MiD 0 Posted November 13, 2008 I 've ridden bikes for a number of years and one of the first things I always do is change as many of the fasteners from OE soft metal that furs very quickly to decent shiny stainless steel. Having read many topics about the problem and seen lots of x-rated pictures on the forum about the smaller fasteners on rear beams being seized or snapped I've always wondered why as a matter of course they are not replaced with stainless fasteners. As far as I can make out the smaller pieces on the beam seem to be guides or fairly basic locking affairs and not high tensile. Could the torx headed bolts not be replaced with Allen head bolts. Does the slotted head screw/bolts with the locking nut at the end of the torsion bar have to be there ? Cannot that be replaced with a simpler affair I may have it totally wrong but as I can't sleep and can't find the answer anywhere I thought I would post it here. Interested in what the beam rebuilders think. Surely building a beam with stainless means easier dismantling when required. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fenton 1,541 Posted November 13, 2008 I've done my fair share of beams and I've never struggled with the fasteners TBH. The seizing problem is the torsion bars into the trailing arms, and no amount of stainless bolts would sort this. The slotted adjuster is needed as this is used to set the clearance of the trailing arm to the seals. You could use an M8 countersunk bolt in stainless I guess at the other end if you wanted to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B1ack_Mi16 67 Posted November 13, 2008 I've done my fair share of beams and I've never struggled with the fasteners TBH. The seizing problem is the torsion bars into the trailing arms, and no amount of stainless bolts would sort this. The slotted adjuster is needed as this is used to set the clearance of the trailing arm to the seals. You could use an M8 countersunk bolt in stainless I guess at the other end if you wanted to. Afaik Stainless bolts are not as strong as high tensile normal ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bren_1.3 1 Posted November 13, 2008 A2 grade stainless is stronger than 8.8 grade steel?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B1ack_Mi16 67 Posted November 14, 2008 A2 grade stainless is stronger than 8.8 grade steel?? I think A2 is 700Mpa yield while 8.8 is 800Mpa. But I see that A4 is actually 800Mpa like the 8.8, and there are also A5 which seem to be 1000Mpa. So not as bad as I first thought though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites