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Hi,
I'm sure any material is fine if a mechanic is less hamfisted than me.
I've snapped and rounded several sets of chainring bolts, super star alloy and loads of bolts that have seized over the years have all had to be drilled out.
Its me, not the bolts
I've got a second hand chainset on my commuter and the chainring bolts are coming loose. Is it the grease this time? The lack of torque? The second hand bolts? I think some are not for a single chainring.
There are alloy, cro-mo steel and stainless steel chainring bolts. £5-£12.
My question is which material would you use
-on an all weather commuter that gets cranked over a significant hill every day and doesn't get washed very often
- Shimano deore chainset, burgteck alloy ring.
- ham fisted mechanic. I'm now armed with a torque wrench, grease and a general sense of wariness over past chainring disasters
It is possible you have a shit allen key...
I don't know how you would snap a chainring bolt unless you were swinging on them with a long extension bar.
If you're rounding the heads off, you're either overtightening them, using cheap shitty tools, or not inserting the tool into the head of the bolt properly. Make sure you clean any dirt and grit out of the head of the bolt so that the tool will insert properly.
If they're seizing, you need to use Loctite or grease on them.
I would not use aluminium bolts, I'm surprised anyone would make them. Good quality steel bolts are fine. I've never had any problems with them.
Ali & loctite 222.
I'd go for steel ones personally, I'm not fussed about funky colours or saving few g of mass.
Definitely the design with 2 hex's like the Superstar ones above though. Much easier to work with than the traditional type that needs a special tool. thols2 advice as well.
thols2 +1
Bogo Steel for me and they don't generally need huge amounts of Torque (~15Nm IIRC).
If the ring is still loose after you've torqued it up then the bolt is probably the wrong length and/or you need spacers(?).
I tend not to Loctite them (but others do) as I know I'll need to undo them at some point and I will probably have mislaid my little tool for holding the slot on the back (better ones are hex or Torx headed on both sides, but I never seem to buy those), I put a dob of marine grease (lithium) on the threads to stop them seizing and a wee wipe over with silicone spray/GT85/WD40 on a rag occasionally to try and keep rust away from the heads.
The weight saving of Aluminium isn't really worth it on a chainring bolt (IME/IMO), YMMV.
Thanks!
Rounding the bolts is what I meant, not snapping!
The tools are a set of park Allen keys, and a newish set of park torque keys.
Mostly greased.
So the ones from treds are the best bet?
Don’t forget to make sure the threads are clean, it makes a big difference; and make sure you use a good peg spanner for the nut. But any steel bolts should be hard to round off. I prefer grease to threadlock but either will do.
Get some with Torx heads. Like these, reusing your current nuts:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/chainsets/race-face-steel-inner-chainring-bolts-125mm-set-4/
The ones that have a hex at the back rather than the crappy slotted ones are much easier to deal with.
I've never had an issue with alloy or steel ones apart from a super tight factory fitted Shimano one that needed a tube over the Allen key to undo, it gave off a loud bang and a burning smell when it gave way but still undamaged, god only knows how you destroyed several sets, at least you've now got a torque wrench so you can stop repeating the same mistake, honestly, some people 🫣😁, I've never used loctite on them and never lost or broke one, just greased, correct torque, quality tools to undo them and hey presto, zero problems.
Go for steel ones and use either lo tote or something like Juice Lubes Ass Juice (anti seize) on the threads and treat yourself to some nice Allen keys.
Remember tools wear out, especially Allen keys and screwdrivers. I'm also not a great fan of park tools stuff, the quality can be very variable. It might be worth taking a close look at your Allen keys and if they look worn then replace them with something new, e.g. wera.
And this
Make sure you clean any dirt and grit out of the head of the bolt so that the tool will insert properly.