I'm never quite sure on this one. On the one hand there seem to be folks who leave steel frames out in the rain year in, year out without issue, but then again there are warnings on the Frame Saver website about thin tube walls and rust.
So, what's the general care routine? I know if you get a drenching it's probably best to remove the seatpost, tip the frame upsidedown to drain and maybe store the bike with the seatpost removed if it's not going to be used for a while. But do I need to bother with anything if I get caught in the odd shower? I assume that small amounts of water that find their way into a frame will evaporate out through the breathe holes etc. when the bike's stored in the warm and dry. My frame had a couple of coats of Frame Saver applied before I built it up anyway.
Frame Saver
they might be trying to sell you sometihing!!
My steel frame hasn't been damaged from multiple showers and a few washes even though its been scratched to the bare metal in places. There isn't even any rust...
I dont bother doing anything with it once its wet, I just let it dry.
Cromoly is rust resistant so to speak though.
I have 3 steel framed bikes
They're ridden in all kinds of weather
I ride them, and then just stick 'em in the house
They have not rusted through even without frame saver in them
They stay in my front room with central heating, which is probably why they're not rusting away.
They do have small patches of surface rust which is not progressing any further as time passes
I have ridden two on-ones through seven Cannock Chase winters without a problem. They were both scratched to within an inch of there lives but never seen any rust.
Sounds reassuring. I guess that it's water getting inside the frame that bothers me most but I guess it'll evaporate out again fairly quickly.
I,ve had a Steel framed Rockhopper since 1998, no trouble at all.
Drill a 1 - 2mm hole in the BB shell.
There you go, steel doesn't rust!
You've done the frame saver which is more than most, ride it and now and then remove the seat post to let it air. Hole in the BB is a good idea too.
Touch in any chips as you go, or have it blasted and repsrayed every few years.
I've got some Reynolds 725 and 853 tubes in my workshop, never been on a bike and they are coated in rust that only sandblasting could remove.
My 1949 Hobbs road frame seems ok
Unless you've owned it from new, who says it hasn't had oil/wax in the tubes - they probably did it from new then or even dunked it in red lead or similar at the factory. 🙂
953 would be ok in the wet
just ride the bloody bike!
That's it. Mods!!!!!
Riding? A bike? Are you new here?
I asked genesis this same question. The response was that if I rode the bike 2-4 times per week in the wet, put it away wet and repeat over 10 years, they wouldnt expect the frame to fail, and if it did, they'd honour it with thier lifetime warranty.
cest la vie
If you live near the sea then you will know what rust is.
On the subject of Reynolds 953
http://reynoldstechnology.biz/faqs/materials/1
"... In normal use, brown staining of the surface does occur due to sweat, salty roads etc if not protected/painted. The staining can be removed with "scotch-brite" or an equivalent...."
Orange told me my P7 got dipped in something, or was that a different conversation I had with Shepherd?
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$hit happens...
It is not the rust you can see you need to worry about, it is the rust you can't the moisture in the frame itself. First i knew was a slight blister appearing on the seat tube, investigated with a small knife and the frame had rusted through.
mk1fan - Member
Drill a 1 - 2mm hole in the BB shell.
+1
There was another thread on here a couple of days ago with either a Bontrager or Gary Fisher that had done the same. Never heard of it with other frames.
i have heard of it happen to a lot of frames, just takes time. That frame is getting on for 15 years old.