|
|
| *Vultures Knob>>>Dirt Bike |
Should bicycle bushings (on pivot points) be dry or greased? |
My friend is a bike mechanic and says that the bushings (metal on metal surrounded by plastic nylon washers/spacers) shoul be installed clean and dry, and that adding grease to them would make them wear faster, since dirt would be more likely to get into the grease, and the grease itself would produce a friction that otherwise would not be there. Now this goes against what I would consider a quite logical practice of greasing a metal on metal contact. Any ideas / explanaitions? Your friend is right, but his explanation is a little off. Yes, dirt will build up on nylon and cause it to wear faster but that is not the primary reason not to lube plastic. It is because a primary material in plastic is oil, and the grease being a petroleum product will soften the nylon and make it more suseptible to wear. Most pivot points, if they are metal to metal use what is called a sintered bushing which is basically powdered metal that is compressed and made into shapes. The reason that it is done this way is to allow OIL to permeate the bushing... a good example of this is the connecting rod bearings in a car engine... they are sintered bronze. If the bushings in your frame are metal, they should be OILED with a good machine oil- not 3 in 1 or WD40 or motor oil and not greased. It seems from your explanation that the metal is separated with nylon bushings... you should do NOTHING to them until they are worn out, then you just replace them. Source(s): 27 years in the industry It's not actually bare metal. Most bushings are made out of an oil-impregnated brass called OilLite, and are self-lubricating. Your friend is correct, and they should always be clean. The same goes for d茅railleur pulleys, too. |
| Tags |
| Quad Bike Pocket Bike Mini Bike Chopper Bike Pit Bike Dirt Bike Sport Bike Street Bike Exercise Bike Stationary Bike |
Bike Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |