Bolt/Nut Science

[Samuel McCune]

Hello all,

I seem to remember reading something in BQ about the Bolt science website and about different materials for nuts and bolts.  If memory serves, Jan prefers chromed steel bolts to stainless and steel over any lighter alloy (aluminium or titanium). Does anyone know where I read this? I have the entire BQ back-catalogue on my shelf, so it'd be no problem to look it up, if I know where to start...

Also, any and all other opinions on the matter are welcome.  I know JP Weigle occasionally uses alloy nuts on back of Mafac cantilever brakes.  I am trying for a relatively lightweight randonneur build and am looking at bolt/nut options.

With gratitude,

Samuel McCune

New Haven, CT

[Anton Tutter]

I wouldn't use aluminum alloy nuts or bolts anywhere where their purpose is critical, like on brakes, or a stem.  For fender stays, bottle cages, maybe.

You can always go with Ti fasteners, which will be suitably strong for any application, but they'll cost you an arm and a leg.

I got a fairly good price on some bulk Ti fasteners, and used Ti bolts for my cantis, cranks and most of the miscellaneous M5 applications.

At the end of the day it's not going to save much, but using Ti for the largest bolts on the bike (like the brakes and cranks) will give you the best weight savings/cost benefit.

Anton

[Jon Doyle]

From a randonneuring perspective, I see no point in using anything but steel bolts. The weight is insignificant, and the reliability of steel fasteners is proven.

Jon

Watertown, MA

[Bubba]

That was a shocking piece of info in the Rene Herse book.  Herse used to spec Aluminum nuts and bolts for his stem pinch bolts!  After having a few failures, he went to steel bolts and aluminum nuts.  

[Joe Broach]

Bill,

That does seem like flying a bit close to the sun. It also reminds me that open face stems are scary. Even four-bolters kind of give me the willies. Didn't the classic Herse stems use a two-bolt, closed clamp? So, a bolt failure at least wasn't (necessarily) catastrophic.

Best,

joe broach

portland, or

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[Bubba]

Yes, two bolt, closed clamp.  Break one bolt, and you have the second one backing you up.....  

[Ken Freeman]

I think that if the bolt is engineered correctly for the application (including intelligent selection of the Al alloy), aluminum bolts can be perfectly safe and durable.  But it really takes a good engineering job to do that.  If you're making the best choice while staring at the bolt bins at the LHS (Local Hardware Store), go for the steel.  We don't have the time or (mostly) the skills to engineer it, so for a given size, steel or stainless steel will be more reliable.