could you switch to t25 style bolts?

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2019 T-Rex Tri Series

could i expect to easily find torx bolts with short or low-rise stubby little heads that don't protrude up into the armpad?

Possibly your cheap ass uncalibrated torque wrench is reading low? Or operator error using a torque wrench?

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

Some of those bolts are just cheap. The bracket bolts on my BMC TM01 are particularly susceptible to wear and I replace them about every 18 months.

ha! what timing. i just stripped one last night on my bayonet bar. now to figure out how to get it out!

I have stripped the bolts of my trek wing arm pad holder several times. When things are getting tough, one weird trick is to put a rubber band in the rounded area and put your hex key jammed hard into the band and into the screw. Push down and try and unscrew. The band helps get some traction.
But yep I'm convinced it's crap bolts and not the operator as well haha

If you live in a metropolitan area, there should be a fastener supply store. Bring in one of the bolts and they should be able to find you a match with a torx head. Caveat is they may not stock them, and you may need to buy a box of them, but they should be 10-20 cents a piece in bulk; so a box shouldn't be too bad.

I do it often to my old visiontech bar. Best way I've found is to drill the head off and remove the remainder with pliers. Major PITA though.

8 legitimate replies and one handy tip? You guys aren't stripping, you're SLIPPING.

I have a dissapoint. 0/10. :-( :-( :-(

-Eric

Depends on the bolt material. But, those smaller bolts are definitely easier to strip than larger ones.

I accidentally striped my headset preload bolt on my Felt once and with it being an aluminum bolt made it even more prone to stripping (too soft compared to the steel allen head). I ended up buying replacements that are stainless steel (have 24 spares now since minimum quantity of what i needed was 25 pack at McMaster).

I hand torque most of the bolts on my bikes. You know by feel when you get the hang of it. No cracked carbon or slipping of parts on any of my bikes (sans hitting a nasty bump and my bars move...that is the only times things will slip).

Depends on what you mean by easily....

https://www.mcmaster.com/...head-screws/=183fsol

select "torx".

OP should be banned for misleading thread title.....was hoping for something more entertaining.

If you were hoping for stripping + davetallo, you would be seeing something like the Chris Farley role in the SNL Chipendales skit. Without his sexiness.

2x for McMaster. Was just about to post a link. I least it's just stipping. I've had the arm-pad bolts break 2 or 3 times on my auro pro bars. The head pops off and leaves the threads in the base bar. PITA to have to drill out the bolts. I've gotten to replacing them proactively twice a season.

BTW, here's the link to just Torx screws. https://www.mcmaster.com/...-cap-screws/=183gfyi

Hello davetallo and All,

It is not your fault.

https://www.wiha.com/...roblems-with-screws/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx

"The Torx design allows for a higher torque to be exerted than a similarly sized conventional hex socket head without damaging the head and/or the tool.[1] The diagram on the right depicts the interaction between the male and female components of a conventional hex drive and a Torx drive. The clearance between the components is exaggerated for clarity. The diagram does not show a true Torx profile, but illustrates the general shape and geometry.

The green circle, passing through the six points of contact between the two components, represents the direction of the rotational force being exerted at each of those points. Because the plane of contact is not perpendicular to this circle, a radial force is also generated which tends to "burst" the female component and "crush" the male one. If this radial force component is too great for the material to withstand, it will cause the corners to be rounded off one or both components or will split the sides of the female part. The magnitude of this force is proportional to the cotangent of the angle (depicted in orange) between the green circle and the contact plane."

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

... and I want the Stainless torx, rightÉ Not the alloyÉ

Meh. You can go either way. I don't know what material you are screwing into. But, I find that stainless really only works well when mated with stainless. Otherwise, it has a tendency to gall under torque. I would get zinc plated steel. But, in the end that's probably splitting hairs. I'm sure either will do the job just fine.