Mike in Medina

I bought a Bianchi Strada in 2002 - 03, and rode it frequently until last summer (2006), riding around 1,500 miles per year. My primary bike last summer became a 1973 Scwinn Super Sport that I rehabbed with new components. The frame on the Bianchi is Reynolds 520. A couple of years after I bought the Bianchi, rust started showing up around the BB and on the top tube. Since then, the rust has progressed. The bike is always kept clean and inside, and it has never been exposed to salt water or winter riding. I told myself that "that's what you get with a steel frame" until I started working with vinatge steel bikes that had no rust (my 1973 Super Sport, which I bought new, was kept outside during most my four years at college in Ohio and still has no rust).

Three questions: (1) has anyone heard of this issue with Bianchi's of that era? (2) Should I be concerned about the integrity of the frame? (3) How can I address this issue and stop the rust, short of stripping the frame and re-painting?

Mike in Medina

Here are some pitures of the bike and the rust. https://picasaweb.google.com/Fortney.ml/BianchiStrada

jackcoke

.... I am living in Italy at the moment and I just got home from a department store where I noticed new bikes on the sales floor...with rust on them! Strange because I see old Italian steel bikes at shops and they look great. The LBS owner took me into his workshop the other day and showed me a 50 year old bike built close by that was still in great shape. Can we blame the Chinese?

The whole rust issue has been on my mind because I just bought a steel Ritchey break-away. I have a ti road bike and love it but didn't want all that much money wrapped up in a cross bike that is just for travelling. We'll see....

jackcoke

That looks like poor finishing to me. The paint just chipped away and left the metal exposed. Sand blast it and paint it.

kenhill3

I checked out your pics of the Bianchi. For having been kept indoors and not ridden in the rain, that is surprising to say the least. How did the bottom bracket also end up corroded? Is there a possibility that this bike has been stored near any volatile or corrosive chemicals?

tellyho

Sadly, the only way to deal with it is to strip and repaint or powdercoat.

Mike in Medina

I have stored the bike with other bikes, and none of the others have rusted. I have been working on vinatge bikes lately, and have not seen any that have rust on them like that.

Bikedued

Only part of the blame is the country of origin. A lot of dept stores will store their overstock of bikes outdoors in the gardening area. This can be bad in two ways. They're exposed to the elements, plus fertilizer mist from careless employees who are clueless how corrosive it can be. We have a chain called Academy Sporting goods here, and they have bikes displayed out front in all kinds of weather year round.,,,,BD

roccobike

I have an '02 Brava, the same color and no, it does not have that much rust. But hey, it's a steel bike, no way would I claim there's no rust.
It could be an optical illusion, but it looks like you have cable rust too. Kinda early for cable rust.

HDFACTORYCERTIF

Yep! A Cat peed on it! Maybe this one.
https://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u...t=DSC00004.jpg

Bikedued

I finally looked at the pics. I find it hard to believe that's an 03 model bike. From the condition it looks like an 83 ridden year round and never cleaned. That's a lot of BB rust.,,,,BD

HillRider

I agree it's an excessive amount of rust for a bike that new and not ridden in bad weather routinely. Either the paint was very poorly done or you sweat a LOT. Something is really defective.

For comparison, I have an '83 Trek 400 lugged steel frame bike I bought used and it's my rain/beater bike so it's always ridden in bad weather including rain and snow. It's typically "rode hard and put up wet" as I'm usually too wet and cold after riding it to do more than shake off the loose water and put it away. After seven years of this kind of abuse with only occasional real cleaning, there is no exterior rust anywhere. I did treat the frame and fork interior with Frame Saver but the exterior still has the factory paint job with only minor touch-ups.

halcpa

I think Bianchi has a 5 year warranty on its steel frames. Maybe worth looking into.

Of course all warranties are strictly construed against the consumer. But I would be polite but insistent if it is still under warranty.

Mike in Medina

I didn't consider cats. I also did not consider sweat. Could sweat have caused the rust? Do others wash off sweat after riding?

HDFACTORYCERTIF

The BB components seem to have rusted also. Something corrosive got on there. Cat pee can do it, even remove chrome. Cats make great gifts!

kenhill3

Hey, that cat of yours is one handsome devil.

wroomwroomoops

That's something I noticed as well: the BB spindle is terribly corroded - this would indicate that something with the riding conditions, rather than the frame material or paint condition - is to blame for the unusual amount of rusting.

In some parts of the world they still use salt on the roads, in the winter. Not in Finland, at least, not in Helsinki.

Mike in Medina

I took off the cranks tonight to check out and clean the BB spindles. They were rust stained, but they cleaned up. I don't think they are rusted, they just looked rusted. I was only kidding about the cat. If I saw a cat pee on my bike, . . .