Bolts

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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Anthony

by Anthony

Where can you find ti and nylon bolts for stem and frame?

scizod

by scizod

The Santa Cruz mountain bikes come with nylon bolts in the bottle cage holders and I believe SRP has all the titanium bolts. I am sure you can contact Santa Cruz and get those bolts.

by Weenie


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popawheelie
Posts: 1019
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2002 3:42 pm
Location: in Colorado

by popawheelie

I've bought them from SRP and bigger internet bike companys. Sometimes they have a bunch of them that are just gathering dust. They were for some part upgrade and they didn't sell as many as they thought they would. Ask for a description of the fastener and think where you could use it on your present or future bikes. Sometimes you can change them a little to fit something else. I have a plastic box with them sorted so when I buy a component I can usually find one to fit. Have fun!

xtr

by xtr

hi i'm from greece.here i can't find ti bolts.did anyone know how i can get them from another country?

popawheelie
Posts: 1019
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2002 3:42 pm
Location: in Colorado

by popawheelie

Hi xtr, There a number of companies selling Ti bicycle parts. www.srp-usa is one that sells online. Tiso in Italy sells lightweight parts for campy. I know there are more. Maybe in Germany. You should buy a thread guage to measure what size bolt you need. A metric caliper is a good way to measure bolts also. A good mechanic knows how to measure nuts and bolts with these tools if you need a little help. There are usually only a few sizes of bolts on your bike so if you order the wrong bolt from say srp-usa.com you can propably use it somewhere else on your bike. I have a colection that I can pull from when I work on something now. Plastic cases that are for sorting small stuff work well. Save your old parts also in case you upgrade. You can take the Ti hardware off and use it again. The bike you put your old component on or the person you sell it to won't need the Ti stuff or appreciate it. Your just giving Ti harware away. Have fun!

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DavidG
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 9:26 am
Location: On my bike somewhere

by DavidG

I recently did quite a bit of research into this issue before ordering a complete set of Alu and Ti bolts for my bike. Due to the high price of Ti bolts and the limited availability of some of the bolt types and sizes I needed, I decided to do a head-to-head Excel comparison of the 5-10 bolt suppliers I had found on the Internet.

Here they are:
* Racebolts LLC -- http://www.racebolts.com
* Ti Kinetics (Ti only) -- http://www.tikinetics.com
* Redmist -- http://titaniumfasteners.com/shop/
* Mettec (Ti only) -- http://www.mettec.com/
* TekBolt (Ti only) -- http://www.tekbolt.com/
* Bike Tuning Service (Germany) -- http://home.t-online.de/home/bts.renz/homepage.htm
* Titan Concept (Germany) (Ti only) -- http://www.titan-concept.com/
* BSR (UK) -- http://www.bsr-aerotek.com
* Pro-Bolt (UK) http://www.tastynuts.com/

In the end I chose to order from Redmist (http://titaniumfasteners.com/shop/), who had the lowest prices per bolt almost across the board (up to 50% cheaper), plus he offered to special order any type of bolt I needed. And his S&H charges are fair ($4 in the US for Priority Mail), he accepts PayPal, his website is excellent and so is his service.

BTW, I recommend against buying from suppliers who sell specifically to the bicycle market (eg SRP and the bike stores) as they tend to overcharge. Instead, go to the manufacturers themselves and get much better deals! The only reason to buy from SRP etc. is if you need a non-standard bolt that is meant specifically for bike use (eg, the specially-shaped nuts used on V-brake pad holders); such bolts will not be available from the 'standard' bolt suppliers.

Attached is a copy of the above-mentioned comparison spreadsheet.

DavidG

PS Keep in mind that aluminium is both lighter and cheaper than Ti. It can easily be used for non-critical bolts such as the brake levers and shifters, cable holders etc. For a short but comprehesive article on which bolts to use where, how much you can save by using aluminium and Ti bolts, and more, go to http://weightweenies.starbike.com/articles.php?ID=16 .
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DavidG

popawheelie
Posts: 1019
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2002 3:42 pm
Location: in Colorado

by popawheelie

Thanks Davidg, You are incredible!!!!

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
DavidG
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 9:26 am
Location: On my bike somewhere

by DavidG

A few comments about the bolt price comparison spreadsheet I posted above:
1. The spreadsheet includes only the specific bolt types/sizes that I needed; you can take it from here and add any bolts you may need that aren't on the list.
2. Prices for the foreign bolt suppliers will change according to the exchange rates (which you can update in the spreadsheet), but the differences will probably be minor.
3. The prices are per bolt, and do not take into account different S&H costs that may exist between the various suppliers.
4. Ditto for the cost of payment (eg bank transfer fees or PayPal fees).

Enjoy!
DavidG

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