seatpost, what to smear on?

Are you talking about the interface between the frame seat tube and the post? Here, use any common seat post friction paste appropriate for your frame. If a carbon frame, use carbon post paste.

Or are you talking about the interface between the articulating seat post and the seat post outer cylinder that it moves in? Here, you normally don't need anything when new, and the dropper post service manual will say what to use in maintenance.
 
thanks for replies
i meant alu seatpost vs alu bike frame interface.
i see some people use carbon friction paste even for alu. not sure if this is ok.
on my normal post i dont use anything, but i have to shut strongly the quickrelease....otherwise post goes down during ride.

alu dropperpost manual says big clamp force is forbidden, so i wonder what to do when i finally purchase it.
tightening is 5nm :unsure: 3,7 ft lb
 
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I don't think you could crush a dropper with a quick release clamp. Our posts basically have a drop of oil mixed with trail grit with a quick release and they don't move usually. I rode my fat bike on the beach quite often in Australia and just put a drop of oil on every bolt, seat post, steer tube, spoke nipple once in a while and everything is corrosion free enough to work on years later. Its stored in a dry area in my hoop barn, but still gets rode in the winter and put away wet and icy, but not salty anymore.
 
sk_pete said:
i am reading and thinking about to buy dropper post.
it says no grease, but friction paste instead to smear on it....
in shops i see only carbon post paste, is that ok ?
what are other options?

Droppers – KS

kssuspension.com kssuspension.com
Click to expand...
My pet peeve is when someone doesn’t answer a question but instead veers off course, so I won’t try to talk you out of a dropper.
The best product to use is Finish Line Fiber Fix, with one caveat. After the other carbon assembly pastes the second best choice is anti-seize, probably from Park Tool.
The one downside of Fiber Fix is that it will scratch the black finish, so you want to measure first so you don’t over insert much.
Realistically, there’s no chance of galvanic corrosion since you’ll be performing regular service on your post, but the Fiber Fix should ensure that the skimpy torque required will keep your post in place.
 
sk_pete said:
i am reading and thinking about to buy dropper post.
it says no grease, but friction paste instead to smear on it....
in shops i see only carbon post paste, is that ok ?
what are other options?

Droppers – KS

kssuspension.com kssuspension.com
Click to expand...
If you try anti-seize first, and find the dropper post stays put, then you're good. But if the dropper post keeps slipping no matter how hard you crank down on the seatpost clamp, then you should try the friction paste.

Friction paste tends to be used with carbon seatposts, which has some grit (like silica) in it, to create the friction to keep things in place. So, friction paste and carbon paste are names used interchangeably
 
I used to use normal white lithium grease - usually bought at a hardware store. But that was back with an aluminum post and a steel frame.
 
I'm not a lightweight. If I put any lube on any of my bike seatposts, they slowly drop over the ride. Cleaning all grease off and lightly sanding the inside of the frame's seat tube allows my posts to stay up. Forget lube. completely unnecessary, especially on an aluminum/aluminum interface. Lube the threads of the seat clamp screw and the friction point of the cam (if it's quick release), but not the post itself. I have two dropper posts myself and 5 others in our families' stable. Only one post ever had stiction with the seat clamp tightened and that was the Giant branded Contact Switch. It got bound up and wouldn't return without a pull on the seat. All the normal rockshox, KS, PNW, oneup, etc posts are fine.
 
I do a little white grease to prevent corrosion. I feel a quality post clamp is a better solution than friction paste. I like the Salsa Constrictor, if it fits your frame and the Salsa Lip Lock.
 
Regarding lube: sometimes a dry seapost on a road bike will creak when forces are applied to the seat, for example when riding up hills while seated. Metal frames are more prone to this than carbon. When this happens, lubing (with grease) the post/frame interface can eliminate the creaking.

Regarding paste: some of the carbon frames have delicate seat post retention screws. Over-tightening them could crack the frame. Paste can be essential in these applications to add more friction that the low-torque retention screws can provide.

Back to the OP question: is it safe to use carbon paste on metal frames? I would think so but I'm not sure.
 
I use grease on all my seat posts (non-carbon frames/posts). My go-to fix for a slipping seat post is to pull the clamp off, lube the QR mechanism on the clamp and lube the clamp/frame interface. This has worked to fix a slipping seat post that would creep down even with the QR tightened to the point it was crazy tight.
 
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