Looking at the number of bolts on the average MTB, you'd have to get negative weight, not just a weight reduction, to lose a pound.

There just aren't enough bolts to go around.

 

It all adds up . If you are just replacing bolts then there really is no point but if it is all leading up to you replacing everything else with lighter components then go for it .

 

I'd anticipate weight reduction between 50-70g for a complete bike bolt swapout. This would be Ti to replace higher stress items (rotors), and ALU for light use (bottle cage).

It is not a high-return process - very costly for what you save. Checkout this FAQ entry with handy bolt weights by type done by XC71:
http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weenies/*new*-official-weight-weenies-f-q-949497.html#post11774521

 

While adjusting and cleaning my SS I found it had 4 steel M8 bolts. Hold in my hand and 'gee... those are heavy!' Replaced them with Ti, saved 56g. I went with expensive bolts from paragon so cost $28. "Similar" bolts can be had from Toronto Cycles for $14.

In my book, 56g for $14 is a great no brainer. I'm happy with my new pretty ti bolts and black aluminum washers, so I guess it was worth it.

http://forums.mtbr.com/kona/raijin-weight-saving-ti-slider-bolts-1027218.html

Excited with this success I went and weighed other bolts, brakes, rotors, water bottle... Their weight sums to... nothing significant. There was a 'good deal' on amazon for some m6 bolts, they took weeks to arrive and... were the wrong bolts, wrong count, wrong length, wrong diameter. I got a full refund and got to keep the bolts. *IF* I put them on my bike I'd save like 7 grams... I know better now and just don't care.

Go ahead and remove all the bolts you're considering to replace with ti... weigh that handful, or just hold them in your hand. Hefty? Would you be happy if that weight went to zero? Probably you'll laugh then and forget about ti bolts.

As far as vendor: After exhausting traditional supply places (mcmaster carr, fastenal, etc) I ordered my specific aluminum washers from Toronto cycles, great product, good prices, service was outstanding. The web site looks sketchy but its for reals and that is who I'd buy from...

PS: If you're not happy with your bar positioning you have a great way to save weight: A wren stem for $50 saved me 125g. That was noticeable.

 

I honestly didn't believe those weight savings until I checked out your threads - great scale shots BTW, thx. I'd have to say though, your savings are atypical of what you'd normally see from the usual steel bolt assortment.

 

Just remember to put lots of grease on the threads . You don't want any galling between the titanium and alloy parts . Also titanium is much harder than alloy so easier to strip threads so torque them up properly .

 

Titanium (at least in all bike applications) IS an alloy.

 

Not much, it's more dense than aluminum, so it's heavier by volume. It's about halfway between aluminum and steel in terms of weight, so the weight savings are not very dramatic. You can't run aluminum bolts everywhere, but in a few places they make sense, for non-critical control interfaces like shifters, bolt-cages, headset top-cap bolt, etc.

Titanium is good for high temperature applications and for avoiding corrosion, but but it's difficult to manufacture and therefore expensive for things like bolts. You don't save much weight. Shimano includes titanium brake bolts with xtr, but they are relieved a bit more than steel bolts, which is one of the weight saving features. Cheaper Ti bolts may not even have this.

 

Why stop there. Schmolke has carbon bolts.

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Why stop there. Schmolke has carbon bolts.

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Yup I have those on all my bikes . They are just a substitute for aluminium and not for titanium/steel though .

 

Thanks fo the honest answers guys.

Sounds like a collosal waste of cash and time honestly.

My new bike is a new Yeti 5.5, I wonder what all those linkage bolts are made of?

Thanks again.

 

Odds are steel.

 

I used Ti bolts and aluminum washers for my brake bolts. Aluminum for the bottle cage bolts. More of a novelty than relying on for weight reduction. Got them all from Toronto Cycles.

Does anyone know the bolt size for Shimano M785 brake levers?

 

5mm

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brake-levers/shimano-deore-xt-blm785-clamp-bolt-m5-x-18mm-y8vc10000/

 

I see ti bolts as bike jewellery, not as an cost effective way of losing weight. I have them on my bike cos I like nice things and if someone else doesn't like that then it's their problem!

 

Ordered some hardware from Toronto Cycles. Some fun bits that don't cost too much money.

 

I have replaced ALL of the bolts on my DH bike with Rainbow Titanium or Purple Alloy. Ti is half the weight of steel and Alloy is a third of the weight of steel and they don't rust and look great. Always use Ti-Prep or Anti-Seize on the threads to avoid galling.

 

I do the same, but I was explicitly told by Renthal NOT to put titanium bolt on the handlebar face plate.

 

Nothing wrong with titanium on the faceplate . Even MCFK stems have titanium bolts and they are m4 too . Syntace also use titanium bolts as standard on the faceplate .

 

Go to toronto cycles website. Do it up. All my bikes have every reasonable bolt replaced with Ti or Al from them. I don't know hom much lighter this makes them but they're lighter than anyone else's bikes and this gives me a little mental edge. I like knowing that I have better equipement than my competition.

My Nomad goes between 26 and 29lbs depending on tires, shock, chain guide.
My V10.5 is 30.5lbs with 2.7" DHFs. Gwin drooled on it a little while we were waiting for our starts at Nationals a few years ago. He beat me anyway.

 

I just replaced the pulley bolts on my X1 rear derailleur with some hollow rainbow Ti ones. Some of the higher spec derailleurs are realy come with Ti or aluminum bolts. All the bolts on my X0 rear are aluminum and the pulley bolts are hollow. Not sure what the main bolt that holds the derailleur to the hanger is made of.

 

There is not much weight to be saved going to Ti fasteners on a bicycle.
On Factory MotoX bikes the weight savings can be up to 2 lbs. But they are including 3 large axles and motor mount bolts along with many,many more fasteners and all or most are more substantial than anything a bicycle uses.
Bike weight is best saved by using lighter tires and tubeless, lighter wheels, lighter crank, lighter suspension components. All those decisions have compromises youhave to decide what is a priority.
I use Ti bolts on brake mounts, stems, rotor bolts and w/b cages. Mainly because I like shiny **** and have an assortment from my Moto days.

 

There is not much weight to be saved going to Ti fasteners on a bicycle.

Yeah, but ti is cool. Something to do when your bike is "done", but you can't stop messing with it. Besides, it has a negative wind resistance factor you have to figure in. Or something like that.

I've done a bunch of little stuff recently, just to have something to play with, and found where I scribbled down the weight difference they made vs what came off.
12 ti rotor bolts: -8g
6 ti stem bolts/washers: -6g
6 ti caliper bolts/washers: -22g
1 Al headset bolt: -6g
XTR R160 brake adapter: -9g
1 ti retainer bolt for rear thruaxle on my frame: -2.5g
1 ti bolt for my SS conversion's tensioner: -1.5g
4 Al bottle cage bolts: -9g
64g. That's less than I'd have saved with a pair of lightweight rotors alone if weight were actually the main concern.
Since I'm about to order some ti stem bolts for my hybrid "exercise bike"(my stem bolts all rust), I might get a ti bolt and washer for my Wolftooth ReMote, though. Just think, for a mere $3.20 total, my bike might get another whole gram lighter!:eekster:

 

I've replaced most of the bolts on my Nukeproof with Ti. Nice bike jewelry, lightens both the wallet and the bike an essentially unnoticeable amount, but it gets some compliments at the trailhead.

 

Did my brake rotor bolts, brake calliper, seat bolt as rainbow ti and swapped out the brake, gear and dropper remote with black Alu. All for purely aesthetic purposes and it was around 60g saving

 

You don't necessarily need thread locker, but you will want anti-seize. Contact across dissimilar metals (Ti bolts and your hub) can cause them to bond.

While I believe the threadlock may prevent that, I'm not 100%. Also, sometimes the threadlock is applied along a strip of threads, and won't completely prevent contact across the entire bolt.

 

I started this thread sometime back, slowly but surely I have been swapping out a few parts here and there on my large 5.5 and it's definitely a balance as I ride the bike hard enough that I break things if I don't make them sturdy enough. Mainly Tires and Wheels but also cassettes and chain guides.
Anyways I have the new KS Lev carbon fiber 175 dropper coming, it weighs about a third of a pound less than my 150 Reverb. It's a pretty solid Improvement. I've got the bike with good Enduro tires, X2 rear shock, my tools on it, my mag flat pedals, chain guard, and a shock wiz on it and it's just under 30 lb. That makes me pretty happy.

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Pretty much all the fasteners on my bike are Ti or AL. Some of the smaller derailer and shifter fasteners are the factory installed ones. I took off around a 1/4 pound with the lighter fasteners. Not the most efficient way to reduce weight but, works well if you are already reducing weight from other parts. Like any other part, counting (reducing) grams gets expensive.

 

Questions on the need for anti-seize for Ti bolts.
The stock steel 6-bolt brake rotor bolts have threadlocker on them so they won't back out and cause your rotor to loosen and create a 'situation'. Same goes for handlebar faceplate bolts, the 2 stem bolts, caliper bolts etc. They're all steel bolts with threadlocker.
I've replaced all of my rotor bolts and stem/faceplate bolts with Ti bolts and used medium blue threadlocker. I've torqued all of those bolts to factory spec.
What keeps a Ti bolt, whatever the application, from backing out if only anti-seize or grease is used?

 

I only use anti-seize only on my Ti rotor bolts, and have never had one back out. I just tighten to the specified torque, that's it.

I don't know if thread locker is sufficient to prevent galvanic corrosion. It may be, but you'd have to cover the full extent of the treads. Most thread locker I've seen - at least on OEM bolts - is applied to a strip of the threads, not the full deal. I suspect that doesn't help against the dissimilar metals fusing together.

 

Any long-term (or short-term) experiences with Ti on Steel corrosion/fusion you can point to? Not doubting as this is a fact, just wondered if there's any solid evidence / experiences as it relates to Ti hardware on bicycles...

 

I've heard of it happening with an ALU seat post in a steel frame, but that's far less common now:

Seized Seatposts and Stems | Park Tool
http://forums.mtbr.com/tooltime/fused-seatpost-445426.html

...but it's the same theory for Ti bolts and your hub. I suppose you're trading risk of bolts backing out vs bolts never backing out.