jimbolina
02-24-2012, 11:47 AM
I have a new old stock O.M.A.S. stem expander bolt and wedge nut in my stash. I've considered swapping-out the steel bolt with this, but have always had a hesitation in doing so.
As many of you know, it is made from aluminum - both parts. The bolt is a after-market replacement part for the Cinelli 1/A and 2/A stems, to offer a slight reduction in weight from the factory cro-mo hardware.
I know there has been much discussion over the years about using an aluminum bolt in a stem application such as this, and the potential danger in doing so given the inherent fatigue issues of aluminum.
My question is given the purpose and task of the typical expander bolt, is there truly a risk of breakage, considering the fact the bolt is only under tension? Wouldn't any stress issues become quickly apparent when initially torquing the bolt to fix the stem in the steerer? It just seems like once the bolt is in there and tightened properly, there really isn't any further cyclic stresses to tax the bolt over the long haul.
Am I wrong?
I guess I wanted to make sure that it was indeed a problem, or just a perceived one from years of speculation.
Jim
As many of you know, it is made from aluminum - both parts. The bolt is a after-market replacement part for the Cinelli 1/A and 2/A stems, to offer a slight reduction in weight from the factory cro-mo hardware.
I know there has been much discussion over the years about using an aluminum bolt in a stem application such as this, and the potential danger in doing so given the inherent fatigue issues of aluminum.
My question is given the purpose and task of the typical expander bolt, is there truly a risk of breakage, considering the fact the bolt is only under tension? Wouldn't any stress issues become quickly apparent when initially torquing the bolt to fix the stem in the steerer? It just seems like once the bolt is in there and tightened properly, there really isn't any further cyclic stresses to tax the bolt over the long haul.
Am I wrong?
I guess I wanted to make sure that it was indeed a problem, or just a perceived one from years of speculation.
Jim