UKC

A bit random but I want to protect the components on my bike by fixing ball-bearings into seat/stem bolts etc with something that I could dissolve if I ever need to replace them.

My first though was to use wax but I could see melting it might not be that easy - anyone done this with some kind of adhesive that can be dissolved?

Ta

It took me a while to work out what you're on about, have I got this right? You want to glue a ball bearing into the hex socket on a bolt head so that scrotes can't unscrew them? 

Would it not be easier just to buy bolts with security heads? Or have scrotes taken to carrying a set of tools for these nowadays?

If I was doing this, I'd want to be able to remove the bolts while out on a ride, so anything that involves melting glue would be out.

Yes, exactly fill the bolt head so it can't be undone.

I'm not sure I've ever undone or adjusted a saddle or handlebars when I'm out so this isn't a problem for me.

Admittedly I haven't researched every one, but the security bolts I have seen aren't a match for the stem bolt I have.

Found this too but reasonably expensive vs ball bearings... https://hexlox.com/pages/all-hexlox-products

Solder?

Hot glue gun?  apply a soldering iron and remove the BB with a magnet?  Pure supposition - not tried it.  I'd make sure that the BB was not a tight fit.....

Yes, I was thinking use a magnet and test on some spare bolts first

Mm i just have one of those dropper seat posts.

youtube.com/watch?v=X-ItC6v7wJE&

Cheers

Toby

https://www.amazon.co.uk/left-hand-thread-bolts/s?k=left+hand+thread+bolts   

Wood filler (exterior), sand it smooth when set, and black or silver paint over the top, it'll look like it's got no hex set into it, but you could scrape/rake  it out with a sharp knife and small screwdriver if you need. Would be a pain in the proverbial but doable 

I've had to adjust handlebars after smacking them into the tarmac 🙂

The Hexlox seems like a neat idea. I assume your components are pretty expensive or you wouldn't be worried about them, so while the Hexlox is pricey for what it is, it's not much in the scheme of things. I'd rather do that than muck about with glue.

But what I was thinking of was just buying ready made bolts with those pins in the head so you need an Allen key with a hole in it to undo them. 

Yeah, my stem bolt doesn’t seem to be a standard shape though, the head is larger and tapered than the security ones I’ve seen (nor is it magnetic so Hexlox wouldn’t work).

They do ones for non magnetic.

I bought hexlok kit on the basis that it most likely will come out fairly easily. Home brewed bodges may not when you need them too, which would be a pain in the ...

If you're trying to protect an expensive component, then its not much. In reality I'm just trying to keep the bike together for when I get back to it, so I can get home.  Seat post, saddle and stem is what I protect... 

https://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/ do just about every material, thread, length, head and drive combination you could want. 

PVA is water soluble with patience.

Superglue/Cyanoacrylate is acetone soluble with patience. Superglue fumes may develop a white bloom on nearby surfaces.

Epoxy, wax and hot-melt glue and some thread-locking compounds will soften/loosen with moderate heat.

Your fundamental problem is the hex head will hold a lot of adhesive around the ball, softening it will require soaking in solvent rather than a quick dab but the screw will be in your bike, you can't just drop it into your solvent jar.

Assuming I could be bothered at all, I think I'd go with wax, pre warm the bolt and ball before you drip and drop it in. It's field removable with a simple pin knowing what it is but will secure the ball and provide a significant deterrent to those who don't know what it is.

jk

You could just put a washer under a standard security cap-head to get a bigger clamping area but often tapered cap-heads are just standard size screws that have been turned down to a taper for marginally/non important reasons (look, weight, harder to grab).

Off the shelf titanium screws often have tapered caps.

jk

Did similar with the security anchors my bikes are chained to in the garage.

The hex-head bolts came with ball bearings that are supposed to be hammered in, but I didn't want the permanance of that, so filled the holes with Araldite instead. Pretty hard to get it out with chained bikes in the way, but not too bad if you move the bikes. Glad I did, as brought them with me when we moved house.

Note you'd also need to angle the bike so anything you put in doesn't dribble out before it's set.

Would certainly deter the casual thief, but you could be caught out for a field repair/adjustment.

The anti-theft QRs on my pub bike need a specific tool to undo them and you can get sets that cover the seat post bolt, too. Pretty hard to lock down other expensive components, which is, I guess, what you're thinking of, although the Hexlox stuff is a good start. As a victim of having a saddle and seat post stolen in the past, I sympathise with your plan, anyway. It's tempting to do something like that on my best bike, but I just don't leave that one anywhere out of sight.

Just fill the hex holes with mud

After much fiddling about I came up with 2 similar workable solutions - either;

- ball bearings

- M4 nuts 

glued into the bolt head with a hot glue gun. The former can be extracted with a bit of heat (gas lighter) and a magnet, the latter with the bolt that came with them (all of which is light enough to add to the tools I carry for any field adjustment).

Neither is super secure but seems like a reasonable way of deterring an opportunistic theft for very little cost. The bike is insured and I don’t leave it unattended in quiet areas but still feel better about having done this.