Do you grease your pivots/headset/hubs on a new dtc bike?

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Do you grease your pivots/headset/hubs on a new dtc bike?
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flag nematon785
Posted: Jun 29, 2022 at 10:48 Quote
I'm curious how many here just straight tear down a new dtc bike and reassemble with grease and a torque wrench.

2nd new dtc bike I've bought, both had same aweful creak, both from shock mounts with a rough edge/paint overspray/ no grease.

One capra, one nukeproof.

Overall I have been happy with both, but it seemed assembly did not include grease on either. The capra actually had several problems.

I guess I should just go over everything just to avoid rusted worn stuff and lost bolts or other more sinister things like loose stem.

Now I am wondering if I should get the wheels tensioned and the fork serviced just to avoid damaged stuff.

Tell me this is normal and just part of getting a new bike shipped rather than from a shop? Or is this a thing with showroom bikes also?

Local shops to me are heavy on ebikes and top tier builds I just simply cannot afford.
flag eshew
Posted: Jun 29, 2022 at 11:09 Quote
New, shouldn't be an issue. but worth inspecting... trunion bolts were my last issue.

That being said I'm a firm believer (in the PNW) that bearings are often under greased. A tube of green grease 101 & a park GG-1 or generic & some dental pics... helps quite a bit. Washout > water intrusion > corrosion is what I've commonly run into with wheel, frame, bottom bracket, pulley & headset bearings.
flag M0rd4c4i
Posted: Jun 29, 2022 at 11:54 Quote
It won't hurt to go over everything thoroughly and sort things out, at least it helps to narrow down issues and you know everything is done right then.
flag gmoss
Posted: Jun 29, 2022 at 17:24 Quote
I know plenty of guys that do rhat with brand dirt bikes. I certainly don't think it is a waste to do it on a new bicycle. Peace of mind.
flag M0rd4c4i
Posted: Jun 29, 2022 at 19:08 Quote
@gmoss I've even heard of motorcyclists turning new bikes into kits and rebuilding them, just to be sure.

As the reasoning is that when things are mass produced it's all about getting them out through the door and not necessarily right.

Plus like you've said, if you do it your mind can be at peace as you know it's right then.
flag mitch1992
Posted: Jun 29, 2022 at 22:10 Quote
This is a common problem in all sectors of bike sales, not just DTC. DTC may actually be better than retail sales as most brands want their bikes to be mint straight off the bat.

I think of it this way:

A bike shop orders in a shipment of bikes that might come partly assembled. They sell them for a retail price and the more time they spend paying their mechanic to assemble and go through each with a fine tooth comb, the less margin on the sale they would make. I have heard of this being pushed to the extreme where in they use the lowest paid employee, even the after school broom stand kid to assemble bikes to a state where they can sit on the showroom floor for people to look at and buy. Its not till after you find that things are over or under tightened, not installed correctly or missing even.

A great example is Fox forks. these usually come pre assembled so all shops do is slide it in the headtube and install but a lot of people service their airspring because their brand new fork feels harsh. What they find is the negative chamber full of grease. This is because out there on the fox assembly line, Fred is sitting on his chair, picking up a CSU in one hand and an airspring assembly in the other. He uses that airspring as a spoon in his big bucket of slick honey (also sitting next to him) and he then drives that bad boy straight into the stanchion. That is far quicker than taking his pinky finger and delicately applying some slick honey around the spring head seal and other areas so that when the new owner gets it, the fork operates as it should.

This is not to say all bike retail shops or component manufacturers are like this but it does happen. Its always a good idea to strip down a new bike to check over lubrication and assembly. Worst case, everything is good and someone has done a good job. The added bonus is you have also now learnt how your bike fits together and you have peace of mind its going to operate as good as it can.
flag HeatedRotor
Posted: Jun 29, 2022 at 22:27 Quote
mitch1992 wrote:
This is a common problem in all sectors of bike sales, not just DTC. DTC may actually be better than retail sales as most brands want their bikes to be mint straight off the bat.

I think of it this way:

A bike shop orders in a shipment of bikes that might come partly assembled. They sell them for a retail price and the more time they spend paying their mechanic to assemble and go through each with a fine tooth comb, the less margin on the sale they would make. I have heard of this being pushed to the extreme where in they use the lowest paid employee, even the after school broom stand kid to assemble bikes to a state where they can sit on the showroom floor for people to look at and buy. Its not till after you find that things are over or under tightened, not installed correctly or missing even.

A great example is Fox forks. these usually come pre assembled so all shops do is slide it in the headtube and install but a lot of people service their airspring because their brand new fork feels harsh. What they find is the negative chamber full of grease. This is because out there on the fox assembly line, Fred is sitting on his chair, picking up a CSU in one hand and an airspring assembly in the other. He uses that airspring as a spoon in his big bucket of slick honey (also sitting next to him) and he then drives that bad boy straight into the stanchion. That is far quicker than taking his pinky finger and delicately applying some slick honey around the spring head seal and other areas so that when the new owner gets it, the fork operates as it should.

T.

Must be torpedo7 you're talking about. Every store ive gone into has a super young fella putting the bikes together while there is one main older mechanic whos got 20 years experience... busting his ass off for $2.50 above min wage.
sorry bit blunt but true.

i also agree with every word you wrote.
flag mitch1992
Posted: Jun 30, 2022 at 0:25 Quote
HeatedRotor wrote:
mitch1992 wrote:
This is a common problem in all sectors of bike sales, not just DTC. DTC may actually be better than retail sales as most brands want their bikes to be mint straight off the bat.

I think of it this way:

A bike shop orders in a shipment of bikes that might come partly assembled. They sell them for a retail price and the more time they spend paying their mechanic to assemble and go through each with a fine tooth comb, the less margin on the sale they would make. I have heard of this being pushed to the extreme where in they use the lowest paid employee, even the after school broom stand kid to assemble bikes to a state where they can sit on the showroom floor for people to look at and buy. Its not till after you find that things are over or under tightened, not installed correctly or missing even.

A great example is Fox forks. these usually come pre assembled so all shops do is slide it in the headtube and install but a lot of people service their airspring because their brand new fork feels harsh. What they find is the negative chamber full of grease. This is because out there on the fox assembly line, Fred is sitting on his chair, picking up a CSU in one hand and an airspring assembly in the other. He uses that airspring as a spoon in his big bucket of slick honey (also sitting next to him) and he then drives that bad boy straight into the stanchion. That is far quicker than taking his pinky finger and delicately applying some slick honey around the spring head seal and other areas so that when the new owner gets it, the fork operates as it should.

T.

Must be torpedo7 you're talking about. Every store ive gone into has a super young fella putting the bikes together while there is one main older mechanic whos got 20 years experience... busting his ass off for $2.50 above min wage.
sorry bit blunt but true.

i also agree with every word you wrote.

Yea definitely here in NZ the bigger chain stores like torpedo7 I’d be weary of. They don’t always have maintenance divisions and if they do, they are a one man band. Not saying they aren’t skilled, just those stores deal in all types of outdoor equipment and bikes are just one small part of it.

I think a good indication is the brands the shop sells. If they are “for the masses” bikes, I’d definitely be pulling it apart. If they’re higher end, you may have a better chance of it being in good order.

There’s only one true way you will know though. Tear it down and rebuild it.
flag muddytreker
Posted: Jul 4, 2022 at 6:55 Quote
I tend to buy used parts, components, so by default I strip them down inspect, repair, rebuild and grease lube etc
the times Ive purchased forks with claims "its recently serviced oil change" only to find bullshit is so
common, and that standards of looking after are way below mine, with that regardless of new or used
it gets stripped and looked at.
flag nematon785
Posted: Jul 12, 2022 at 11:01 Quote
Just giving an update here. I did a detailed check, and all is well. Plenty of grease in the BB, all suspension bolts and pivots torqued to spec, the stem and handlebar were grease free but no big deal.

Only issues are seatpost has more rotational slop than I like, but its a 100 buck retail item so not exactly space shuttle quality, and the front lever bleed screw was stripped, (30 buck entire lever replacement already arrived).

Wheels are adequate and even tension, tape holds air fine tubeless.

Nothing loose or risky. Derailleur did not even need any adjustment.

I might have got lucky, chain reaction seems to have a bad reputation on the ratings these days.

Advise to just do a full check was very good. It did not take really long and piece of mind is worth it.
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