Anodised bolts in cool colours; where from?

Mr R@t (2.30zi) said:

Is there a good online supplier for these things? Years ago my mate had
loads on his bike...

I occasionally see them in LBS's (but have not found any round here) and in
small (and presumably pricey) packs in the shops that gary boys and
motorcyclists use but can they be bought online?

I found loads of suppliers for normal nuts and bolts but not any anodised
ones

A quick google found this one:-

http://www.bsr-aerotek.com/store/

Never used them, don't know anything about them, caveat emptor, etc,
etc.

-Alex

Mr R@t (2.30zi) said:

Is there a good online supplier for these things? Years ago my mate
had loads on his bike...

I occasionally see them in LBS's (but have not found any round here)
and in small (and presumably pricey) packs in the shops that gary
boys and motorcyclists use but can they be bought online?

They're pricey online as well.

Quoted message said:

I found loads of suppliers for normal nuts and bolts but not any
anodised ones

Search www.ebay.co.uk for "anodised bolts", "anodised screws", "anodized
bolts", "anodized screws", "alloy bolts", etc.

Remember that aluminium alloy screws are much weaker than steel ones, so use
them for light-duty things only. Afaik, all anodised screws are Al.

~PB

Alex said:

A quick google found this one:-

http://www.bsr-aerotek.com/store/

Never used them, don't know anything about them, caveat emptor, etc,
etc.

"Minimum order value £1000 & Minimum quantity 1000" :-)

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

Alex said:

A quick google found this one:-

http://www.bsr-aerotek.com/store/

Never used them, don't know anything about them, caveat emptor, etc,
etc.

"Minimum order value £1000 & Minimum quantity 1000" :-)

I think that's only for the "Made to order considered" bullet above.

-Alex

Pete Biggs said:

They're pricey online as well.

so they are... :/

Quoted message said:

Remember that aluminium alloy screws are much weaker than steel ones,
so use them for light-duty things only. Afaik, all anodised screws
are Al.

so what is "heavy" and "light" duty parts on a bike? Further research seemed
to show that the garys were using these bolts on all sorts of bits of their
cars and motorbikes including what I would expect to be safety critical
parts. OK they are by no means suitable role models but I don't read about
cars falling apart because of inappropriate use of these bolts and here in
Suffolk I /would/ have read something by now if this was happening
regularly...

Does that mean that its inadvisable to use these for much else than the
waterbottle mounting cage?

Alex
--
Mr R@T / General Lighting
Ipswich, Suffolk, Untied Kingdom
http://www.partyvibe.com

Pete Biggs said:

Remember that aluminium alloy screws are much weaker than steel ones, so use
them for light-duty things only. Afaik, all anodised screws are Al.

Yup, anodising is a coloured corrosion (rusting) process. Unlike steel,
aluminium corrodes to leavs a protective surface layer.

--
Stephen Patterson :: [email hidden] :: http://patter.mine.nu/
GPG: E3E8E974 :: Jabber: [email hidden]
"At night, the razor weasels come."

Mr R@t (2.30zi) said:

Quoted message said:

Remember that aluminium alloy screws are much weaker than steel ones,
so use them for light-duty things only. Afaik, all anodised screws
are Al.

so what is "heavy" and "light" duty parts on a bike? Further research
seemed to show that the garys were using these bolts on all sorts of
bits of their cars and motorbikes including what I would expect to be
safety critical parts.

Like what? I'd be very surprised if they were used on truly safety-critical
parts where the bolts are highly stressed, but I know little about cars and
motorcycles.

Quoted message said:

OK they are by no means suitable role models
but I don't read about cars falling apart because of inappropriate
use of these bolts and here in Suffolk I /would/ have read something
by now if this was happening regularly...

Let's stick to bicycles, which actually take quite a lot of stress.....

Quoted message said:

Does that mean that its inadvisable to use these for much else than
the waterbottle mounting cage?

Threads seizing and heads and threads stripping are another couple of issues
besides sheer strength and fatigue resistance. It's just not possible to
get alloy bolts as tight, and having the bolts tight is the best way of
securing components on the bike.

The front of a handlebar stem would be a [censored] place for alloy bolts, for
example, because that area gets well stressed. Titanium is a compromise
weight weenies go for there, but they're boring in colour.

The steerer clamp bolts and top bolt on ahead stems aren't so critical,
though.
I do have alloy bolts retaining my square-taper cranks on one bike, but I'm
not sure that's sensible (Jobst Brandt says not, see Google Groups).

Alloy chainring bolts are OK, and come in pretty colours.

~PB

In article <[email hidden]>

Stephen Patterson said:

Pete Biggs said:

Remember that aluminium alloy screws are much weaker than steel ones, so use
them for light-duty things only. Afaik, all anodised screws are Al.

Yup, anodising is a coloured corrosion (rusting) process. Unlike steel,
aluminium corrodes to leavs a protective surface layer.

Stainless steel can be anodised too.

Also take into account the number of bolts on a component. If one of four
bolts goes on the front of a stem, it's not too bad, but if it's one of
two......!!

Then there is the size (diameter). Manufacturers use steel bolts because
they are cheap, but still tend to keep the size of the bolts down to save
weight. So the reliability is not very much more than minimal already. Of
course it's usually not possible to fit fatter bolts when replacing them
with alloys.

~PB

Rob Morley said:

Stainless steel can be anodised too.

That's the answer for Mr R@t then. (Sorry I got that point wrong).

~PB

In article said:

Rob Morley said:

Stainless steel can be anodised too.

That's the answer for Mr R@t then. (Sorry I got that point wrong).

Unless he wants titanium, which can also be anodised. But which he
won't find cheaply anywhere either.