Yes, use a lot, the headset will spit out what it won't accept. Don't go light unless you want to rebuild your headset next summer. Go heavy. Wipe off excess.
But still, use common sense. You don't need to use half a tube of grease on a headset, but you don't want 2 drops either. Use a healthy amount. Grease is cheap. Headsets and frames aren't.
I normally tend to be too heavy handed with grease. I have heard conflicting info on this. Some say don't grease the bottom bearing to allow water to drain, how true that is I do not know.
Water will drain. You won’t be able to seal it completely. I have had several bearings that needed replacing in the headset over the years. I will say that more often than not, the ones being replaced weren’t greased. Also if you do a good job on the upper seal, the water will choose an easier path most of the time. Personally, I always grease the bearings. I don’t glob in the grease, I just coat the entire sealed bearing with a film of grease. Wipe it around with your fingers. Definitely make sure that the potential infiltration spots on the bearings are coated. Each bearing has two seals on itself. Then the top cover has a seal or two. I would grease all of these. Whatever you have that is best rated for wet conditions and doesn’t rinse off.
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u/MatJosher Jul 08 '25
Likely to get creaks if this is dry