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review

Juice Lubes AAS Juice - Aluminium Anti-Seize

8
£8.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Softer than some copper-based pastes in cold weather, a workshop essential in a sensibly sized pot
Major hassle prevention for minimal outlay
Stays soft in cold weather
Should last for years
No brush included
Weight: 
150g
Contact: 

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Juice Lubes AAS Juice is a workshop essential that does what it should and is easier to apply than copper paste in cold weather.

Despite the slightly puerile name and marketing, Juice Lubes AAS Paste – Aluminium Anti-Seize – is a good product that your bike mechanic will thank you for using when it comes to servicing time.

At Bike Mechanic School, day one, as far as I remember, was all about how not to set fire to your workshop; after which we went straight to 'use anti-seize paste'.

Chances are, if you've experienced a stuck seatpost, steerer or bottom bracket, or your cleat bolts won't come out of your shoes, it's because it's been assembled without anti-seize. The old adage, 'a stitch in time saves nine', applies.

For years I've been thinking that anti-seize meant copper-slip and vice versa, but it turns out any number of metals can appear in it, and in some cases copper is not the best choice. In fact, I've learned it's best not to use copper-based products on stainless steel, where it can cause cracks, which is an issue for me as I have a stainless steel bike frame. It's safe to use with carbon components. Aluminium is also electrically inert, so can be used on electrical contacts too.

This particular aluminium-based paste comes in a 150g tub, which is more economical to use than a tube but slightly more difficult to keep it free from outside contaminants. My previous choice of copper slip, which was made by Finish Line, came with a brush built into the lid (that 235g tin has lasted me 13 years, though it's nearly all gone now). I cut off an old artist's paint brush to apply the AAS Juice and found it goes on smoothly with just the right consistency.

> Six essential tools for cyclists who do their own bike maintenance

In cold weather, I found copper anti-seize could become quite stiff and thick, and needed leaving on the stove top to soften. The AAS Juice hasn't done that, even when the workshop temperature has dropped to near-zero overnight, so that's a bonus if you work in an unheated space.

Whether it has the same long-lasting resilience to corrosion is difficult to assess in the time available for testing. However, I attempted to create an 'accelerated winter' in the name of science: I took two near-identical pedals and thoroughly degreased the spindle threads, treated one with the AAS Juice and left the other ungreased. I threaded them into two offside cranks I happened to have lying around and dropped them up to the pedal axle in a bucket of water liberally dosed with road salt. Then I left them out in the cold for four weeks.

At the end of the experiment, slightly disappointingly, both pedals came off with only modest effort, so the best I can offer is that there was still plenty of paste evident on the treated pedal, meaning it hadn't dissolved or leached out. Anyway, aluminium-based anti-seize has been a thing for many a year, so it's not like this is untested territory.

Value

As is often the case, there are similar products aimed at cyclists that tend to cost a little more, and others for general hardware use, which tend to work out cheaper, and the AAS juice sits in the middle of the price range.

At 6p per gram, it's cheaper than Park Tools' ASC-1 paste, which is £11.99 for 112g (10.7p/g), but more expensive than your hardware-store equivalent from Sealey, whose SCS103 Aluminium Anti-Seize Compound, in a 500g tin, sells online for around £8.

So AAS Juice is unlikely to trouble you financially and could save you a good deal more in trashed parts and contributions to the swear box. If you're a real heavy-duty user it comes in a half-kilo workshop pack at £19.99.

Verdict

Softer than some copper-based pastes in cold weather, a workshop essential in a sensibly sized pot

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Juice Lubes AAS Juice Aluminium Anti-Seize Paste

Size tested: 150ml

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?

Says Juice Lubes: "AAS Juice keeps your bits moving freely and makes workshop time a breeze. It's a top quality, aluminium assembly paste that fights off cold welding, corrosion and seizing, stops annoying squeaks and squeals and does away with those swearing at your pedal spanner moments.

AAS is for anything metal-on-metal that needs to stay locked in place, but still come unstuck when you want it to. It's perfect for anything with thread - think pedals and cranks - or anywhere else where metal touches metal like seat posts and seat tubes.

Blob a bit of AAS Juice on to your threads when you build or maintain your bike and you'll guarantee less cursing next time you need to remove a component from your bike. It works great on bottom brackets, pedals, headsets and anywhere with metal-to-metal contact.

When you next need to fix your bike, AAS Juice will be waiting to brighten your day with stress-free spannering."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Juice Lubes lists:

Makes assembly of threaded items smoother and easier

Helps to ensure more accurate torque levels during assembly

Allows for easy future adjustment or deconstruction for maintenance

Protects against corrosion, cold welding, galling & seizure of threaded parts

Suitable for use on all Aluminium, Titanium and Steel threaded parts

Carbon safe

PCR Recyclable packaging

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

Goes on smoothly, hasn't washed out. My workshop science experiment was inconclusive but alu-based anti-seize products have a long and useful history so I'm confident this will do as it should.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Not as thick and sticky as some copper slips but goes on easily and hasn't leached or washed out in a month-long brine bucket test.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Cheaper than a top-name product like Park, more expensive than a hardware-store brand, but comes in a convenient size for home mechanics.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The real test of an anti-seize compound is months – or years – of exposure to winter conditions, particularly salt and water. I tried to recreate some of this with my salt-water immersion test. Though neither treated nor untreated products got stuck, I could see that the AAS juice stayed where it was put.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Good quality paste that's easy to apply, even in cold weather.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Not as clean to use as a tube.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Park Tools ASC-1 is another aluminium paste that sells for £11.99 for 112g = 10.7p per g, compared to AS Juice's 6p/g.

From the hardware store, Sealey SCS103 Aluminium Anti-Seize Compound 500g tin goes for around £8.

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 overall score

Like tyre levers, greases and anti-seize compounds can prevent a world of sorrow for a small outlay. This alu-based anti-seize is smooth and easy to apply, though you'll have to provide your own brush. It's safe with carbon, stainless steel and electrical contacts as well as steel and aluminium; that's presumably true of all aluminium-based pastes so not in itself a recommendation for the Juice Lubes product. However, it's smooth and easy to apply and doesn't go stiff in cold weather. The 150g tub is an economical way to buy it and it should see you through years of use.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 57  Height: 6'2  Weight: 75kg and rising

I usually ride: Cannondale CAAD10   My best bike is: Tomassini Prestige

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: touring, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,

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