Hey guys,

Where can I get some titanium bolts to replace my existing handlebar bolts? My current bolts are developing quite a bit of rust and I'd like to replace them. Are titanium bolts safe to use for the handlebar? I'm concerned about the amount of torque they're able to handle. I know the titanium version of the Speedplay pedals have a weight limit so im wondering if titanium bolts have a limit as well.
Thanks for any help in advance!

Use Stainless.

Search on ebay. There are tons and tons of sets of 4 bolts (stem attachment bolts only), 6 bolts (stem and bar attachment bolts), 7 bolts (including a long one for the stem top cap), etc. Most come from China, but you can specify USA suppliers only if you wish. Also I think you could get them on Amazon. They generally come in two different head types, a very straight lined finish and a curvier finish. Keep in mind the weight savings is so small, that if you have a good hardware store nearby where you can get stainless steel instead, it will save you beaucoup bucks and be almost just as light. Certainly just as good looking and corrosion resistant. Your call.

Titanium doesn't rust so you don't have titanium bolts if they are rusting. Use stainless. Roger

UK based Atomic 22 does a special security bolt set for high end bike components, to prevent stripping.

Atomic22 - The ultimate bicycle security solution

Yeah, the OP knows his current bolts aren't Ti but wants to replace the (probably plated) steel bolts with Ti ones. I agree that stainless steel bolts make a lot more sense. They are more readily available, stronger and far less costly.

stainless ftw

a titanium bolt is considerably less strong than a steel bolt of the same dimensions
this is undesirable in a safety related application like stem bolts

Thanks for the replies, all. Weight was never an issue, just need something corrosion/rust resistant. I keep forgetting about stainless for some reason... Will go with stainless steel!

Seems like a waste of titanium to make bicycle bolts. Don't we need it for more important things like planes & sattelites ?

Years ago, in the late 80's and early 90's IIRC, there was a company named SRP that made complete replacement Ti bolt sets for several high end groups like Dura Ace and Record. The cost was well over $200 and the savings was about 50 grams. Apparently sales weren't very brisk.

Note to Biketanium: 304 SS isn't chosen for it's strength but for it's corrosion resistance. And the market for $3 water bottle bolts can't be very strong either.

i am sure your first three posts are in contravention of forum guidelines

however

every spec i could find for grade 8 steel bolts
which is the real spec for demanding fastener applications
is not a specific alloy
but just that the material have a minimum tensile strength of 150 ksi
which is higher than the tensile strength for the ti alloy you linked

dont get me wrong
i think ti is great
my ti mtb frame is the longest lasting
and best riding
bicycle i have ever owned

but because there are steel alloys with higher strength for a given cross sectional area
than any ti alloy you can cherry pick to try to win an argument
in an application where the geometry cannot be changed
like with a bolt
then steel can make the stronger part

Most aircraft mechanics have daily hands on experience with both high strength titanium and high strength steel fasteners and see that titanium is nothing special strength wise. Many Ti fasteners have lives limited to the single digits of cycles (re: 2009 crash of an S-92 off Newfoundland).

biketanium puts up some phoney "myths" (hardness, rust!?!) then debunks them by comparing high alloy Ti to low alloy steel. A fairer comparison would be against something like Aermet steel which is more than twice as strong as his Ti. The poor quality of his argument leads one to throw out the whole concept even though there are certainly valid applications justifying Ti fasteners (probably not on bikes).

I don't disagree with those saying that there are much stronger steels than there are titanium alloys, but consider the original intent of the OP. What is being sought is a corrosion-resistant but not plated or coated fastener. So the discussion really has to be limited to titanium alloys and stainless steels that are both readily available in metric machine screws of the types used on stems. If I go to the local hardware store and buy the stainless steel screws I need, will they be as strong as what biketanium is offering? But more importantly will they be strong enough so that the comparison to biketanium's product doesn't matter? I'm sure some of our engineer participants can calculate the tensile strength needed for a stem bolt at recommended maximum torques of about 6 Nm including a normal margin of safety. What say you? Is the difference between what biketanium is offering and the readily available SS product inconsequential?

Titanium is wonderful stuff... our wedding rings are made of it.

You can make bolts from it too but if you want a low cost and effective solution to corrosion, use stainless.

btw

i dont think it was necessary for biketaniums posts to be completely removed

i for one certainly welcome his input into the discussion
he just needs to avoid wording his comments like an advertisement

also he is wrong

All bolts are titanium and all nuts are stainless. Most of the bolts are SRP. It saved an insignificant amount of weight and was expensive, but They won't rust.

The Earth has a huge supply of titanium. Huge.

True, but incidence in the Earth's crust is only one aspect of supply. The smelting process is very energy intensive much like for aluminum, but unlike aluminum there is very little of it going back into the recycle stream to dilute the energy burden.

Rutile is the mineral Rutile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .. to make it into a metal a huge amount of energy is required

the Arms Race with the Soviets had both sides willing to spend their treasury developing it. ..

unlike aluminum , Titanium needs an inert atmosphere to be welded and melted or it is made unusable by oxygen contamination .



that is part of Ti frames higher cost. purging both sides of a tube .. as it is welded ..

I guess I did a poor job of making my point. Lots of folks believe that titanium is expensive because it is rare, which isn't the case. That was all I was really driving at.

Aluminum welding requires an inert gas blanket too. They don't refer to it as "Heliarc" for no reason.

does your welding rig for aluminum also have an inert gas hose charging the back side of the weld too?

Since I don't weld my rig has no hoses at all. I don't know if welding thin wall aluminum tubes requires an internal purge but I'd be surprised if it doesn't.

This was my Dad's business in the mid fifties through sometime in the early seventies when he retired. He dealt in exotic metals, mostly titanium. He was also partners with his Dad and brothers in a shop that specialized in flat die forging of titanium. Virtually all of his customers were government contractors. I guess nobody but the government could afford it in those days.



AMI was actually just a steel building on a railroad siding with a desk, a chair and a phone. He hired a fork lift and driver when he needed to have material moved. He made millions and left me a lighter.

My dad made Nuclear ballistic missile carrying, Submarine parts .. Mare Island Shipyard Vallejo.

war is the only thing both parties vote for.