Overheard a guy at my local shop say he never greases pedal threads, and now I'm second guessing everything
I was picking up a bottom bracket tool at the shop on 5th street last Tuesday when I heard an older mechanic telling a kid to install pedals dry. He said grease just collects grit and makes them loosen up over time. I've been greasing pedal threads for 12 years and never had a problem, but he was so sure about it that it stuck with me. Now I'm wondering if there's actually a right answer here or if it's just one of those things where everyone does it different. What do you all do with pedal threads, grease or dry?
The grit thing is backwards. Grease actually keeps grit out of the threads, that's part of the point. And pedals don't loosen because of grease, the left pedal is reverse threaded so it self tightens as you ride. The dry install thing mostly comes from track guys who swap pedals all the time and don't want mess on their cranks, not because grease causes problems. For a normal bike you ride every day, a little grease on the threads is the way to go.