I live in a hot country, I ride my carbon Tallboy2 a lot and I sweat a lot. For many hours of riding, that sweat has dripped onto the top tube and down the sides into the top shock mounting bolt and its threads. The bolt is stainless steel and comes out once a year when I send the shock off for a service.

This year the bolt wouldnt come out, properly wouldn’t come out. I tried every trick I know, rounded out the Hex, broke a hammered-in torx driver, and eventually broke the top of the bolt off trying to turn it with a hammer and punch. This is after a week of applying penetrating oil to the threads. Drilling it out is traumatic because the stainless steel is far harder than the surrounding material. Eventually the whole thing broke quite cleanly out of the frame, I still haven’t been able to separate the remains of the bolt from the aluminium insert.

So please make sure that you remove and grease that bolt and especially its threads regularly if you are sweaty! The inserts on both sides are aluminium and both show signs of corrosion.

I think my bike will be ok, I will bond a stainless steel nut onto the frame and fill and clean it up, should be fine, will keep you posted. (Otherwise it is financial heart-attack time)

Using too much loctite can also do this if it works it’s way onto the bolt shaft.

Applies to a lot of full-sus bikes. My previous Yeti for example.

Alloy bolt in Carbon frame mixed with salt water will cause some interesting corrosion.

Ooooooh I could write pages on this very topic……….

Long story shortened, room Nomad in for Bearing replacement, squeaking like a porpoise on acid.

Picked up days later jumped on bike squeeeeeek, eeeeek squueeeeeek eeeeeek, exactly the same pitch, same place same everything including same axle bolt and bearings that it went in with. Axle stuck in and couldn’t remove, bearings inner and outer races corroded and axle bolt rusted. The whole lot looked like it had been at sea for 12 months.

I stripped th lot. Greased it up and rang the bike shop. The sales guy told me that the mechanic definitely changed them, the mechanic confirmed this. I asked how this could happen within a 30 mile drive home Inside a car, and the mechanic said its because I jet washed i :-0

Thread title of the week.

Thread title of the week.

I did assume it would be about Santa Cruz stockists north of the border!

Update: I did separate the bolt from the alloy fitting and have cleaned and epoxy-d that back into the frame, sanded and painted it, looks a bit ‘agricultural’ but tested and works. Won’t be shy with the grease in future but will always be a sweaty Santa Cruz rider 😀