Weight Weenies

looking for 5 x 15 with tapered head, I have found some on ebay from China but not sure if ok. Any suggestions, Fairwheels are expensive. I got their light alloy stem after having a fit and needing longer stem, felt 25 bucks more was a bit much for 4 bolts.

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I bought eBay ti bolts from China a few times already, works the same and since they are cheaper you can always get more if they break somehow.

being that on race bike breaking sounds scary haha

misterq wrote:being that on race bike breaking sounds scary haha

Just my opinion - bolts are much more likely to break when you are getting them up to torque compared to when you are just riding along, can't verify if my opinion is valid or not though [emoji28]

Or you could try the always-reliable Toronto Cycles: http://www.torontocycles.com/Selling/Titanium_Bolts.html. Coloured bolts (black, gold) and custom anodized also available.

Website takes a little getting used to though…

ManekiNico wrote:Or you could try the always-reliable Toronto Cycles: http://www.torontocycles.com/Selling/Titanium_Bolts.html. Coloured bolts (black, gold) and custom anodized also available.

Website takes a little getting used to though…

I use Toronto Cycles all the time. His brother (?) had a mirror site in NJ, but I believe it has since been closed.

I have his Ti bolts on all my bikes. never had an issue with any of them and have used anti seize and Loctite on them as well.

misterq wrote:looking for 5 x 15 with tapered head, I have found some on ebay from China but not sure if ok. Any suggestions, Fairwheels are expensive. I got their light alloy stem after having a fit and needing longer stem, felt 25 bucks more was a bit much for 4 bolts.

Dulight are worth considering
They have a good range of ti bolts...and other parts
Owner Bastien is a top bloke, very accomodating. The shipping for four bolts was initially €32 but he threw them in a padded envelope for €3

http://www.dulight.fr/en/

I have uses toronto cycles extensively without issue. Buy also a thousand ebay sellers from china without issue. Never cracked a bolt. But when working on a mates bike one of his steel stem bolts broke when getting torqued with a torque wrench. I suspect a loy of the non chinese sellers are just reselling chinese bolts. Carbon-ti bolts are noticably better quality than any others i have used.

If you want the really good stuff, look for bolts that have rolled, not cut, threads. As NiFTY mentioned, if considering paying extra for assumed reliability, then you should confirm who/where the actual manufacturer is. Any reputable seller should be willing/able to tell you this, and even better, confirm the method of thread manufacture and Ti alloy used. For stem bolts, I would consider the few extra bucks worth is for peace of mind. For things like derailleur clamp screws, its not as big a concern, as it's not so much of a safety critical part.

Keyrhem mentioned that crap bolts are often going to fail when tightening them, and once tight, will probably be good to go. I agree with his statement with one BIG caveat. His statement holds true for examples like that derailleur clamp screw, where the loads on the screw don't vary dramatically during riding, however for something like a stem, I think that the twisting forces of standing pedaling, hitting a pot hole, etc...can significantly up the load on the bolts beyond what they saw during the tightening process. The same goes for saddle clamp bolts, particularly when hitting bumps with full weight on the saddle. So items critical to your control of the bike are not only more likely to see a failure in use, due to wider variations in load, but a failure is also more likely to cause a crash. Which you don't want.

NiFTY wrote:I have uses toronto cycles extensively without issue. Buy also a thousand ebay sellers from china without issue. Never cracked a bolt. But when working on a mates bike one of his steel stem bolts broke when getting torqued with a torque wrench. I suspect a loy of the non chinese sellers are just reselling chinese bolts. Carbon-ti bolts are noticably better quality than any others i have used.

I've also used Toronto Cycles with success.

I live in China and some of the Ti bolts are utter garbage, total butter. They can snap, or the normal par for the course is to strip the head. I actually find this is common for the ebay stuff even from supposedly Taiwanese shops. Whenever I've bought directly from a Chinese cycle shop they have branded titanium bolts and skewers that work excellently for very reasonable prices.

Chinese ti bolts seem can be great or awful. If you don't have the knowledge don't risk it.

Toronto Cycles for me.

i sell black ti bolts i have quite a nice range of sizes too

+1 for Toronto Cycles, and not just because I live in Toronto

Great service too - he screwed up an order of mine this summer and corrected it, no questions - just sent me the right bolts. He also happened to be on holiday at the time and answered my emails anyway.

Only had a negative experience with his Ti bolts once - I ordered seatpost rail clamp bolts for my Easton EC90 and one just wasn't machined right. Second pair I bought were flawless though (no, I never complained to him).

Nothing has ever broken though.

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

www.starbike.com

+1 for Toronto Cycles. I've ordered from them several times. In fact, I'm waiting on an order now. I'm replacing the steel bolts that came with my FormMount.