Technical > General Technical

Titanium bolts? Mad waste of money or any purpose?

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Danneaux:

--- Quote ---I can’t work out where there would be 50 bolts (Which by the way will almost definitely be screws)
--- End quote ---
Well, let's see...

On my Nomad (for example):
Fork:
4- racks
2- mudguard stays
1- headlight
2- dynamo clamp adapter mount
1- underside fork crown mudguard mount
2- v-brake bosses

Stem:
4-clamp
1-headset preload bolt

Frame:
6- water bottle mounts
2- upper rack mounts
2- lower rack mount
2- mudguard mounts
2- disc brake mounting tab
2- M8 eccentric bolts
1- seat collar pinch bolt
1- underside seatstay bridge mount for mudguards
1- chainstay bridge mount for mudguards
1- v-brake bosses

Then, we have components:
2 - external BB crank pinch bolts or main crank bolts if internal BB
4 or 5- chainring bolts and sleeve nuts
(4-nuts on v-brakes...don't count 'cos nuts not bolts)
2- Thorn Exp mudguard stay mounts on rear rack
2- cross-brace on Thorn Low-Loader Mk V front racks
2- brake lever mounting clamp bolts
2- crosstop brake lever mounting clamp bolts
2- v-brake cable clamp bolts
1- saddle rail clamp on seatpost
(8 draw bolts and nuts for mudguard stay mounts...no Ti equivalent, so don't count)

...unless I missed something, that's it. [No, it isn't...I lost count. ??? There's four more bolts in a Thorn EXP rear rack]

Total on frame/fork: 37 unless I've lost count
Total on components: 18 22
Grand total: 55 59

All the best,

Dan.

Pavel:
yeah .... but what about those titanium rims? it would get me to my touring destination 34 seconds a day earlier on the average 70 mile (112 km) day .... every day. How's that not an amazing thing?

Danneaux:

--- Quote ---...but what about those titanium rim
--- End quote ---
Because titanium is more dense than aluminum and therefore heavier (though still lighter than steel), you would likely be slower on a course that required frequent starts/stops or uphill. On a flat course with steady-state pedaling, you would likely be about the same speed overall once you had reached cruising speed.

All the best,

Dan.

Danneaux:
The OP asked...
--- Quote ---Would the interface on Titanium bolts be less prone to rounding from Hex keys than on stock bolts?
--- End quote ---
To get around the problem, I have replaced some of my socket head/Allen bolts with hex-head bolts. The surface area is larger, the span across the fastener is greater, and of you only have an open-end wrench with you, you have three shots/face-pairs for removal (though I prefer box-end wrenches).

I installed mine on my rack mounts. They make removal much easier over time as the interface ages.

Similarly, I sometimes thread a longer bolt clear through a rack braze-on and secure the rack with a locking nut. In the event the bolt fractures, it makes removal an easier task. I know Andy Blance does this also.

Best,

Dan.

Andre Jute:

--- Quote from: pavel on January 04, 2018, 06:49:40 pm ---34 seconds a day earlier on the average 70 mile (112 km) day

--- End quote ---

34 seconds is maybe a bit optimistic for a 100g shaving, but even half that, 17s a day, 220 days a year, say, is definitely worth $200. That's over an hour, and back in the day my time was charged at very much more than that.

It's not difficult to conceive of many other circumstances in which 17s in 70m would be worth much more. At Le Mans for instance, 17s in every five laps would be a crushing margin at the end of the 24h race of nearly 14 minutes, for which Audi or Porsche or Toyota would be happy to pay tens of millions.

All of that said, I have only one ti screw on my bike, and that was given to me by Julian (Julk) with a double-saddle-rail to micro-adjustable seatpost adaptor and, IIRC, was all that would fit. All the rest are stainless, because that is the optimum rustfree choice as George says.

***

Expensive enough to find stainless screws in all the required sizes and lengths (which is why you should prefer bike manufacturers and component makers who supply stainless screws as standard), near impossible to do it in ti. In addition, the wider availability of stainless sizes/lengths makes fitting longer screws and self-locking nuts in selected locations (where you have to disassemble/reassemble the component or assembly often, and therefore you don't want to use Loctte) so much more likely and consequently your life so much easier when you're trying to assemble your bike on the busy sidewalk in front of an airport building.

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