I spent $75 on titanium bolts.

[fyrstormer]

Okay, time to revise the estimate upward. I've now spent $100.15 on titanium bolts, and I think my tithe to the bike is paid in full for the year. It's not really a riding season if I don't upgrade something, and as it stands the only original part left is the front derailleur. I love how modular bikes are.

The last batch of bolts I installed were a single M6x60 bolt to hold the swingarm pivots in-place, and 12 M5x10 bolts for the brake rotors. I wasn't originally going to change the rotor bolts because every new rotor comes with new bolts, thus making rust a non-issue...but what the hell, there's 12 of 'em and the new ones are nice and shiny.

So, I saved 42.2g total. That works out to $2.37 per gram saved, which is a bit high according to the sages at WeightWeenies.com, but really my goal all along was to replace rusting steel bolts with something that would never ever rust ever. Titanium fits that bill. I'm happy.

Pics!

New hex bolt to replace the cheesy Philips-head screw that used to hold the cable guide in-place:


New swingarm pivot clamp bolts; note the heads are just the right size, no sanding necessary to make them fit:


New bottle cage bolts:


New lower strut pivot bolts; the heads are slightly smaller than the originals, but that's not a big deal:


New upper shock pivot bolt; same story with the slightly smaller head, but again it's not a big deal:


New rotor bolts:


The tail-end of the new swingarm pivot bolt, to prove 60mm is long enough to fully capture both pivot cups:


...and a pic of the gnarsty old steel bolts I replaced.

[w2zero]

I retapped the front derailleur to accept a ti bolt from my Boeing surplus stash.  Whyn't you cut off the excess cable guide on the BB as well since it isn't doing anything except weighing you down..

[fyrstormer]

I'll say again, saving weight was a secondary benefit of this project; the main goal was to replace rusty old bolts with shiny new ones.

[shovelon]

Looks nice man!

Terry

[02gf74]

Whyn't you cut off the excess cable guide on the BB as well since it isn't doing anything except weighing you down..

exactly - it is what I did on my Scott Spark and am using a black nylon bolt to save even more weight - there is no major load on that part and after maybe 3 or 4 rides, all is well.

.... but back to the topic - I have spent probalby similar if not more on Ti bolts, mainly rotor bolts and to hold non-critical parts e.g. brake levers and shifters - also brake callipers (ok, those can be termed as critical).  Bolts I have are from Taiwan - seller is manda someting and so far no problems.

re: Ti rotor bolts - it is the clamping force that holds the rotor to the hub i.e. using friction between the two sufaces so as long as they are done up tight (and I always use loctite to prevent unscrewing), then that should be fine.  Some of the WW are using 3 Al bolts and 3 Ti bolts to hold on rotors, not sure I want to risk that..... 

Oh, and none of this Ti goodness has been put on my proflex, that is weigh too heavy for that.

PS Are you the guy who has the rear swing arm with TIG welded brake calliper mount?

[fyrstormer]

Saving weight by replacing pretty much any bike part, bolts to bottom brackets, is a waste of time. You can drop as much weight by taking a dump before you ride. My primary concern was corrosion resistance.

I have a rear disc caliper mount, yes. Shovelon was the one who installed it.

[02gf74]

Saving weight by replacing pretty much any bike part, bolts to bottom brackets, is a waste of time. You can drop as much weight by taking a dump before you ride.

nonsene  unless you can you guarantee you can do one before each ride.

If you have ridden a 12 kg full suspension bike and then a 9 kg full suspension, you will notice a huge difference in the responsiveness and effort needed to shift the bike.

My primary concern was corrosion resistance

Stianless steel would have done that for you for much less cost.

[fyrstormer]

Saving weight by replacing pretty much any bike part, bolts to bottom brackets, is a waste of time. You can drop as much weight by taking a dump before you ride.

nonsene  unless you can you guarantee you can do one before each ride.

I don't need to. The point was to demonstrate that the most effective way to shave a substantial amount of weight from a bike is for the rider to lose weight. I drink two glasses of water before every ride, to increase my blood volume so I don't get lightheaded. That works out to 710g "extra" weight I'm carrying with me; there is nothing I can do to the mechanical systems of my bike to add or remove the same amount of weight.

If you have ridden a 12 kg full suspension bike and then a 9 kg full suspension, you will notice a huge difference in the responsiveness and effort needed to shift the bike.

I have ridden full-suspension bikes lighter than mine, and yes they feel snappier, presumably because the bike itself has less inertia -- but the heaviest part of the bike is always the rider. Shaving off a half a kilo here or there will make zero difference in the actual performance of the system, compared to the mass of my body which is both the heaviest and highest-elevated component. Physics is physics.

I'd be interested to know where you found a bike that weighs 25% less than another comparable bike without having super-thin tubing that gets dented when you sneeze on it.

My primary concern was corrosion resistance

Stianless steel would have done that for you for much less cost.

No, it wouldn't have. Titanium may be more elastic than carbon steel, but stainless steel is much easier to permanently deform. That makes it a bad choice for load-bearing bolts. Also, while I have no intention of riding my bike in the ocean, stainless steel does discolor when exposed to saltwater. By comparison, titanium is so corrosion-resistant it can be used to store chemicals that are so nasty they'll even burn sand. (Google "chlorine trifluoride" if you're curious.)

[02gf74]

quote]

I'd be interested to know where you found a bike that weighs 25% less than another comparable bike without having super-thin tubing that gets dented when you sneeze on it.

My Whyte PRST-1 , without pedals weighs 14.03 kg, compare that to my lightest full suspension bike, Scott Spark that weighs no more than 10.89 kg, inc pedals (I put on lighter wheels since so is about 400 g less), not super thin tube but carbon fibre goodness.

[fyrstormer]

Ah, okay, yes, carbon fiber does save a lot of weight. Personally I don't like it as a frame material, because it feels "dead" compared to metal frames, but that's personal preference more than anything else.

[jazclrint]

The Ti bolts that came on my 5500 have had no problems dealing with my 220lb frame.

[fyrstormer]

No, it is all good.
I am just thinking that the upper swingarm pivot has the most leverage of any on the entire frame. And given the lower shear strength of a hardened machine bolt, I personally would be a little worried. But I have never tried it, so this is a good test.

I do remember that there has been controversy regarding Ti rotor bolts.

Terry

Just to follow up on this: Almost 5 years later, the titanium bolts (including the upper shock eyelet bolt) are still in pristine condition. Not a problem with a single one of them.

Also, my god, I only spent $100 on bolts for my bike and I felt like it was a fortune. Nowadays I drop that much on one of my RC cars every couple weeks. (I wonder if smoking would've been a cheaper hobby *including* the eventual cancer treatment, honestly.) Times sure do change.

[purple gerbil]

Saving weight by replacing pretty much any bike part, bolts to bottom brackets, is a waste of time. You can drop as much weight by taking a dump before you ride. My primary concern was corrosion resistance.

I have a rear disc caliper mount, yes. Shovelon was the one who installed it.

Just reading back a little... I was told this by my local wheel builder. I wanted
tie dye titanium spokes snow flake laced to go with my hope titanium hub's
(Purple) with campagnolo mirox rims.......he wouldn't do it,he said I'm wasting
my money and I should just take a dump instead. With the difference in cost
I treated myself to U.S.E bar's, bar ends and seat post. He fitted me double
butted spokes and said if I buckled them he would tru them for free....I rode
them for 2 years on two bikes (pro-flex 552 cracked)trouble free every day until my
bike was stolen. 15" Park pre scepter comp with girvin forks....would love to
know if it's still out there.

[superstar1]

Holly thread revival!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fyrstormer]

Things are kinda slow around here.