Hardware from Aliexpress advertised as “titanium” can be anything from zinc alloy to stainless steel, so I would be careful with them! As far as benefits, you will see a weight saving of MAYBE 10grams by replacing ALL the hardware, provided the new hardware is actually Grade 5 titanium Ti6Al4V amd properly heateated. Chances are you are only paying for better corrosion resistance and the bling factor and nothig wrong with that, but don’t expect quantifiable differences.

 

Hardware from Aliexpress advertised as "titanium" can be anything from zinc alloy to stainless steel, so I would be careful with them! As far as benefits, you will see a weight saving of MAYBE 10grams by replacing ALL the hardware, provided the new hardware is actually Grade 5 titanium Ti6Al4V amd properly heateated. Chances are you are only paying for better corrosion resistance and the bling factor and nothig wrong with that, but don't expect quantifiable differences.

Ti bolts cut weight by just under 50%. On a full suspension frame with M8 shock and pivot hardware it was enough to get a full coil 29er under 30 lbs,along with every other bolt. I like to tiodize my bolts but already had the unit for color coding Ti spine screws by size.

 

I prefer the RISK brand and I use blue locktite.

 

There's a joke in here somewhere.

Just an FYI for those following along: a single M5x20mm grade 5 screw from a reputable source costs ~$3-5 USD. Take away from that what you will.

 

Instead of a thread locker, I would recommend anti seize. The reasons are

1) people complain about rounding out the heads of ti bolts, and thread locker would make the problem even worse by increasing the torque needed to remove the bolt.

2) although titanium will not rust, it is actually more prone than steel to seizing with aluminum threads due to galvanic corrosion. This is because ti and al are further away from each other in the galvanic series than are normal steel and al (stainless steel is another story). Covering all the thread surfaces with anti seize will help. This type of coverage is different than the dab of thread locker that is recommended for holding fasteners in place.

Grease is a lot better than nothing, but anti seize is even better.

 

Instead of a thread locker, I would recommend anti seize.

+1 for not threadlock

I always heard to use copper anti-seize. Any discernable difference between that and the silver stuff?

 

I would also recommend anti-seize. But Ti bolts will save very little weight, because bike bolts are small to start with. If you measure them you will see it's hardly worth it.

 

Sorry but that last place I'd trust buying bolts to hold a stem or rotors on is aliexpress...

Taking a big dump before a ride will save more weight than ti bolts.

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Tough crowd. OP, you should have posted in the weight weenie forum. You could go aluminum on bottle cage bolts. Why not if money is no object? 50 to 100 g is nothing to sneeze at. Or a dump.

 

I'm using the "Risk" (paused for a second when first saw the name) bolts from Aliexpress with no issues. I used them on my rear caliper bolts. I've also bought Ti bolts for my brake calipers/rotors and I'm using Risk Ti bolts on the stem where it clamps the steerer. I also used Ti bolts for the bottle cage bolts. The bolts that clamp my brake levers to the bar have aluminum bolts. My top cap bolt is also Ti. Done more less for fun and not for real weight reduction.

 

I did this on a Tallboy 3 with gold titanium bolts from Better Bolts Titanium Mountain Bike Bolts Looks great and all the bolts are a perfect fit. Slightly lighter, yeah, but mostly aesthetic.

 

Yep, do it. TI bolts are about half the weight. That doenst make much difference on one bolt. But replace 20 or them and all of a sudden you bike is a few hundred grams lighter with no performance loss.

As others have said. Check that they are Ti. Weigh them and chuck a magnet on them. If the magnet sticks and if the bolts are a similar weight you have been duped.

 

Yep, do it. TI bolts are about half the weight. That doenst make much difference on one bolt. But replace 20 or them and all of a sudden you bike is a few hundred grams lighter with no performance loss.

As others have said. Check that they are Ti. Weigh them and chuck a magnet on them. If the magnet sticks and if the bolts are a similar weight you have been duped.

M5, M4 steel bolts weigh ca 3-4 grams - you can save max 2grams per bolt.

 

To the OP - yes totally safe to replace all stem bolts with Ti so long as they are quality. Last year I began replacing all the bolts on my bike with Ti where possible (and the wife's bike). Seeing how expensive Ti can be I started with Wanyifa brand Ti (Chinese) from Amazon for the rotor bolts. Seemingly high quality and they've held up well with repeated removal and reinstallation. Always use blue loctite or similar on rotor bolts. I use Permatex Copper Anti-Sieze everywhere else. Permatex isn't cheap but one bottle should last nearly a lifetime LOL.
Then I went to replacing the stem bolts so I ordered Wanyifa M5x16 and M5x20 in bulk to do both bikes. Here's where the problems started. Of the 20 or so pieces I received at least 5 of them had threads that were pealing off and therefore unusable. Several others also had torx heads out of spec making it difficult to get the wrench in there. There were enough good ones to make 2 sets of bolts to replace the stainless steel on both stems. Fast forward a couple of months and after a few installs and removal of those Ti bolts the threads started to come off. F*** that. They all got removed and replaced with Pro-Bolt USA titanium. Moral of the story is I no longer trust no-name chinese titanium. The rotor bolts are fine still but there's no reason to use them when there are many other reputable brands to choose from. I suggest -

First Choices:
Pro-Bolt (USA and UK)
Acer Racing (USA)

Second Choices:
RaceTi (UK)
Uberbike (UK)
TitaniumPlanet (Switzerland)
BetterBolts (USA)

I'm sure there are other quality sources out there but these I have personal experience with.
And I second the suggestion to go with Aluminum water cage bolts, lighter an cheaper. It's not load bearing so no need for Ti.

Coincidently I did just install a couple of small M3x8 Ti bolts branded "Craftsman" that I got off ebay. Them seem ok and the black anodising is excellent. They're used for the fork brake cable guide so it's not a critical function, plus they're the only ones I could find in black Ti at that size.

I would say just don't mess with cheap Chinese Titanium. Bolt failures on a stem while riding - have your dental and plastic surgeons picked out ahead of time.

 

Thank you guys for your time and suggestions. i have cancelled my aliexpress titanium bolt order before seller send it to me, lucky me the seller agreed for refund and got my money back (it was 47 usd for those), i am looking for more decent seller this time, if i have to do this titanium bolt thing i have to do it right, thanks to your fast reply and helps.

 

Galling is a concern with Ti, especially the higher the torque. Use anti-seize. This is a diff issue from galvanic corrosion.

 

If you really want good quality fasteners, I say go with Vibranium.