XT Hollowtech Cranks Question - do I have to use special bolts?

[MMcG]

Just curious - I've got a set of XT cranks - hollowtechs 751s - they are missing the inserts to "bolt" them onto the splined hollowtech bb - I need shimano specific ones correct? I can't just use some standard crank bolts can I?

Please advise.

Thanks.

Mark

[bdee]

I believe the bolts are of a larger diameter than square taper bolts.

[MMcG]

but would bolts say from Isis cranks work? Some people seem to think yes. I just thought maybe I needed proprietary shimano bolts - but perhaps not. IF not, that would be great news to my ears.

[MMcG]

To clarify these cranks are just arms only - they are missing the "bolts" and also that outer cover - the one that gets removed with that special two pronged tool.

And they look like these:

http://xoomgear.com/i/p/l/CRNK-5.jpg

[bdee]

You need M15 bolts (whatever that means - some sort of standard I guess). AE bike has some made by the good folks at problem solvers. I've ordered from AE bike in the past - no issues. They have a lot of small parts.

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=CR1408

[bikerdom]

http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPCRNKPRT/CR1642

[bike187]

i beleive you can use crank bolts from isis bb on shimano cranks. the big difference is that the shimano ones come with the caps that screw into the crank extractor thread so you can use the crank bolt with that cap to pull the crank arms off instead of having to use an isis crank puller. this can be either good or bad as it allows for good trailside repair if you need to strip teh cranks (but most multitill 8mm hexes are too stubby to get enough force to pull the crank arm off without bending the tool). personally i already have an isis crank puller so i prefer using that as it's a bit more solid then jsut a big hex wrench.