titanium bolts for stem use?
- Thread starter saruti
- Start date
and many ppl swap them out. Personally i wouldnt use ti for clamping of my bars. I know of a few people who werent able to get them tight enough and have switched back to stainless bolts for that job. As they were finding there bars were slipping. For the difference in weight id rather the piece of mind that the steel bolts give you
It's not 6g per whole stem and usually people who go ti go ti wherever they can which can add up to over 100-200g savings if I remember right. On my stem it's ~30g differance. I know not much but still not 6
As for the question - I've had no problem and I'm a frequent crasher and tree hugger.
this.
Marz has been using Ti hardware on their Evo forks since they reintroduced the new 888's.
yep, cause thats never happened with steel hardware
All four of them on my stem only snapped when I crashed. I got up and my bars were hanging from the bike. Thank god I wasn't hurt. In addition to several of the remaining Ti bolts being frozen at the end of that season (despite being anti-siezed) and ruining a nice set of Boxxer crowns, I concluded they're pretty much the biggest waste of money in downhill IMO.
these were allegedly hollow ti bolts.
fwiw, i've used ti in every conceivable location for years (ie, 15+) w/o a failure or seizure issue. i did however bend a couple m8 pivot bolts on an rm-7 - not surprising given the leverage ratio, added to the fact this was back in the bad old hucking to nasty days...
that said i am currently running the stock stainless bolts on my answer dm stem. more of a mental security thing really, pretty much everything else is ti.
I think you should stop using your 888 using his logic. Ppl broke them at rampage so they are weak and probably you have no face already
A bmxer in oregon died from his stem bolts shearing in October (apparently he was missing a bolt). He was a really good rider that overshot a big jump, with a helmet on. I know it's not exactly the same situation, but I don't think cutting corners in that area is the best idea. Why not find ti bolts for things like controls, pedal pins, seatpost clamps- things that don't really matter as much if they fail?
But what it has to do with Ti bolts? Maybe to prevent death we should start using 1kg stems? Because that's what you are saying - let's use the heaviest option possible because Ti bolts are bad. Have you tried it? How many people do you know that use ti bolts in their stem have had any problems with them. I mean non hollow ti bolts. Same goes for other nay sayers in this topic. Because I only see wild speculation.
Not the same situation at all.
Big jumps = big consequences. If you're dumb enough to do that without all the bolts holding your bike together, then well, suck it up.
I've got ti bolts holding my Chromag DM stem on, and ti bolts holding my brake adaptors on.
wow dude...seriously...
I still have no clue why this discussion is occuring...WHAT IS THE POINT? 6 grams going to help you destroy the sport class this season?
plenty of the new evo TIs out there using them, so far im guessing no failures in that area, cos if there had been, it would have been all over RM, and would obviously have proven beyond any doubt that TI bolts are bad 
Ti bolts made from crap ti, that are used by apes who overtighten things, will have serious problems.
for the rest of Ti bolts users who think and use the correct torque when tightening up bolts, wont have more problems then they had before.
and as with everything, there is always one exception to prove the rule.
use common sense
Ti bolts made from crap ti, that are used by apes who overtighten things, will have serious problems.
for the rest of Ti bolts users who think and use the correct torque when tightening up bolts, wont have more problems then they had before.
and as with everything, there is always one exception to prove the rule.
use common sense
maybe the really good rider shouldnt have been riding without all his stem bolts....just sayin
I will never use titanium bolts for any stem, ever again
I've used Thomson stems for some years (Elite and X4) and last year got some titanium-alloy bolts for my X4
these were not cheap bolts, but Ducati parts sourced from a motorbike dealer and high quality 6/4 (dull grey) with rolled threads for the faceplate and steerer clamp
I used Ti-prep and a torque wrench
I went dirt jumping on my short-travel bike and experienced the most horrible clicking / creaking noises and a noticeable amount of flexure between bars and stem
I actually had to stop the riding session even though we had travelled 60+ miles to ride
got home, replaced the Ti bolts with Thomson originals, no flexing and no scary noises since then
I cannot see the weight savings being worth the potential trouble?
riders may forget that titanium-alloy has superior "strength to weight ratio" but not "ultimate strength" and stiffness when compared with cromoly steel bolts
I've used Thomson stems for some years (Elite and X4) and last year got some titanium-alloy bolts for my X4
these were not cheap bolts, but Ducati parts sourced from a motorbike dealer and high quality 6/4 (dull grey) with rolled threads for the faceplate and steerer clamp
I used Ti-prep and a torque wrench
I went dirt jumping on my short-travel bike and experienced the most horrible clicking / creaking noises and a noticeable amount of flexure between bars and stem
I actually had to stop the riding session even though we had travelled 60+ miles to ride
got home, replaced the Ti bolts with Thomson originals, no flexing and no scary noises since then
I cannot see the weight savings being worth the potential trouble?
riders may forget that titanium-alloy has superior "strength to weight ratio" but not "ultimate strength" and stiffness when compared with cromoly steel bolts
i dont think a company would be spec'in Ti bolts on their forks if it was a liability unless they want to run their company into the ground by lawsuits
I wouldn't put it past marzocchi...
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223751&highlight=swanguen+stem
wouldn't youz guys say he is a "pretty good rider"... Also, I seem to remember him saying in post-race interviews that he wouldn't go back to ti bolts - not worth it.
I'm not saying his word is the end-all and be-all, but I agree with those that say the weight gain is not worth the additional risk.
wouldn't youz guys say he is a "pretty good rider"... Also, I seem to remember him saying in post-race interviews that he wouldn't go back to ti bolts - not worth it.
I'm not saying his word is the end-all and be-all, but I agree with those that say the weight gain is not worth the additional risk.
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Correct in all aspects. TI bolts should in my opinion, only be used by light weight riders, and at the most on all mountain rides. sure if you use ti in every possible bolt out there you will save some weight, but the cost of failure is so high. I use a Ti brake kit for my brake on my dj bike and thats mainly just because it was sitting around the shop for awhile without interest, no problems, but if it fails, im not going to be terribly injured. Correct torque is a necessity when it comes to ti bolts, lots of guys come into the shop with sheared ti bolts because they thought they felt loose and just destroyed them, when in reality its the additional flex attributed to the ti that they felt.Ti bolts made from crap ti, that are used by apes who overtighten things, will have serious problems.
for the rest of Ti bolts users who think and use the correct torque when tightening up bolts, wont have more problems then they had before.
use common sense
Im not against ti, use it if you want to, all i can say is proceed with caution.
what about replacing pinch bolts? Like the ones on fox 40 axles and crowns?
That argument is stupid. Pro a) broke one part therefore it's crap and it's going to kill us all. Using this argument we should not run ANY fork because I'm pretty sure I've seen all current race forks broken. Unless I see a trend you argument is invalid.
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Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Yield Strength: 800 MPa
7075 T6 Aluminum Yield Strength: 450 Mpa
Carbon Steel 1018 Yield Strength: 380 Mpa
Ti is badass. Hollow ti = retarded.
/thread.
7075 T6 Aluminum Yield Strength: 450 Mpa
Carbon Steel 1018 Yield Strength: 380 Mpa
Ti is badass. Hollow ti = retarded.
/thread.
Yeah, but who the fvck uses 1018 steel for stem bolts? IE e.13 used 12.8 grade bolts which IIRC have a yield strength north of 1 GPa. As in more than 6-4 Ti.
meh, 220/221, whatever it takes
whatever dude.
maybe you missed the part where I send his experience isn't the be-all and end-all? or where I say the weight gains are negligible compared to the risk? others here have stated the trends (experience in shops), I was just adding a data point.I think my point earlier wasn't clear. I have no problem with Ti bolts, I just think its worth checking when you replace any standards part with a non-standard, lighter alternative. I'm sure the manufacturers who spec Ti hardware size the bolts they use to account for the differences in shear strength. The problem IMO occurs when Joe Meatball goes and replaces all his hitensile steel bolts with titanium units without considering the strength differences nor the tendency for titanium to gall or cold weld in certain materials. If you do your homework, I'm sure it will be fine, but replacing steel bolts with titanium, particularly when the existing steel bolts are borderline (M4 stem face plate bolts etc) could be a problem.
Whoa - absolute rubbish. Compare apples to apples mate. Carbon 1018 is complete rubbish - nobody would use mild steel as a bolt on anything but a toy store bike.
You guys have way too much time and money on your hands to debate this type of sh!t. 6 grams? Just shave your balls or force out a turd before your race run.
Simply a point that things breaking in that area can be bad and I don't see any reason to take risks in that area. Things don't have to be a tank to be reliable- see Thomson. I think everyone's assumption here is that ti bolts aren't as strong a similiar steel bolt. Are we wrong about that?
I think it is similiar enough, it's a bike- dh can result in accidental giant hucks. Compromising your bike with blingy ti bolts in a critical spot is just stupid as leaving out a bolt IMO...
How about a little compassion for a fellow rider?
while it is very unfortunate that he died, riding a bike with missing stem bolts is asking for trouble. as tough as it is to hear, that is stupid IMO.How about a little compassion for a fellow rider?