drink bottle mounts...gone!

[fatnold]

i just got my girls old giant atx870 frame anodised. (matt black to give it that just stolen look). when i got it back, the drink bottle mounts were missing. how are they held in? they look like they are like a compression fitting. can they be refitted? if so how? ( i don't want to hold a bottle, i want to fill the holes)

[lotec]

( i don't want to hold a bottle, i want to fill the holes)
bluetack fixes everything :D

[spinner]

Maybe you could loctite some solid alloy rivets in there. They're mushroom shaped with a domed head , pop the "stem" into the hole , maybe even use silicone to hold them in there , and keep moisture out. Paint the heads flat black to match the anodising....?

I'd imagine they would be available from a bolt shop , probably not Bobs corner hardware store though.

For that matter , silicone some anodised dome head bolts into the hole....?

Try googling "nutsert" if you want to replace them with something similar to original.

[DirtFix]

bluetack fixes everything :D
I know its your name dude, but thats WAY LOTEC!!! :D

[Grip]

The frame material on those Giants is ridiculously thin and the "nuts" you're talking about are called "nutSERTS" as in nuts that are "inserted". They're actually fitted much like a pop-rivet in that they crush up on either side of the tube wall. Bloody stupid idea on thin walled material, but that's up to their designers I suppose.

I have no idea how they could fall out, because normally they come loose and fall IN leaving you with a rattle, unless you can get them to fall through the b/b shell and get them out that way. BUT if they have come adrift from the frame you REALLY need to inspect the holes with a magnifying glass (no... your eyes may NOT be enough) for tiny cracks running out from the hole. Unfortunately they are much more common than you may think AND can lead to a very ugly frame failure... right in the middle of a main tube obviously.

If you're only worried about cosmetic fix for the holes I'd suggest glueing something attractive over them.

[j5ive]

Yeah, I've installed a few of those jobbies before. Very scary process. Too hard on the rivet and its going to warp the tubing, too soft and its going to move.

In your cast I'd just glue some rubber caps. Something like the top cap rubber bolt thingos that come on new bikes.

[udi]

i just got my girls old giant atx870 frame anodised. (matt black to give it that just stolen look). when i got it back, the drink bottle mounts were missing.

During the anodization process, any metal other than aluminium is dissolved. So if you're wondering where they went, they would have either been removed prior to anodizing, or simply disolved!

As for filling them up, i'd go for j5ives suggestion, just get some rubber plugs that fit, will look nice and neat.

[Rik]

i just got my girls old giant atx870 frame anodised. (matt black to give it that just stolen look)Way offtopic, but where did you get the frame done, and for how much? I'm looking for an anodiser in Sydney to get some work done, hopefully you can help me out.

[fatnold]

thanks for the replies guys. it was quite a suprise. grip, i'll check for rattles but i think they have simply vanished!

rik
i got it done at anodisers pty ltd. in mortdale. i use them for stuff at work. i had the frame gently sandblasted ( the tubes are like coke cans) but i didn't inspect it thouroughly afterward. in a couple of places there was some specks of paint which do not get covered by the anodising. so, i think that the prep is very important. at work, we normally get stuff done with only a light etch ( the pre process) this is to ensure that we don't loose too much metal.
anyway, i'm not overly thrilled with the result.
if you are doing really important stuff, my buddy gets alot of his oldskool bmx stuff done somewhere. pm me if you want me to follow up on who he uses.

[wooley_89]

maybe what he means is that it turns copper black, and i cant remeber what metal it is but anodising it makes it pit. meaning that, if it was in there for long enough maybe it would pit and fall out :-S probably not but you know, lol

[Grip]

If anyone's interested, the anodising process is simply the controlled oxidation of the surface of aluminium. Aluminium naturally forms an oxide (its own version of "rust") and through voltage variance and dyes (in the bath) the oxide is formed to a particular density and colour. It is not electroplating where a totally foreign coating is applied to a material, but rather the coating formed in anodising is actually OF the material (or anode)

Also, those nutserts are USUALLY aluminium anyway so they should be OK even allowing for Udi's comment.

I'd suggest they may have either been loose and dropped out during the hot-water curing process of anodising or maybe the anodises saw them as an unknown foreign material and drilled them out (in which case I'd be pretty annoyed actually because without them there the tube is considerably weaker than it should be)

And finally, tube makers (such as Easton) actually stipulate the size and exact torque figures for installation of those nutserts so as not to damage the tubing and compromise its integrity.