[Closed] Can copperslip cause threads to strip?

Loctite is the correct answer for this job .

Copperslip won't strip threads though

I think that greased threads turn more readily that dry ones giving the potential for over-torquing, but that does sound unlucky.

Cleat bolts seize a lot so coppaslip is good. They only need to be nipped up. Just tightish ie 4 or so nm. Very easy to overtighten if you use the long end of an Allen key.

Now then I challenge you to apply 4nm to a cleat and go for a ride.

Then try and clip out they just move around.

It's about what mine are done up to. Finger tight then nipped up. Check the tables for torque values for bolts. I can't link as I am on a phone.

M6 is 4.5 nm

Shimano suggest 6nm

Finger tight then nipped up also suggests you have no idea what torque you have applied.

Torque charts for M5 countersunk socket head says typical max between 7-11nm pending grade and application

Actually you develop a feel for the stretch of the bolt. 7+is way too much unless it's hi tensile.

I haven't stripped a thread or had one come loose for decades.

Actually you develop a feel for the stretch of the bolt.

Sorry, got to call BS on that. They nylon or carbon sole material will compress before the bolt stretches so even if you could feel it that accurately, you wouldn't know what you were feeling the stretch of.

Also, the contact edge of the cleat is serrated so unless that starts to dig in, it's likely to slip around on the sole.

A lubed bolt will take lower torque than the same bolt dry. Fact.
What I was told by a man with TWO torque wrenches.

Pjay has the answer.
Any kind of lubricant is a friction a modifier, which means any kind of grease will mean you get more stretch on the bolt compared to a non-lubricated bolt for any given torque setting.
Which in borderline cases, can mean the bolt/nut will strip/snap before reaching the desired torque.

It's also worth mentioning this is the reason why torque settings are only a rough guess, as the tensile result of torqueing a bolt to set value can vary dramatically depending on thread quality, materials, type of lubrication, and where lubrication is applied.
This is why critical fasteners will often use angular tightening. You torque them to a specified value which is just tight enough to ensure everything is located, then you tighten them X degrees, which stretches the bolt a known amount, so you get a repeatable accurate tension in the bolt (if you want to get geeky, it's known as Torque to Yield, and relies on the Hooke's law/Young's Modulus).

TJ is right in that you do develop a feel for tightening bolts, however with cleats, they will settle into the material. Even if you were to torque them and leave them overnight, you'd probably get a bit more movement the next day due to the cleat settling into the material. Cleats are the kind of thing, where you really need to tighten them up, go for a short spin putting a fair bit pressure through them, then re-tighten them. Then you'll probably find you can tighten them a bit more after the next couple rides before the cleats have finally settled in as much as they're going to and don't need any further tightening.

Loctite is better for cleat bolts

No idea the material of the bolts but you're not meant to use copperslip on stainless as it can cause them to pick up. Not sure if this still applies to tiny cleat bolts that aren't much more than finger tight though

Variations of the above is all correct when you are torquing a bolt into a quality threaded component. Different applications, different tensile strength bolts, lubed, glued, different shaped bolt head etc. will all use a different torque value.

Now a pressed steel plate with some threads slapped in them, on the sole of a shoe, which in turn is then subjected to high torque twisting motion in its normal operation isn't the going to hold up to precise torque settings on such a small thread.

There's far to much variation in cheap, uncalibrated torque wrenches to be real world accurate. Just apply copper slip so that you can undo them after a crappy winter and don't go mad when tightening them up. If your stripping threads then it's either suspect shoe plates or your going Hulk on them.

Nm

Most of the torque applied to a bolt is lost to friction. Torque values for unlubricated bolts will be completely wrong if applied to lubed bolt as the lube will modify the frictional value significantly

EG 10nm correct for your unlubed bolt then adding lube will reduce friction by, say, 50% you apply 10nm and overtorque the fastened by 100%

PITA but tru

A lubed bolt will take lower torque than the same bolt dry. Fact.
What I was told by a man with TWO torque wrenches.

Grammatically at least you're wrong.

A lubed bolt takes (approximately) half the torque to do up as a dry one.

"A lubed bolt will take a lower torque......" Reads like you think the lubed bolt will strip first. Although given sufficient thread then the shaft of the bolt would snap first I suppose.

I meant what you said.

Thanks folks, I think the common factor is actually that it was the right shoe, which is the cleat I fiddle with most due to a sore knee. Maybe just one too many loosenings and tightenings for the thread...