Best place for stainless steel bolts for the bike?

I use GWR Fasteners on eBay.

Pro Bolt are good,

And their pro bolt/thread gauge is very handy for the toolbox

Blimey- titanium bolts are a bit pricey aren't they?!?!

Falcon Workshop Supplies are usually pretty good for selection and price.

(in theory, you should only replace bolts with equivalent spec- stainless won't always meet that spec, not cheap titanium for that matter. In practice, people do it all the time without dying, but, it's not really best practice)

Northwind +1
A4 grade stainless is generally "better" for bike purposes than the more common (and cheaper) A2 grade stainless, but have a google before deciding.
As to supplier I'm lucky enough to have a couple of locals; try some nearby industrial estates

Local fasteners suppliers probably on some trading estate or back street shop.

I use accu for all sorts of stainless bits and pieces when I am doing household repairs. Not replaced bike bolts though but might be worth a look. The tech drawing of each item is handy for checking the fit of unusual or tight tolerance items.

And +1 for the right spec fixings...not just the right size. You might not get what you want in stainless.

Are you adding then to an aluminium frame? I would be careful when using SS bolts on aluminium especially this time of year where the roads are gritted to avoid galvanic corrosion.
Yes, titanium is pricey however they don't suffer from galvanic corrosion.

I was recently looking for some low profile stainless bolts on eBay for my brake adapters but the insertion depths for the torq or Allen key weren't to my liking, ending up buying titanium ones from raceti on eBay for £2 odd, very nice bolts, plenty variations to choose from, I'll definitely use them again, way cheaper than pro-bolt, tibike etc.
Rsr moto titanium are another good supplier on eBay.

but the insertion depths for the torq

I just buy long ones and cut them all to the right length as required.

Footflaps that should be torx, but I was too late to edit (why only a 10 minute window stw). You misread or misunderstood, I was referring to the depth of tool insertion into the head of the bolt, some are really shallow in low profile bolts and just asking to be rounded off.

Yes, wasn't totally sure if that was what you meant.

I just bought a whole box of SS bolts of different sizes / head types, find the nearest one and cut to fit.....

Galvanic corrosion in SS is no more of a problem with dissimilar materials than any other, eg aluminium seatpin in either CF or steel frame, etc.
Grease, anti-sieze, CF paste as appropriate and check annually.
Ti bolts are go-faster tho 🙂

Are you adding then to an aluminium frame? I would be careful when using SS bolts on aluminium especially this time of year where the roads are gritted to avoid galvanic corrosion.
Yes, titanium is pricey however they don’t suffer from galvanic corrosion.

The galavanic voltage between Ti and aluminium alloys is greater than between SS and aluminium, so what you say is technically true... the Ti won't corrode galvanically, but it'll speed up corrosion of the more anodic bit it's attached to, i.e. the aluminium frame, compared with SS.

Screwfix and Toolstation do M4 button head stainless bolts which work fine in most bike applications (rack mounts, bottle cages, etc)
Box of 50 is pretty cheap.
I've used Ti for Stem bolts/rotors, (load bearing applications) bought from a reputable UK seller - think it was Uberbike.
I've also had some Ti from Aliexpress for non load-bearing applications.

Whatever you use - invest a couple of quid in a tub of copper grease from a local motor factors, it'll last forever and it really is the best thing to stop threads sticking, etc.

I would avoid button head bolts in applications where you might have to apply a fair bit of torque / areas where they are more likely to corrode. The hex socket is much shallower and more likely to damage in higher torque situations. They look nice but are a pain in the arse when the hex rounds off.

johnnymarone
Free Member
I would avoid button head bolts in applications where you might have to apply a fair bit of torque / areas where they are more likely to corrode. The hex socket is much shallower and more likely to damage in higher torque situations. They look nice but are a pain in the arse when the hex rounds off.

Agreed - hence why i only use them for rack bolts and bottle cages.. and always smother them in copperslip.
Not had an issue in the 10 years i've been using them.

FWIW i did but some anodised red alu bolts from ebay to use with bottle cages. After a couple of years they'd corroded so badly they looked like they'd been found in the sea.