Single Chainring Bolts Bodged

NorwegianBlue

Back when I first started single speeding I bought a big box of single chainring bolts from my LBS. There were at over fifty in there, I'm not sure I ever counted them. They were basically all the stock the LBS had in his drawers behind the counter (just next to the fork handles, it was that sort of LBS) IIRC he wanted £2 for five and I said "how much for the whole box?" and got it for a tenner.

Anyway I got a new ring through the post tonight and went out to bolt it to the crank. Halfway to the garage I suddenly remembered that I'd used the last four chainring bolts last summer. Disaster! The first thought was to use some M10 washers in place of the inner ring, with a flat filed on them if necessary. No M10 washers. Then I rooted through the toolbox hoping to find some singles, but there were none. Finally I came across some old ones where the thread in the female bit was quite well recessed so it wouldn't be damaged if I filed it down. So file it down I did, unfortunately I only had a tiny file so it took a while but I've ended up with four female bolt bits (what are they called?) of the right length.

Then I discovered that the matching bolts where shouldered to match the recess in the female bit, so they wouldn't screw all the way in. Bum! Another root through the toolbox came up with four bolts whose thread went all the way to the head.

It's all bolted together very nicely.

Given that most shops seem to be charging at least a fiver for a set of bolts these days that was an hour well spent.

Oh and the new ring wouldn't quite go on the crank either. I had to fettle a bit of flashing on the inside mating face to get it to seat properly.

I do love a skinned knucke or two. How do you know you've built something if you haven't got skinned knuckles?

Slim Middleton

Hi Norwegian Blue

I thought I needed single chainring bolts but then somebody pointed out that I could just mount the chainring the other way round on the spider with the recessed bolt holes against the crank. Essentially then, the ring was not recessed and I just used normal double chainring bolts. I always worry when something is so simple though. Is there likely to be something wrong with this set up?

I skinned my knuckles last night making a useful hack for an old centrepull brake though. I basically made a brake bridge out of a donor brake - that seemed frighteningly easy too but I'm feeling proud anyway. Happy to share details if anyone is interested.

Simon

meagain

Silly price, aren't they? Quid each is robbery! Bought a couple of weeks ago - ended up using washers anyway, so in the spares box!

Not sure how that worked, Slim M! The female part on a double is usually too long for the bolt to pull up tight wherever the chamfer is placed - luck I guess!

graham_g

I ordered a few sets when I found somewhere doing them for 50p each - running low myself now but I think I'd just stump it up, I value skin

NorwegianBlue

Slim Middleton wrote:

Hi Norwegian Blue

I thought I needed single chainring bolts but then somebody pointed out that I could just mount the chainring the other way round on the spider with the recessed bolt holes against the crank. Essentially then, the ring was not recessed and I just used normal double chainring bolts. I always worry when something is so simple though. Is there likely to be something wrong with this set up?

They must have been pretty short bolts to start with. My chainring doesn't have the recesses and the female bits still stood proud by about a mm (ooooooh eeeeerrrrr, missus!)

Slim Middleton

I think that must be the case - they were on a pretty old Shimano 600 chainset. I hardly ever get lucky with bike tinkering either. Talking of chainring bolts, does anybody know where I might get (just) one for a TA Cyclotourist crank??