Is there a preferred/better threadlock for chainring bolts or can I just go to Halfords and buy some generic threadlock?

Threadlock? Never needed that on chainring bolts in 25 years of riding. In fact I usually grease them up before installation.

I use assembly paste – would never want to threadlock them I lose enough knuckles taking them off normally! Seem to stay on OK normally I have had to nip a couple up after a few hundred miles of riding after putting them in though but not moved since.

If you go to halfords and buy threadlock the best for bike stuff is the little chapstick tube they do, the bottles are a pain in the bum!

I’ve never bothered and yet to have any come loose

Locktite blue

grease or coppaslip FTW

Not locktite blue!

when i was young and naive (and had lost all my chainring bolts in a strange accident) I used loctite red.

oh how i laughed when i had to drill them out (3 hour job!) 😯

No threadlock it’s a grease application

anti-seize and torque them, no need for threadlock.

the little chapstick tube

Very handy, have threadlock and coppaslip in these. I use coppaslip on chainring bolts as I’ve never had one come loose but have lost knuckle skin to seized ones.

I use 222 loctite. Weak enough to be broken with hand tools, strong enough to not come loose and fills the thread voids well enough to avoid seizing (which is an often over looked benefit of thread lock).

However, loctite (weak), grease or copaslip are all better options than dry.

They have threads so they get loctite from the chappy stick thing. Grease twixt ring and spider though.

A light smear of grease and do them up tight. Check em after the first ride. In almost 20 yrs I’ve never once loctited my chainring bolts on and never lost one either.

No threadlock… I too have had to drill them out before now.

Replace the rings and bolts recently, torqued them up but first ride they came loose, torqued them up again and again they’ve come loose. Never had it happen before in > 20 years off road riding.

Didn’t grease them but I may try copper slipping them and see how that works.

Thanks for the replies

what’s with the thread lock all about? never find the need to use it..chainring bolts is PITA if it get stucked I even use grease instead to save me the hassle when replacing chainring(s)

‘Didn’t grease them’

That’s why they came loose, you can’t possibly achieve the required torque with dry bolts.