

I used a fairly standard hydrophobic grease throughout but I have been told I should use a titanium-specific grease. The bottom bracket is the only place that I can think of with threading in the frame.

Is there such a thing as a titanium-specific grease? Any advice on this?

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  • bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/6741/…
    – OMG Ponies
    Commented May 25, 2012 at 1:31
  • Ti frames rock! I have cracked mine now in 3 places, and I just get it welded each time. I get home safe, since it is so strong, even badly cracked!
    – geoffc
    Commented May 25, 2012 at 18:52
  • Surely it's not just the BB with threading. Does the bike have bottle cages, rack mounts?
    – James Bradbury
    Commented May 29, 2013 at 12:54
  • Yes it does. I have used copper paste on the derailleur hanger mount. The bottle cage has Ti bolts so they are OK.
    – pharsicle
    Commented May 30, 2013 at 2:56

1 Answer 1

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For titanium frames, it is best to use a copper paste grease. You need to do so anywhere there is metal on metal contact, especially if it is aluminum to titanium contact.

Normal grease is not enough to prevent the accelerated oxidation and bonding that occurs between titanium and other metals.

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  • Thanks @zenbike for the explanation. It makes sense to me that different metals react when they come in contact. I will pursue some copper paste grease, unpack the BB and repack it before too long. There are a few titanium bolts as well that screw into Al alloy: should they be similarly treated?
    – pharsicle
    Commented May 28, 2012 at 2:35
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    Yes, they should be similarly treated. On the BB, only the threaded BB shell needs Ti Prep (which is the bike industry commercial name for copper paste), but the bearing races and balls will still use regular grease, if the BB is not a sealed cartridge.
    – zenbike
    Commented May 28, 2012 at 6:13

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