M7 Woes

db said:

The bolt for the saddle clamp on my FSA SLK seatpost sheared the other
day. It is an M7 x 1.0x45 bolt, which seems like an impossible size to
find. Any suggestions? I called FSA and they are sending me one, but
I was just wondering if anyone has any other sources. I'd like to
carry an extra to avoid having to ride standing for 10 mile again.

I did some searching and also couldn't find one on the web, although
there were some fastener supplies that list what they have in ranges
(M2.5 - M12, etc) that might include 7, but I'm guessing not since the
standard practice seems to be to skip 7. Finding it in socket cap, that
length, and preferably stainless makes it a lot tougher. The closest I
saw was some non-stainless hex heads in 40 and 50 lengths.

If you're thinking that FSA isn't going to cough up another one, I bet
any bike shop can get it direct from them.

M7 is really rare.

Singles are $1 each (in steel) at biketoolsetc.com:

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=23935536918&d=single&c=Repair%20Parts&sc=Fasteners&tc=Socket%20Head%20Bolts&item_id=US-CS742

The problem might be that the parts FSA is using are normal stainless
steel. Stainless is nice because it doesn't rust - but garden variety
18-8 stainless is significantly weaker than a standard grade 8 bolt.
The standard steel bolt will rust a bit, but might not keep breaking.

sunderland said:

M7 is really rare.

Singles are $1 each (in steel) at biketoolsetc.com:

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=23935536918&d=single&c=Repair%20Parts&sc=Fasteners&tc=Socket%20Head%20Bolts&item_id=US-CS742

The problem might be that the parts FSA is using are normal stainless
steel. Stainless is nice because it doesn't rust - but garden variety
18-8 stainless is significantly weaker than a standard grade 8 bolt.
The standard steel bolt will rust a bit, but might not keep breaking.

Thanks for the link. That's exactly what I need.