A little more whine

[AlBaker]

I've whined about the wheel bearings being too tight and not having enough grease, on two identical Electra bikes four years apart.
I've whined about the lousy chain on the second Electra, having to put a new chain on after 300 miles.
Now I'm going to whine about another issue on the second Electra.

I like to put a smear of grease on BB shell threads, and wondered if this had been done on the new Electra. So I removed the cranks and BB and examined the threads on both sides. No grease. On trying to remove the lock ring on the non-drive side, I had to use a large adjustable wrench and a lot of muscle power. It was tight as a drum almost all the way out, until the last couple of threads. Examining the lock ring thread I saw what appeared to be one crossed thread in the center.

The grease monkey at the factory probably had a stick about a 1/4" wide with a small blob of grease on it which went mostly inside the shell beyond the thread. Same both sides. He must be the same bloke who begrudges putting grease in the wheel bearings. So the threads were bare naked. Perhaps with the occasional moisture from the rain, the threads might have seized, which is why I like to see that they're greased.

So, I wiped some White Lightning crystal grease around the threads. I wondered about screwing the lock ring back in, but it went in surprisingly easy, by hand much of the way. Then tightened it for the finished job. I am now satisfied with the bike. The only thing I haven't checked is the headset, but it feels pretty good.

Okay, whine over, until the next one.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

The grease monkey at the factory probably had a stick about a 1/4" wide with a small blob of grease on it which went mostly inside the shell beyond the thread. Same both sides. He must be the same bloke who begrudges putting grease in the wheel bearings

In fairness, we don't know what their boss told them to do, how much time they get for each task, how tired they are for working long hours to get peanuts.
It's good you have the mechanical know how to check your bikes.

 

[silva]

I doubt those "fair" scenario's - that lock ring tells the whole story on its own - it took a long wrench to screw out, a thread was found stripped, and it was again screwed in... by hand.

If a mechanic notices a nut is unexpectedly hard to turn, he'd stop to find out why, and correct/realign, instead of using brute force to "overcome" the problem, which takes MORE time, and MORE effort.

It all points to some1 interested in job nor customer.
Getting paid and that's it.

Imagine the bike hadn't been checked, it would likely have ended up with a lost frame due to inability to remove the BB without destroying all thread.

Btw the lockring is said to have a crossed thread in the middle.
How to explain that?
Different thread specifics causing alignment to deviate more and more?
A drop of thread locker as red loctite in the middle?

 

[88robb]

That's a totally valid whine. Skipping grease on critical threads is just poor workmanship. Good on you for catching it and doing the job right yourself.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

Yes, but the main issue is are the two bikes talking about you when you lock them away at night? Are they both excited for the impending rides ahead?

Have you also considered whether the original bike actually removed the grease in the hope they would be the only one let loose on the open road, lording it over the other one singing "where's your grease gone, little baby Don?" You have to consider these things 😉