What an eye sore. My nice carbon Hydrotail looks cheap and old with rusty bolts holding it together. They are the the fasteners that came with it. Has anyone had this issue and if so, what replacement bolts did you use and where can I find them?
Thanks
That’s going to be an issue with the moisture, goop, and sweat that collects back there. I picked up some Titanium water bottle bolts and used those. Yes, more costly ($10 for 4) but the Ti bolts won’t rust out and there is little to no chance of failure.
Bob
Go to Lowe’s and go to the bolt section. Take one of the bolts that came with the tail so you no the size you need.
The Ti bolts will work nicely. But dont forget a little anti-seize on the threads when installing them. As long as you know the size, you can get some on Ebay, or other online stores. If you dont know the size, you can get a descent bike shop to do it for you, but the cost will go up a little.
Yeah, took care of the Loctite, but thanks for mentioning for the benefit of the OP.
Bob
I assume that you’re talking about rust collecting in the crevices of the bolt head? If so, Ti bolts will help, but you may still get a little rust formation from the steel allen wrench used to tighten the bolts down. These easiest/cheapest thing to do is to clean out the bolt head with a q-tip (sometimes a little mineral oil helps too) and then apply some dry chain lube (White Lightning works well) to the bolt heads. Depending on the humidity, sweat, and other environmental conditions that your bike hangs out in, you may need to do this on a regular (monthly or less frequent) basis… but it’s still much cheaper than switching to a complete set of Ti fasteners.
BTW, Ti bolts are not immune to failure, and can actually be more prone to it depending on the mode of loading. But that’s another unrelated debate…
Good luck,
Jake