Finish Line Fiber Grip carbon fibre assembly gel is handily packaged and reasonably priced for home use. And it works.
If you own a bike with carbon components and want to do any work involving removing, refitting or adjusting them, you need carbon assembly product of some sort. Be it a paste or gel, applied by brush or finger, you need something to assist in preventing slippage or creaks, and to minimise the torque required on clamping parts.
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This Finish Line gel is clear, non-toxic, odour-free, non-staining and biodegradable. I wouldn't recommend eating it, but you probably could. The gel feels grittier than my go-to assembly paste by Motrex – you can feel the 'grit' particles if you slide it between your fingers. But it's not going to damage anything.
Finish Line recommends using it for carbon-carbon and carbon-alloy clamping, and claims that when used correctly you need up to half the recommended torque to hold things steady.
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Put simply, it works. Nothing slipped, it was easy to apply, and cleaned up with a wipe of a rag. Yes, £10 isn't the cheapest carbon paste out there, but the Finish Line product is often available for around the £6-£7 mark. Given the tube will last most home-mechanics a lifetime of bar/stem/seatpost work, the money's possibly irrelevant. You can buy a 450g tub for about £27, which works out at less than half the price, but unless you're running a bikeshop or family fleet of carbon machines, chances are you'll never get through it in a lifetime.
Verdict
Convenient, friendly carbon assembly gel that works, won't break the bank, and should last many years
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Finish Line Fiber Grip
Size tested: 1.75 oz / 50 ml
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
It's for anyone with any carbon bike component needing clamping.
Finish Line says: "Fiber Grip™ is specially designed to create friction and reduce slippage between clamped carbon fiber surfaces. Fiber Grip eliminates the need to over tighten clamps to achieve secure connections. Over tightening can cause internal fractures and fatigue of carbon fiber parts. Apply Fiber Grip in a thin film to clamping areas of stems, handlebars, seat posts, and seat tubes. Tested and approved by leading carbon fiber component manufacturers."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Non-toxic, biodegradeable
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Perfectly.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It's eco-everything.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your score
In comparison with other carbon pastes, the easy cleanup and non-toxicity/biodegradability combined with the price makes this a winner.
About the tester
Age: 43
I usually ride: Merida Ride 5000 Disc My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, club rides, general fitness riding, mountain biking, Dutch bike pootling
6 comments
Does this use microbeads? In fact, could there be a section of environmentally friendly products on the site?
Good question and idea about environmentaly friendly products.
I hadn't thought about the microbeads in a ecological perspective rather the scratches they make on components, which is why I use Motorex carbon paste which I believe is the only product that doesn't use beads/grit - but it is a petroleum product.
Unfortunately the recent ban on "plastic microbeads" due to their effect on marine life, seems to have many people running scared unnecessarily each time they see the term "microbeads". There are all sorts of microbeads in use, many of which are deemed to be harmless. Virtually every type of reflective paint for example (as used extensively on road markings and road signs) use glass (not plastic) microbeads.
In the case of this product, I suggest it is unlilkely that it contains plastic microbeads. It is described as containing grit, and according to some reviewers there is a warning on the packet that it can scratch paint and carbon. Plastic microbeads would not do that.
Sense of perspective here: People get cross about microbeads as they are used in everyday products as skin exfoliants that a family might go through a jar or bottle of in a few weeks, and down the plughole and into the water system. Hence thousands of tons a year from consumer use ending up in marine life. This, by comparison, is something only of interest to cyclists with carbon componentry, and who do DIY, and as mentioned is likely to last you your entire lifetime of Fettling. And, when wiped away during a refurb or component replacement, will be adhered to a scrap of cloth or paper towel destined for landfill or recycling, not the watershed.
Whilst respecting individual right to choose to only purchase products fitting a particular eco-friendly profile, I think as a society we've got bigger things to worry about than what Finish Line use as a workshop abrasive.
Don't like microbeads? Stick your seat post in some mud does the same job and keeps your eco credentials intact.
I keep meaning to buy some but I'm going to shop locally and buy Fenwick's carbon assembly paste. It's made just a few miles from me in Shropshire and they support our club's youth riders.
It's all part of a bigger picture. People said the same thing about supermarket plastic bags, plastic cotton buds (apparently the most common litter on beaches), but stopping the proliferation of each is a step on the road to a cleaner environment. Once you show you can satisfactorily remove microbeads from one product type you open the door to further possibilities.