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MountainBikeReview.com's Forum Archives - Wheels & Wheel Building
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Interesting Loc-Tite Substitute for Mavic UST rims, etc. (4 posts)
|  Interesting Loc-Tite Substitute for Mavic UST rims, etc. | Bianchi4Me
Jan 14, 2004 2:40 PM | | The Mavic UST rims with threaded nipple collars are supposed to be installed with a threadlocker to prevent them from loosening under vibration. We first tried using a copy-cat version of 242 (Blue) Loc-Tite.
This is an anerobic liquid compound, which means it doesn't harden ("dry") until it is assembled and removed from exposure to air. It's also really stinky, a skin irritant, and melts the labels on the rims. Any excess must be wiped off the rim carefully to avoid having it run, since it doesn't harden.
So you are stuck lacing the wheel with the collars barely engaged so you can get to the threads, then applying loc-tite to a few, tightening those while wet, wiping up the excess, doing a few more, etc.
Wasn't thrilled with that, so we upgraded to a "wicking" formula that can be applied to the assembled part and will be drawn into the joint. This allows you to seat the collars farther when assembling the wheel, and cuts down on the mess of tightening the wet collars.
Still wasn't thrilled, especially since the odor on this stuff was ferocious. It's still an anerobic, so any extra must be carefully wiped off the rim, and it still will melt the label.
Now we are using a really interesting product from ND Industries called "Vibra-Tite". This is not anerobic, it dries to a solid, putty-like consistency. So you can pretreat all the collars BEFORE putting the wheel together. The you can handle them without having the stuff get all over you like liquid products. Pretreated parts can be stored indefinitely and aren't sticky to the touch. It also allows the fastener to be removed and replaced without re-treating, which is handy for maintenance. It's still smelly, but not nearly as bad as the wicking grade loc-tite.
It is designed to resist vibration and can be used on small fasteners without creating excess bonding. The company notes that it is used for eyeglass screws, so you can put it on some teeny stuff.
I haven't tried it on spokes yet, but it might be worth a try there too... |
| Okay, not a goodie on spoke threads... | Bianchi4Me
Jan 15, 2004 7:08 AM | | Tried it on a couple of spokes. It holds well, and it's not too hard to turn the nipple, BUT...it stretches out as you adjust the nipple and then wants to spring back and return the nipple back where you started. This is not a problem on regular fasteners where you just want to crank them down all the way and that's it. On spokes I think it makes fine adjustments too difficult to have things moving around a little after you release them. If you've ever tried to true a wheel with tubular glue spilled inside the rim, you know what I'm talking about. |
| FINALLY...that's the stuff you find on OEM brake bolts... | DeeEight
Jan 15, 2004 11:45 AM | | I've been wondering where to get that stuff. |
| Bzzzzzz wrong! But thanks for playing. | divve
Jan 18, 2004 3:49 AM | | Vibra-Tite is more like a dried layer of plastic. The pre-applied thread locker you often see on OEM bolts is activated when it's broken down during assembly.
For the threaded nipple retainers I'd recommend the new Loctite sticks over Vibra-Tite.
http://content.loctite.com/sticks/ |
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