Are saddle bolts hard to come by?

[Wowbagger]

I bought a new seat post this afternoon at the LBS. As a fatty who has broken such things before, I felt that to break a saddle bolt when on tour would be a tremendous inconvenience if one didn't carry a spare, so I asked for one. I got one, but the reaction was pretty clear: they are getting harder to get hold of and seatpost manufacturers are expecting you to buy a new seatpost if your bolt snaps.

This sounds pretty doubtful to me but, if true, is an utter disgrace. Who is going to cart a spare seatpost around with them on tour when a bolt is all that's required?

Has anyone else heard that saddle bolts are hard to come by? I wouldn't expect to have to buy a new Brooks if my nose-bolt broke.

[MercuryKev]

One of my colleagues had a similar experience.  She couldn't buy one but luckily the bike shop had one in their parts box that fitted.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Saddles bolts, as in the bolts that clamp the saddle rails to the post? Or the bolt at the top of the seat tube? If the latter, SJS sell quite a few different types. If you mean the bolt(s) at the top of the seat post, then as far as I can recall most of them use readily available thread sizes but the lengths can be a bit odd.

[mrcharly]

Erm, have you ever broken the saddle bolt?

I would be surprised if you have. They are pretty beefy steel and I would expect other parts of the seatpost to break first.

I've broken two seatposts but never a saddle bolt.

[Biggsy]

Have a seatpost with two bolts in the saddle clamp rather than one.  As well as enabling stepless angle adjustment, these won't need to be done up badly tight and won't get too much stress, therefore will not fail.  If you don't believe that, buy a whole second seatpost just for the bolt(s) if they're non-standard.

I have broken a bolt in a single-bolt type clamp after over-tightening it in an attempt to stop the saddle slipping.

[Wowbagger]

Erm, have you ever broken the saddle bolt?

Yes.

I could feel that the saddle was not right, and kept tilting further and further backwards. Eventually the whole lot came off.

I think it's a fairly common failure.

[Wowbagger]

Saddles bolts, as in the bolts that clamp the saddle rails to the post? Or the bolt at the top of the seat tube? If the latter, SJS sell quite a few different types. If you mean the bolt(s) at the top of the seat post, then as far as I can recall most of them use readily available thread sizes but the lengths can be a bit odd.

Yes, the bolt that holds the saddle rails to the seatpost.

The one at the top of the seat tube is a seatpost bolt.

[KieronY]

They can be.

I broke a saddle bolt on a road south of Davenport, Illinois on a long ride down through the Mid-West of America.

I stood at the side of the road for a while trying to figure out how to re-attach my saddle with cable ties but could come up with no solution. And then a gentleman, whom I had just been talking to at the local gas station, walked by and asked if I had a problem. I explained the situation and he took me to see his friend, the retired local sheriff, who was passing his very late autumn years renovating bikes for local kids.

Short story ... he rummaged around in his garage and eventually produced an "it'll do" fix which saw me through to Muscatine and a proper bike shop where I bought a new bolt and a spare and kept the bits provided by the sheriff.

By the time I'd got to New Orleans both seat bolts had gone and I was back to using the sheriff's "it'll do fix".

As a note ... I was credit card touring with only a Carradice Camper Long Flap and Bagman Support. I'd spoken to Sheldon Brown about this arrangement before setting off and he seemed to think it wouldn't be a problem ... so, Sheldon, you weren't right about everything.

These days I use an Arkel rack bag rather than Carradice saddlebag.

I also don't use Brooks saddles which may also explain the Carradice failure.

Anyway, I think it's just an M7 bolt you need ... and well worth carrying as a spare on longer tours.

K

[fuaran]

I've had them break on a couple of seatposts on my mountain bike. Both cheap seatposts, with a single bolt on the saddle clamp. And I don't weigh much, but maybe they had been overtightened at some point.

I did try a few bike shops / hardware shops for a replacement, but couldn't find anything suitable. Maybe it is a standard thread (M7 or M8?), but it has a kind of stepped/recessed head, plus only part of the bolt is threaded. So not sure if a standard bolt would fit.

[Rhys W]

They can't be very strong if it's so common - even I've broken one and I'm only 60kg when wet through.

I've seen a few break on clubruns, including one guy who managed to retain his saddle while the bolt pinged across the road by clenching.

[mrcharly]

Crikey, I must have been lucky then, never to have had this happen.

Maybe it is down to quality of the bolt?

A quick google pulls up this site, which lists tensile strengths for different grades of bolt
http://www.rigging.net/Bolts.html#Torques

The suggested tightening torque for an M7 varies from 11 to 20 ftlbs, depending on the grade of steel. That's a hell of a variance.

[Ben T]

Saddle bolt, singular? Surely good seat posts have two?

[TimO]

I've had them break a couple of times, but that was on saddles with a couple of long, but otherwise standard M5 bolts.  Those are of course easy to get, and I normally have a couple of long ones in my small bag of spare nuts, bolts and washers.  My own suspicion is that M5 bolts, even in pairs, are a little bit too flimsy for this sort of purpose.

[Kim]

Happened to CrinklyLion on the mild tour of Cannock Chase last year.  Was sufficiently problematic that I decided that in the unlikely event of going too far from civilisation on a bike with a saddle, it's worth having a spare.  It also adds to my prejudice against saddlebags, if only because you've then got twice the headache if the bolt breaks.

Cutting bolts to length is easy enough, if it's standard M7.

[Biggsy]

Stop using single-bolt seatposts, is my advice to everyone worried about this problem.

[Rhys W]

I'm not sure if that would be a total cure... 2-bolt posts usually use smaller bolts than single-bolt clamps, and if you break one, you'd be in a "get straight back home" state at best. I've had a 2-bolt one come loose on a ride, which was difficult to fix (front bolt was an ordinary bolt adjusted at the top, not an allen key bolt adjusted from the bottom).

I can't remember what the one I broke was, possibly a cheap no-name. My Record Titanium single-bolt clamp post is still going strong after 12 years though!

[citoyen]

Erm, have you ever broken the saddle bolt?

I've not broken a bolt but I have managed to strip the threads in the nut. 

I found it very hard to get a replacement. I went to Condor and they eventually managed to dig a suitable replacement nut and bolt out of their box of bits and pieces, but replacement saddle bolts/nuts are not something they stock as a standard item.

+1 to what Rhys said re two-bolt arrangements. I don't see any real advantage to them over single-bolt clamps.

d.

[chris n]

Two-bolt posts tend to have finer adjustment of saddle angle, if that's an important consideration.

You're unlikely to break both bolts at once on a two-bolt post, so if you do carry a spare it'll be lighter than for a single-bolt post.

[Biggsy]

I'm not sure if that would be a total cure... 2-bolt posts usually use smaller bolts than single-bolt clamps, and if you break one, you'd be in a "get straight back home" state at best. I've had a 2-bolt one come loose on a ride, which was difficult to fix (front bolt was an ordinary bolt adjusted at the top, not an allen key bolt adjusted from the bottom).

With most/many of the two-bolt designs, once the saddle is fitted, the front bolt only needs turning to adjust the angle of the saddle; the rear bolt is tightened to take up any looseness.  The bolts are smaller but don't need to be any bigger, in my experience mainly with ITM ones.  Also the bolts don't need to be super-tight to get the saddle clamped tightly, so you're less inclined to over-tighten (therefore weaken) them.

[PloddinPedro]

Wow, I suggest you take the saddle bolt to a supplier of such hardware as a sample and purchase a spare or two. I can't remember where in Essex you are but if you fancy a potter out to Perrywoods Garden Centre cafe (recommended; I'm sure you must know it) and then head towards Kelvedon, as you go down the hill, there's a place on your left, at a small industrial centre, which sells all manner of fixings and fasteners. I'm sorry I can't remember their name. I've been in there and stocked up on all sizes of commonly used Allen bolts nuts washers, etc. in small quantities. They've been very helpful and not expensive.

[Canardly]

Interesting I had to swop out my seat post on a NEW super galaxy as the standard supplied post did not clinch tightly enough and the seat rotated backwards despite tightening bolt to a silly level.

[simonT]

Once broke one on an easton 50, not really a 'cheap' one. I improvised with something from a skip, replaced with one from an old SR post.

I now carry a spare, bought a spare from Halfords - stainless, quality unknown.

Yes, single bolt designs aren't the best but they're cheap and work.

I believe you can 'forage' suitable replacements from signposts but have not put it to the test.

[Wowbagger]

I currently have two unused seatposts complete with bolts. Halfrauds advertise a spare as an M8 bolt.