My uncle told me to always grease the seatpost, even on carbon frames. I ignored him for years until a customer brought in a seized Ritchey.

He was a mechanic in the 80s and swore by it. I figured modern pastes were enough, and carbon paste was for grip, not anti-seize. This Ritchey Logic was completely frozen. Took a heat gun, a bench vise, and a cheater bar on the seatpost to get it out. The carbon tube was fine, but the aluminum post was a mess. Cost the guy a new post and two hours of labor. Now I put a thin coat of grease under the carbon paste on every build. Anyone else do this, or is it overkill?

2 comments

2 Comments

hunt.taylor18d ago

So you're telling me I should actually listen to the old guys? I mean, I've definitely learned this lesson the hard way too.

grant.jade17d ago

Wait, but how often does this actually happen? I've built up plenty of carbon frames with just a good quality paste and never had one stick. That Ritchey story sounds like a worst-case scenario, maybe from a bad paste job or the wrong torque. I get what @hunt.taylor is saying about listening to old advice, but adding grease under the paste seems like it could mess with the grip. Are we fixing a super rare problem and maybe causing a new one?