Loctite

Loctite goes back to the chemist Vernon Krieble, who developed an adhesive at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1953 that cures inside a thread once air is shut out. The company was first called American Sealants; the product got the Loctite name in 1956, the company itself in 1963. Since 1997 the brand has belonged to the Henkel group in Düsseldorf.

On a bike, Loctite is what stands between a thread and vibration. The threadlockers are graded by strength and identified by colour: purple low strength for adjusting screws, blue medium strength for pedal axles, chainring bolts and stems, green high strength for joints meant to stay put. Alongside them are retaining compounds that hold a bearing in a seat that has worn loose.