Genuine question. If I swap my aluminium hard tail for a steel one, do I have to pay any special attention to ensure it doesn’t rust.

Sorry if this is a daft question, but it’s something which I’ve always wondered.

yes, but over many, many years, not enough to bother with IMO.

I’d always thought the application of some anti-rust treatment down the seattube and swilled around was beneficial, mind you its been 12yrs since i last had a steel framed bike!

Worth doing if you want to keep it no?

Aluminium corrodes too.

Just think how long cars last with no special treatment and they have to deal with salt covered roads for a significant part of the year.

I use to put some grease in all the holes and the gaps of the seat tube to prevent water getting in.

I use to put some grease in all the holes and the gaps of the seat tube to prevent water getting in.

….and out.

my 9 year old p7 is starting to rust worryingly about the chainstays and chainstay bridge, to the point it will need fixing or replacing soon. it will put me off buying another steel bike.

obviously I should have painted it or something, but never mind

Aluminium corrodes too.

Aluminium corrodes much more easily than steel (in minutes) . That why it has an impervious layer of aluminium oxide on the outside that stops the corrosion penetrating the metal, unlike steel.

Just think how long cars last with no special treatment and they have to deal with salt covered roads for a significant part of the year.

Cars are galvanized. Back before wide scale galvanization of car bodies, you’d be lucky to get more than 2 or 3 years before you had a rusty car.

Do steel bikes rust?

no, they just fade away 😉

My 20 year old road bike, my first ever bike I bought new, will out last me, I think 😉

my ’96 Bontrager race has a perforated seat tube where it has rusted through. What you have to watch is if any grease/debris/etc collects in the seat tube then it gives somewhere for moisture to collect and hence rust.

Never done owt to any steel frame I’ve had and they’ve been fine.

My Tange Prestige custom job was built in 1992. No sign of rust.

Yet.

treated my steel frames with that ‘frame keeper’ spray which seems to be the same as waxoil.

my dad’s old dawes is in the cellar, it’s … 25 years old?

it looks alright…

I have a ’93 Cinder Cone in the shed that has a few spots on it but that’s about it. I’ve not done anything particular. It used to be my all weather commuter so has seen some weather. In fact the aluminium pannier rack shows more sign of corrosion.

I use to put some grease in all the holes and the gaps of the seat tube to prevent water getting in.
….and out.

If water doesn’t get in it doesn’t need to get out.

I’ve always squirted some WD40 down the tubes (use the straw to get into the tiny holes)- iv’e done this on all my bikes since the early 90’s and they’ve never showed any signs of rust. My 1992 Cinder Cone is as mint as the day it rolled off the production line 😀
I think you’d have to seriously neglect the bike to get any effect…

the ‘steel’ used in bike frames is usually a chrome/steel alloy though isn’t it..?

reducing corrosion considerably..?

the problem is that steel frames rust from inside out, you won’t see any problem until the paint starts to bubble, which is to late to do anything.

Seem a few frames fail, it takes a while.

Aluminium corrodes too.

Just think how long cars last with no special treatment and they have to deal with salt covered roads for a significant part of the year.

A steel car with no protection wouldn’t last very long. Maybe a year in the UK before serious rust holes appear on arches etc.

A lot of cars are galvanised but even ones that aren’t have a protective layer on the steel before the primer, colour coat and then lacquer so that is 4 layers in total. Bits underneath are galvanised and painted etc.

There was a recent thread about this with some good suggestions. Should be able to find it via google or check my post history for a few days ago and it should be there.

They’ll last for years. And if it does rust, and you really really love it, just get it repaired. It’s a series of tubes that can become ‘triggers broom’.

my 9 year old p7 is starting to rust worryingly about the chainstays and chainstay bridge, to the point it will need fixing or replacing soon. it will put me off buying another steel bike.

its lasted 9 years (!) and thats putting you off another steel frame?! ok…

Yes but it doesn’t really matter so don’t worry about it.

My Dad had one of the first BMWs ever imported into Britain. Within two years the wheel arches began rusting out. The heating and ventilation were terrible but it went like a bloomin’ rocket and nobody knew what it was.

Poured some veg oil in mine, cheap and thick enough

They don’t all rust!

My Kona Explosif is True Tempers Platinum OX tubing (similar to Reynolds 853). When the frame was brand new about six years ago, I dropped my Kryptonite chain onto it and took a chunk of paint off right through to the bare steel. It was dull grey underneath, and it still is now. And my frame does’t get any special treatment, it regularly gets left covered in wet mud for several days.

WD40 sprayed inside the tubes and swilled around as suggested should be part of yearly maintenance for steel frames especially if they are being used in the wet/mud. Prob less important if the frame is kept I’m s drycellar.

Also, after a wet/muddy ride, remove seatpost and put bike somewhere warm to dry out.

All steel rusts but you can delay it from becoming.a problem for quite a long time.

Lighter frames have thinner/stronger tubing which means they will rust throuh more quickly.

Alloy fatigues/cracks more readily than steel.

Each material has their pros and cons but at the end of the day…
Steel is real!

So, if I buy a steel bike, it is likely to be of the 853 variety. The bikes which really take my fancy are a Stanton Slackline, a Soul or a BFe.

Also, putting the bike somewhere warm after a wet ride is not an option- it will go back in the garage with the other bikes. It will definitely be wet – I live in Belfast after all, so only riding in the dry is not an option!

Also, if it wore out after 9 years, I would be well peeved off.

Transition TransAms are treated internally to prevent rusting. just thought I’d mention it.

My old Raleigh was still ok when I gave it away more than 25 years after I’d bought it.

It’s not essential but coating the inside of the frame is not exactly hard job and it won’t do any harm.

I treated my 1990 Orange Clockwork with duck oil and it’s still going strong.

Some steel frames are ED coated on the inside to stop corrosion. Jones steel, Genesis 853 frames, Cotic maybe, some others I’m sure (Transition mentioned above).

If neglected it will, but so will ally. Munqe chick has a ’94 Lava Dome that is corrosion free, and my 20yr old 531c road frame is mint. Conversely this is Pedalhead’s old aluminium Giant, left “in damp garages/sheds for 10 years”, no doubt with water still down the seat tube from last wash/wet ride…