Bicycle Mechanics - water bottle cage bolts

Well this stinks. Im trying to remove the water bottle bolts that came with my frame, all allen head. Usually these things call for a 4mm wrench so i give that a go. Too big, so i figure okay well this is odd perhaps a 3mm. So i put that in and you guessed it...too small. So this leads me only to conclude that the head calls for a 3.5mm. Ive heard of these, so where might i go about finding one? Can somebody direct me?

Imperial sized spanners are in between metrics

SAE set - Not metric.

probably a 10-32 allen head machine screw

what? So what do i need to buy?

You need a set of SAE, not metric hex keys. Any hardware will have this.

As information metric hex keys are sized from smallest to larger: 0.71 mm, 0.89 mm, 1.27 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, 2.5 mm, 3 mm and then each full mm.

Doc

and this will fit the hexagonal head on this ridiculous bolt?

Well this stinks. Im trying to remove the water bottle bolts that came with my frame, all allen head. Usually these things call for a 4mm wrench so i give that a go. Too big, so i figure okay well this is odd perhaps a 3mm. So i put that in and you guessed it...too small. So this leads me only to conclude that the head calls for a 3.5mm. Ive heard of these, so where might i go about finding one? Can somebody direct me?

It's probably a 1/8" size. Any hardware store will be able to supply one.

Bottle cage bolts are normally 5 x .8 mm (a.k.a. "M5") threading. As it happens, this size is semi-interchangeable with the S.A.E. #10-32 size, so it is not uncommon to find S.A.E. bolts used for this application.

Sheldon "Remember Inches?" Brown


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| The nice thing about standards is that |
| there are so many of them to choose from. |
| --Andrew S. Tanenbaum |
+---------------------------------------------+

It's probably a 1/8" size. Any hardware store will be able to supply one.

Bottle cage bolts are normally 5 x .8 mm (a.k.a. "M5") threading. As it happens, this size is semi-interchangeable with the S.A.E. #10-32 size, so it is not uncommon to find S.A.E. bolts used for this application.

Sheldon "Remember Inches?" Brown


+---------------------------------------------+
| The nice thing about standards is that |
| there are so many of them to choose from. |
| --Andrew S. Tanenbaum |
+---------------------------------------------+


Okay so if i go to a hardware store and ask for 1/8" S.A.E. it should work? And what does SAE stand for by the way?

Okay so if i go to a hardware store and ask for 1/8" S.A.E. it should work? And what does SAE stand for by the way?

Buy a set, not a single I advise. You may need SAE hex keys for other bolts you come across.
Good to have both sets in the toolbox.

I have a set of metrix hex keys that came with a 3.5.

alright i ordered a set of SAE kits Jeff_Williams advised. I figure i might as well have them, theres no such thing as too many tools :D. Hopefully this will work. If not, i will hunt for that 3.5mm. Or better yet maybe my instructor at school will let me bring home the micrometer for a day

Society of Automotive Engineers

I have a set of metrix hex keys that came with a 3.5.
Those old Campagnolo Delta brakes required a 3.5mm for adjustments.

Those old Campagnolo Delta brakes required a 3.5mm for adjustments.

Why bother? It's not like they'd stop you anyway.

Why bother? It's not like they'd stop you anyway.
:) Takes me back to my road bike days. The guys that actually wanted to stop used Shimano. I was happy enough to slow down, so Campy was good enough for me.

Okay so if i go to a hardware store and ask for 1/8" S.A.E. it should work? And what does SAE stand for by the way?

Just ask for a 1/8" Allen wrench, or a "standard" Allen wrench set.

S.A.E. is the Society of Automotive Engineers, they set a lot of standards for mechanical parts and tools.

Sheldon "Prefers Metric" Brown
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| Time shouldn't just pass; things should happen. |
| --Harry Turtledove |
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Why bother? It's not like they'd stop you anyway.
LOL

alright i ordered a set of SAE kits Jeff_Williams advised. I figure i might as well have them, theres no such thing as too many tools :D. Hopefully this will work. If not, i will hunt for that 3.5mm. Or better yet maybe my instructor at school will let me bring home the micrometer for a day

They are handy for fixing things like...cars. Shhh!

Your local Sears should stock all that you need. I have a Craftsman set that includes half sizes in metric. And if you ever need to torque the billy hell out of anything, Sears has a great return policy on Craftsman. And it's a fraction of the price of Snap-On...

Aww come on, a full SAE set of hex keys in a folding tool is like five bucks at walmart.