# Titanium or Aluminum bolts?



## Gascon (Nov 10, 2006)

I will be upgrading some bolts, but I am not sure which material would be safer for certain components. Aluminum bolts are obviously lighter but how reliable are they comparing to titanium? 

So, here's a list of components that I will be changing the bolts of. I'd appreciate if you can tell me if i should use alu or ti.

Seatpost clamp bolt
Brake lever bolts
Disc brake caliper bolts
stem bolts
front derailleur clamp bolt
rear suspension shock bolts

Thanks


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## UberFly (Apr 10, 2006)

My opinion for safety's sake:

Seatpost clamp bolt - Ti
Brake lever bolts - Al might be OK
Disc brake caliper bolts - Ti
stem bolts - Ti
front derailleur clamp bolt - Al might be OK
rear suspension shock bolts - Ti

Basically my reasoning is that I'd use Ti for any bolt that if it failed would cause a loss of control. Ti would be a better choice over aluminum anyways if you can't live with steel bolts.


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## pastajet (May 26, 2006)

Here are my thoughts:


Ti - Seatpost clamp bolt
Al - Brake lever bolts
Ti - Disc brake caliper bolts
Ti - stem bolts
Ti - front derailleur clamp bolt
Ti - rear suspension shock bolts

Now some people have used Al for the front derailleur clamp bolt but I have not. Use Ti anywhere strength and durability are paramount. The only places I recommend Al are the headset bolt, the chainring bolts and the lever clamp bolts. 

Just my humble opinion.


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## Gascon (Nov 10, 2006)

Thanks for the replies. I think I will get alu bolts for the levers, and ti for everything else.


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## barrows (Jul 6, 2004)

*bolts*

You can be scientific about this if you want. Most components include torque specs for the bolts used, and the companies that sell Al and Ti bolts will give you maximum torque values that can be used with the different types and sizes of bolts that they sell.
I use Al bolts for pinch clamps on the brake levers, shifters, front derailleur clamp (check Shimano's torque spec, this bolt does not need to be very tight), water bottle cage bolts, and for acessories like the bolts that hold the top resevoir cover on the brake levers. I use Ti for brake calipers to frame (but I have seen people risk Al here), seatclamp, stem bolts, and most cable clamp bolts (970 XTR rear derailleurs can use an Al clamp bolt, as they use a larger size: M5). I use centerlock rotors, so no bolts there, but I would recommend Ti for rotor bolts-Stan's NoTubes is a good source for Ti rotor bolts.
Question: Who is getting away with Al bolts for Disc brake caliper to frame mounting, and what is your experience?


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## Ausable (Jan 7, 2006)

My experience is: 
disc calipers to IS adapter=Al
IS adapter to frame=Steel 
no problems since last year. Most of the braking force on the caliper to adapter interface is compression, and it's handled by the spherical washer set.
Adapter to frame is mostly shear so bolt strenght is critical.

Side note - the very same disc brake bolts are used on 50lbs downhill bikes and in 20lbs xc race bikes, so the standard bolt set should be fairly overengineered.
fab


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## pimpbot (Dec 31, 2003)

*basically...*



pastajet said:


> Here are my thoughts:
> 
> Ti - Seatpost clamp bolt
> Al - Brake lever bolts
> ...


use alu anywhere you don't need a bolt to be really snug to keep things put or anywhere that if it fails it will knock you on your head.

Front derailleur clamp, shifter and brake lever clamps, headset cap bolt (if you don't remove the headset cap altogether like I do!). I've even used alu successfully on derailleur cable fixing bolts on the derailleurs as well with a drop of blue loctite on the cable. I also put alu bolts on the rear v-brakes to hold the arms to the frame. I figure the pressure is not against the bolt anyway, but pushing against the frame. I've seen people use alu on the front v-brake, but I wouldn't trust it.


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## imridingmybike (Jan 16, 2005)

Gascon said:


> I will be upgrading some bolts, but I am not sure which material would be safer for certain components. Aluminum bolts are obviously lighter but how reliable are they comparing to titanium?
> 
> So, here's a list of components that I will be changing the bolts of. I'd appreciate if you can tell me if i should use alu or ti.
> 
> ...


Where do you guys get your weight weeny bolts?


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## FoShizzle (Jan 18, 2004)

steel


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## Gascon (Nov 10, 2006)

imridingmybike said:


> Where do you guys get your weight weeny bolts?


hyperbolts.com or ebay


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## bmh2005 (Mar 26, 2007)

How much weight do you lose using titanium bolts over a set of steel bolts? Personally i dont think the minimal savings in weight justifies the cost of the Ti bolts.


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## pastajet (May 26, 2006)

On my Ibis Mojo full suspension I saved 84 grams, this is a weight weenie forum after all, my rule of thumb was always to keep Ti bolts at $2 per grams and under for weight savings, yes there are other cheaper places to save weight, but when you start to run out of the obvious the bolts come next


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## jhenry4 (Aug 12, 2006)

*breakage*

has anyone had a failure of an aluminum bolt?
i see plenty of recommendations for Ti bolts but wonder if we're ehr-ing on the side of caution here or if someone's had or seen a failure of a properly installed and used Al bolt?


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## Ty (May 20, 2004)

Here are my thoughts:


Seatpost clamp bolt - just glue the seatpost in, no need for clamps.

Brake lever bolts - sellotape is very very light.

Disc brake caliper bolts - use iron ore if you can get some unrefined stuff.

stem bolts - don't bolt your stem down, just keep your bike in a straight line and you should be OK.

front derailleur clamp bolt - string, or sellotape again.

Rear suspension shock bolts - use gravity.


Glad I could help


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## theheavyone (May 27, 2006)

Aluminum will have a shorter fatigue life than ti, so any high stress areas should be ti,
seat post clamp
stem bolts
rotor bolts
disc caliper bolts
I have used aluminum on my disc mounts but have found ti to be alittle stiffer giving better braking. For all the derailleur pinch bolts, water bottle mounts, brake mounts, headset cap
chain ring bolts and crank fixing bolts you can go aluminum. You can sheer and strip the aluminum very easilly so be carefull on your installation. Always use an anti seize or ti prep on titanium and i use alittle grease on the aluminum, try to avoid thread lock, it can cause problems down the line.


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## pimpbot (Dec 31, 2003)

*I ran...*



jhenry4 said:


> has anyone had a failure of an aluminum bolt?
> i see plenty of recommendations for Ti bolts but wonder if we're ehr-ing on the side of caution here or if someone's had or seen a failure of a properly installed and used Al bolt?


an alu seatclamp bolt. It went for about six months before it popped. Yeah, it was a stupid place to run an alu bolt, but I did. Luckily, it popped in my shop, not on the trail.

Alu is 1/3 the weight of steel and 1/4 the price of Ti. Ti is 2/3 the weight of steel.

I bought just about all the bolts I could do on my stumpy for about $20. I haven;t calculated the weight savings, but it was on the order of 60g or so.


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

only place aluminium bolt which need more torque force. its safe to put aluminium bolt on stem , brake , derailier and even *seatpost*. therefore, you need torque tool to tighten aluminium.

best recommend aluminium bolt are 7xxx series to 8xxx series.


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## wanderoo222 (Nov 28, 2006)

where could I get aluminum rotor bolts. I ve tried google search, no luck.


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