Rusty bolts

justo

I have a new bike and have been out in the elements a bit. I notice that the bolt in the headset and the bolts on the stem (where it clamps to the handlebars) have become rusty looking.

Any good recommendations for keeping them from doing this?

ashleey

Put a bit of grease in the bolt head but you'll need new ones first. Titanium doesn't rust though so look out for stems with titanium bolts like the Deda zero 1. A bargain and look great

ednwireland

buy titanium bolts on ebay (they'll probably creak though)

Lumen

Titanium stem bolts. What could possibly go wrong?

07Lapierre

Clean off the rust with WD40.

rp

ednwireland wrote: »

buy titanium bolts on ebay (they'll probably creak though)

I generally replace all nuts and bolts with stainless steel ones: not as light maybe, but much cheaper

ednwireland

Lumen wrote: »

Titanium stem bolts. What could possibly go wrong?

at 5Nm prob not a lot, the heads tend to snap off at 12Nm (replaced some crank bolts - because i wouldnt pay shimano prices after mangling the heads ended up with stainless steel ones and not a bother with them)

Surveyor11

On my commuter bike, I remove the rust an apply black lacquer paint, the one I have for touching up dents on my car. Does the job on the commuter - nothing worse than looking at rusty headset bolts on the commuter every day.

My other bike has Campag Athena groupset, and a bit miffed that the bolt that retains the cable on the calipers is rusty. Takes the look off it and will have to be replaced with a better quality stainless steel bolt. FWIW, Grade 316 Stainless Steel is more resistant to corrossion, particularly salt.

rp

Surveyor11 wrote: »

nothing worse than looking at rusty headset bolts on the commuter every day.

That's exactly it! I'm sitting there at a light, and the rusty stem bolt is staring up at me accusingly.

BofaDeezNuhtz

rp wrote: »

and the rusty stem bolt is staring up at me accusingly.

Mine did that too...til I got a new girlfriend...now he's happy again

Spins

I have the same problem. I need to replace 6 bolts, the 4 fixing the stem face plate and the two attaching the stem to forks.
I was on CRC and they have a brand called Nukeproof who offer the size bolts I require in M5, M6 and M8, Which 'M' should I get?
I've an ITM alloy stem and handlebars.

Two other things.
1. Titanium. alloy or stainless steel?
2. Any other recommedned sites to purchase from?

rp

Every couple of years or so, I buy a bag of assorted stainless steel nuts and bolts from SJS Cycles, and use those (they have all the bike-standard sizes in there somewhere).
I wouldn't bother with Ti, I was just reading recently, that to increase your speed by 1kmph, you'll need to loose 3.5kg off of the vehicle weight: that would require a hell of a lot of titanium!

Spins

Thanks for that website, lots of bolts n stuff.
Don't suppose you know the difference between all the M numbers. They have M3, M4, M5, M6 & M8 bolts? Don't know which to order. Does it matter?

shaka

Ah ya it does matter, m3 is a 3 mm bolt M4 is 4mm etc. take out one of nuts and check diameter.

I take them off clean off rust, spray with a bit of black stove paint and refit and grease . Don't spray the threads just the head

rp

Spins wrote: »

Thanks for that website, lots of bolts n stuff.
Don't suppose you know the difference between all the M numbers. They have M3, M4, M5, M6 & M8 bolts? Don't know which to order. Does it matter?

I get the mixed bag, and just grub around for ones that fit, I think nearly every size you could want is in there somewhere.

murph226

I have some rusty looking bolts on my bike that I want to replace.

Have many on here used the titanium ones from ebay or should I stick to stainless?

strugglebug

This seems like the right thread to ask in rather than making a new one..

Myself and the bike got drenched starting out today, I haven't been out properly on a bike in years, let alone in the rain, not a clue about maintenance.
How am I supposed to clean it off? Wiped it all over with a dry rag before coming here in case there's more I should do.

Brian?

Spins wrote: »

Thanks for that website, lots of bolts n stuff.
Don't suppose you know the difference between all the M numbers. They have M3, M4, M5, M6 & M8 bolts? Don't know which to order. Does it matter?

M3=3mm etc.

It it takes a 3mm Allen key then it's an M3 bolt. Simples.

JC 3.14159

Brian? wrote: »

M3=3mm etc.

It it takes a 3mm Allen key then it's an M3 bolt. Simples.

Not always, especially (it seems) for bike stuff.

I have a collection of oddball ones (M4 thread with 3mm hex head, etc) that came with Bike racks/mudguards/bottle cages etc.

As an alternative, Halfords do a box of different ones which I've found alright for most things. You might still need the occasional longer one for mudguard bodges etc.

I can't do links, but search for "socket cap screws" on halfords website to find them.

More expensive than buying only what you need in a hardware/bike shop, but it's nice to have a stock when you need them.