MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
My beloved Singular Swift is in its ninth year and has been out in all weathers. I've always kept it in the dry & aired the frame after wet rides. It's ED plated too so I've not worried too much about rust. The bottle bosses just above the BB on the underside of the downtube have been under water a fair bit & look pristine, the mudguard boss on the chainstay bridge that gets covered in all sort of muck is similarly fine.
The Swift has bosses under the top tube for its modular cable guides and I've never given these a second thought. They're fine too bar the middle one which appears to have gone rusty (I guess that muck has gotten in under the cables & done its dirt work).
The rust seems predominantly to be the insert but there is rust around it on the surface of the toptube. It's cleaned up nicely & doesn't appear to have deeply compromised the tube. I've painted it over and will keep an eye on it.
I may well have been riding it like this for years, but obviously I need to ask whether it's likely to be a problem. It seems odd that this one has gone when much more exposed ones are absolutely fine (as are the grub screws that hold the EBB & have been totally submerged & covered in all sorts).
I love the Swift and had rather seen it as a bike for life, so I'd be gutted in it failed.
I’m pretty sure you find the answer to Rusty bolt insert in Urban Dictionary
Exposed bolts dry off so don't generally get to bad. Also from memory on my singular the paint area around the grub screws on the ebb doesn't get marred whereas bolting something too the bosses helps the paint crack, wear and fail.
Rusty Bolt Insert? Their 2nd album was a disappointment, I felt.