Water and steel frames

I’ve been out in some pretty heavy rain showers on my bike, with a particularly heavy and protracted one last Wednesday and have always been a tad paranoid about rust with my steel frame.

When I’ve been cycling in the rain I always take the seat post out and leave the bike upside down for a while to allow water to drain from the seat tube/BB and leave the seat post out whilst storing the bike to allow the inside to air (always in a dry shed). However whilst tipping the bike up on its rear wheel yesterday I notices a small amount of water drip out of the chainstay breathe holes.

Is a small amount of water in a steel frame any concern? I did apply a couple of coats of Framesaver before building up but I reckon it’s pretty hit and miss as the the internal coverage you actually get.

Not a big deal really – one to check is if there’s a drain hole under the BB shell. If there isn’t, get out the power drill.

I don’t leave breather holes open on frames I build, but looking at what fails on old frames it probably doesn’t make much difference. It’s water/mud on the outside that has more effect.

It sounds like your paranoia has you going way above and beyond any steps I have taken to prevent corrosion of a steel frame.

I treat them like crap, leaving them in the rain, letting water accumulate never touched up a scratch, and I have never had one, or heard of one rusting through…

It would take some serious neglect, and you’d have to park it in the sea every other day…

If you’re really worried, a quick squirt of GT85 down your seat tube and into those breathe holes should calm your fears.

I had a very old road bike which had some really bad corrosion around the bottom bracket. Even got pointed out by some patronising old codger.

It eventually died from being ridden over-enthusiastically by a friend of mine; he snapped the top-tube.

So I wouldn’t worry about it unless you can actually see rust on the outside and can poke holes in it.

I’ve got a steel frame I bought it 1995 sitting in the garage. It has been ridden in all weathers, and was ridden into Derwent up to its handle bars.
It’s not rotted away yet.

I used to tetroseal wax oil the inside of my steel frames until I stopped worrying about it…. well I forgot to when building my last frame up (2010) and not bothered to do it since. Seat tube had some signs of corrosion on when I removed it last, nothing to worry about though, bottom bracket/EBB was clean.

Cheers, Steve

I Waxoyl the inside of the frame when I get it to be on the safe side. Check them inside every year or so, never see any serious rust. Most modern steel frames are made of alloys that have a certain amount of corrosion resistance anyway, they’re not going to fur up like pig iron.

It sounds like your paranoia has you going way above and beyond any steps I have taken to prevent corrosion of a steel frame.

I treat them like crap, leaving them in the rain, letting water accumulate never touched up a scratch, and I have never had one, or heard of one rusting through…

I know of one old cheap GT that rusted through. It had seen a decade+ of daily commuting Sheffield to Rotherham, weekends battering around The Peaks, and been stored in a damp shed – a proper triggers broom with only the frame surviving that time. It rusted through at the point of chain damage on chainstay.

STop worrying about it.

My steel hardtail bought 25 years ago and now relegated to winter hack has had no anti-corrosion treatment. The only places showing any signs of surface rust are the chain and seatstay bridges. I don’t know how long most folks hang onto their stuff but something else will probably become a factor before the rust gets it.

A blocked drain hole at the bottom of the DS seat stay on my Pegoretti caused the tube to rust through at 8 years old, the water entering as rear wheel spray into the seat tube then down the seat stays via the breathers. It was framesaver’d, but the wall thickness is thinner than on most frames.
Also, riding on the coast probably doesn’t help matters – a lot of seawater on the roads after storms. Not a typical problem by any means, never seen rust kill a frame even on unloved everyday hacks.

I wouldn’t worry. If I did, I’d swap for a Ti frame. 😉

p.s.: all my bikes are steel, no antirust treatment, one is almost four decades old and still going strong.

I have a number of well used steel bikes going back as far as 1932.

Rust is not a problem if you do the most basic of maintenance.

As Ben Cooper says – make sure there’s a hole in the bottom of the BB shell, and drill one if need be. I do a further refinement – I put a dob of grease there to seal it. If any water accumulates, it will give way and let it out, but it’s not really necessary. I only do it to stop sand getting in.

A squirt of a water dispersant inside the vent holes may give you some reassurance, I use an aerosol chainlube if I have it handy. Otherwise a drop of oil.

my town bike, 1997 cro-mo, lives outside by the sea in all weathers and loves it

Thanks for the advice; perhaps I’m being a tad over cautious.

I’ve always been advised to leave the breathe holes open for just reason – to allow the frame to ‘breathe’ and aid drying.

FWIW, The holes in chainstay and seatstay tubes aren’t breather holes as such, but are to allow the frames to drain when being dipped in the “chemical water” before painting.

My pompetamine get’s ridden year round through rain and on gritted roads. Left outside during the day. Gets washed about twice a year. Last time I stripped it down it was looking fine.

I wouldn’t worry too much the environment you are riding in won’t be that corrosive so rust development will be slow. Slow enough that corrosion wouldn’t be an issue over the normal lifetime of a frame.

My steel commuter lives outside 24/7. 8 years old only problem I have had so far is rust in the fork steerer, which I just painted

never seen rust kill a frame* even on unloved everyday hacks.

+

A blocked drain hole at the bottom of the DS seat stay on my Pegoretti caused the tube to rust through at 8 years

* Except for a Pegoretti?

I know of a few frames that have failed due to corrosion, but it isn’t common unless you ride a bike with very thin walled tubing in aggressive conditions e.g. salted roads. Even then a bit of TLC should prevent it.

My commuter is a 1991 steel mtb. It’s passed through a few hands, someone on here found it in a skip and let me have it for a couple of beers. It had algae growing on it, silty sand inside the frame, I think it’s spent some extended periods of it’s 25 years living outside, and perhaps a slice of it at the bottom of a canal.

I don’t ride it like someone who’s worried it might snap, and it’s still in one piece.

I think the question should be, what sort of frame is it?

I know something made out of boggo cromoly, 4130, nice thick walls, couple of strategicaly placed drainholes and 2.5+ kilos of metal in it, should be fine for 10+ years of all weather commuting.

A 1500 gram silver soldered 753 frame with a minimal splattering of paint (to save weight) probably won’t. (It might not even get old enough to corrode……)

Cromoly steel has quite a bit of chromium in it afaik, so it’s some way towards stainless. You only get a very light surface bit of rust on it. Had an original P7 for many years, no frame protection, was fine. Externally it got a fine coating of rust where the cables had rubbed, this was always rubbed back off again the next ride, and there was still no indentation in the steel.

I did Waxoyl the Salsa though last year when new – I squirted loads in, then used a heat gun to warm it all up and swill it about the frame, and let the excess drain out. Wary of stories of bikes in hot cars dripping Waxoyl onto discs.

You shouldn’t leave a bike in a hot car if it doesn’t have breather holes.

will it explode?

Cromoly steel has quite a bit of chromium in it afaik, so it’s some way towards stainless.

Wrong 4130 has chromium levels of 0.8 to 1.15%, where as a stainless steel will be 10.5% at the very least, most grades a fair bit more.

The chromium content of 4130 might give a little extra corrosion resistance over bog standard steel, but that’s not why it is there, it is primarily in there to improve it’s strength.

My steel bike which then turned in to a commuter bike rusted across the head tube and cracked. Gutted, it was only 25 years old and left outside in all weathers too 🙁

The chromium content of 4130 might give a little extra corrosion resistance over bog standard steel, but that’s not why it is there, it is primarily in there to improve it’s strength.

I know, but it certainly rusts less than say, the stuff my car is made from.

ade9933 – Member
My steel bike which then turned in to a commuter bike rusted across the head tube and cracked. Gutted, it was only 25 years old and left outside in all weathers too

That’s disgusting. What a rip off.

I know how you feel. The 1940s Armstrong I rescued from where it had sat for umpteen years outside has some surface corrosion. If I don’t attend to it soon, it may only have another 20 years of life.

🙂

Malvern Rider – Member
never seen rust kill a frame* even on unloved everyday hacks.
+

A blocked drain hole at the bottom of the DS seat stay on my Pegoretti caused the tube to rust through at 8 years
* Except for a Pegoretti?

That’s what I was trying to say, yes!

Although, technically it didn’t die. They cut out the rusty stay and welded a new one in. Rarely goes out in the rain now…

it certainly rusts less than say, the stuff my car is made from.

It doesn’t really, it is more due to your car seeing much harsher conditions and probably not been as well looked after (i bet unlike your bike your car doesn’t get washed down after ever use and is then kept inside). Alternatively regularly spray warm, salty water over your bike and then get back to me with what happens.

What steelies have you all got?
I’ve a raw 45650b, it’s been knocked all over and has loads of scratches on but no rust and it’s been used all weathers over the past 12 months.

Found this on the Gunnar web site.

Draining your Bike

Some advice I should perhaps have followed as my Ruffian chain stays rotted through completely in the 10th year and needed replacing. It gave me the opportunity to convert to sliding drop outs though. Something Gunnar strongly advise against.
It’s been fine since and if I get another 10 years, I’ll be happy.