If you are building your bike, you may have seen or heard about anodised bolts but have been wondering what all the talk is about. Maybe you would like to know what colour you can get anodised bolts in, or what type of material they are available in. Hopefully this blog post will clear up some of your questions regarding anodised nuts and bolts.
The main decision to make is what material the bolts should be manufactured from. If you are looking for anodised fasteners your choices are limited to aluminium and titanium. This is due to the fact that not all metals can be anodised.
If the nuts and bolts is to be used in high stress applications such as disk bolts or suspension mounts, Titanium should be used as it has a higher tensile strength. If you are fastening faring or the petrol cap for example, aluminium fasteners can be used.
The second important consideration when choosing the type of anodised bolts is the colours that are available in the different metals. Generally speaking aluminium bolts will have a larger selection of colours than the Titanium alternatives. This should however not interfere with your safety considerations, if the wanted colour is not available in Titanium for a high high impact application, rather opt for a silver or alternative available colour in Titanium or stainless steel.
Other people may wish to avoid bolts that are anodised a colour and opt for the normal silver ones. This is especially true when doing original restorations or similar bikes. Even in this case, the ordinary silver anodised bolts will have an edge over normal mild steel bolts, and that is they do not tarnish or rust.
Rust is not an issue when using fasteners that have been anodised because of the specialised chemical process they are put through. With out getting into the technicalities of anodising, the parts are placed into a solution with current flowing through the solution and parts. This process also chemically hardens and seals the metal, which is why it will not show signs of tarnishing or rust.
The main decision to make is what material the bolts should be manufactured from. If you are looking for anodised fasteners your choices are limited to aluminium and titanium. This is due to the fact that not all metals can be anodised.
If the nuts and bolts is to be used in high stress applications such as disk bolts or suspension mounts, Titanium should be used as it has a higher tensile strength. If you are fastening faring or the petrol cap for example, aluminium fasteners can be used.
The second important consideration when choosing the type of anodised bolts is the colours that are available in the different metals. Generally speaking aluminium bolts will have a larger selection of colours than the Titanium alternatives. This should however not interfere with your safety considerations, if the wanted colour is not available in Titanium for a high high impact application, rather opt for a silver or alternative available colour in Titanium or stainless steel.
Other people may wish to avoid bolts that are anodised a colour and opt for the normal silver ones. This is especially true when doing original restorations or similar bikes. Even in this case, the ordinary silver anodised bolts will have an edge over normal mild steel bolts, and that is they do not tarnish or rust.
Rust is not an issue when using fasteners that have been anodised because of the specialised chemical process they are put through. With out getting into the technicalities of anodising, the parts are placed into a solution with current flowing through the solution and parts. This process also chemically hardens and seals the metal, which is why it will not show signs of tarnishing or rust.