spinachface

I have a Surly LHT. I bought it used, seemed like it might've been outside for a bit, so I went through and cleaned the frame up and got all the rust out. Previous owner said he frame saver'd it as well, so I felt pretty good about it.

I just noticed what looked like cracks lying under the paint, so I stripped a small patch and this is what's underneath. I'm definitely going to get a new fork, but in the meantime am I safe to ride it? Obviously I want to proceed with caution and won't be doing anything crazy on it, I inspected the entirety of the frame and that looks good. I just have a little bit of anxiety about fork failure after seeing these.

They're raised, so you can see and feel them above the metal, so I'm not sure if it's actually a crack.

skoda2

Greetings, it appears to only be rust at rack mount, however there may also be internal rust in the fork. The paint appears to be powder coat, which has some history of rust forming under it.
Regards

davidad

File or sand the cracks and see if they are still there or deep.

spinachface

Sanded it down, and it just has a grey color now which leads me to think it's rusting on the interior. Probably good for a little while, but obviously needs replacement.

02Giant 

Why would that cause you to think it is rusting on the inside?

The finish on the bike is chipped and pealing, moisture has migrated under the finish causing the rust trails as it progresses.

OshkoshBiker

You might want to do a dye penetrate test to see if you really have a crack. I would not ride it if there was a chance of failure.