How to set a rivnut (waterbottle nut)

[100Tours]

I found this interesting (and quite rewarding to see how easy it was to get a loose rivnut tightened up).

 

My first loose rivnut freaked me out a little - the offending nut was set in a carbon frame and I was worried about doing damage to the carbon. I rode with a loose waterbottle cage (stuck down a little harder with tape cunningly pulled tight over the top of the nut) for over a year, and I ended up sending it off to be repaired by a frame guru. Anyway, loose rivnut number 2. I did a bit of googling, and  it is a pretty easy thing to get right. 

 

Here's the offending rivnut:

 

 

The nut is basically a rivet that you tighten up with a threaded bolt (which is then unscrewed and removed so that you can then screw in the waterbottle mount), rather than a pop rivet where you snap off the shaft once you've tightened it up.  The good news is that the thread matches the threads on a quick release lever, and you can therefore make yourself a tool using a QR lever and an old hub. Or in my case I used the QR adapter that came included with my through axle MTB wheelset to make a very neat looking tool.

 

This is the QR lever inserted through the QR hub adapter.

 

 

You then thread the QR bolt into the rivnut until the hub body makes contact with the head of the rivnut (I had to hold the loose rivnut with a pair of pliers while I threaded the QR lever in). 

 

This is the QR lever threaded into the rivnut.

 

 

Finally you set the nut by closing the QR lever (and thus pulling the rivnut body tight up against the frame). I did this in steps, tightening a little, then releasing, turning the QR bolt into the rivnut another turn or two, and then tightening again. 

 

Works a dream

 

 

 

[Sepia]

Excellent.  I think this has answered many questions others had too, including myself.

Thanks for sharing.

[Spinnekop]

Awesome share!  Thank you. 

[David Marshall]

Another way (if you can't fit a skewer between the seat tube/down tube) is to drill a 5 mm hole into a piece of flat bar.  Then you screw a 5 mm hex head bolt into the rivnut through the hole in the flat bar.  Tighten the bolt while gently levering the flat bar to stop the rivnut turning.  I set new rivnuts like this as my fancy tool has been flushed back to China.

[Shebeen]

Another way (if you can't fit a skewer between the seat tube/down tube) is to drill a 5 mm hole into a piece of flat bar.  Then you screw a 5 mm hex head bolt into the rivnut through the hole in the flat bar.  Tighten the bolt while gently levering the flat bar to stop the rivnut turning.  I set new rivnuts like this as my fancy tool has been flushed back to China.

off topic, but you are defintiely the GoTO guy for tech QA stuff filling the vacuum left by JB.

 

your knowledge is MUCH appreciated, thanks for sharing it

[madmarc]

One of the most usefull posts i've seen i years - thanks for the idea

[m-squared]

I like what you did with the QR skewer. Great idea.

 

If you ever have rivnut that has stripped threads or a bolt that has snapped off in the rivnut, it is quite easy to just replace the rivnut itself. This recently happened to me on my carbon frame.

 

Step 1: get a dremel or similar took and grind slowly away at the rivnut head from the inside. It is best to use some electrical tape to put around the rivnut in case you slip during this step. Once it has been weakened, it is easy to use a pair if needlenose pliers pull/pry off the head.

 

Step 2: knock the rivnut into the frame. This rivnut can be removed via the openings for the headset, BB or seatpost.

 

Step 3: Get a new rivnut (any nut and bolt place sells these for less than R2) and use either of the 2 methods above to mount said rivnut. You can also use a long bolt and nut that fit the rivnut and a couple of slightly bigger nuts to form the tube. Two wrenches/spammers to tighten and problem solved.

 

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