A professional installation of crankarms includes anti-seize. The reason is simple to understand. The Park series of bicycle maintenance tutorials are the gold standard for professional-level instruction. Do they stand alone in this or is it something that is more or less common knowledge among people who do this sort of thing? I went to Youtube and searched for 'bicycle crankarm installation' and ran down the list.
I could go on but thats plenty of time to waste on this only-on-the-internet kind of argument.
I like to grease threads. I said in this case it would defeat the purpose of the threadlock that came on my bolts. Why do you argue?
I like those guys because they don't practice what they preach. All start by saying to use a 50 Nm torque wrench, but all do it by feel, using only what torque I would. One chokes up on his long allen key, as I would. Another uses a ratchet made of sheet steel with square edges, which means he can't turn very hard. They're not using torque wrench readings, and they're not afraid of the bolt coming unscrewed. Grease, by all means! Personally, I'd prefer anti-seize. Are you lumping them together?
I went to Fastenal Engineering for specs on Grade 8 5/16 -24. They don't grease threads because they rely on torque wrenches. Dry and zinc-coated, one of these bolts will take up to 38 Nm. Anti-seizes and threadlockers act the same, bringing the bolt to max load with only 31 Nm. Light lube such as cutting oil could bring it down to 28 Nm. Grease is hard to predict. A mere 16 Nm could ruin a bolt, or it could withstand 38. The three guys in the videos used grease, not anti-seize or threadlocker. That was okay as they went by feel and not torque.
Those are the torques that will damage the bolt. The usual recommendation for preload is 75%. The 21 Nm limit of my 5/16 allen key would be just about right with anti-seize, threadlocker, or thin oil, but pulling that 11.5 cm lever could ruin the bolt if I greased it.
When I replaced my BB, I had to replace my crank set so my chain ring would line up. I used the bolts that came with the new cranks. One pedal kept loosening. I assumed the bolt was unscrewing. I'd check the bolt several times a day. It stayed tight until suddenly the crank was wobbly and 6mm farther from the BB than it had been. It dawned on me that the threads were jumping as if stripped. The diameter was almost precisely the same as the OEM bolt, but if I ran my thumb the length of the bolt, the threads didn't feel as sharp.
The OEM bolt solved my problem, but it was only recently that I found out what had stripped the new one. The bicycle industry sprang from the textile industry in England and New England. Hence the industry standard BSA BB with its 5/16 -24 bolts. California self-styled bicycle mechanics couldn't distinguish them from M8 x 1. In using cheap Chinese parts to start bicycle companies, they ordered M8 x 1 instead of 5/16 -24. After all, the diameter was only 28 microns bigger and the pitch 58 microns smaller. The difference accumulated with each revolution so that screwing in the bolt deformed the threads and they lost much of their holding power.
In Shangahi, my bike was manufactured with proper 5/16 -24 bolts, but in California, it seems nobody knew how to use a thread gauge. That seems to be why bicycle companies adopted torque specs that would distort threads and parts distributers ordered M8 x 1 bolts with threadlocker already applied.
You say you know how to find quality bolts. Do you know of any American dealer who knows that BSA crank bolts are 5/16 -24?
This thread is about applying the torque to thru-axles on Specialized e-bikes (in case you missed that).
