deimos

What should I do?




thats the little hole on the inside of the chainstays on my mark v
i can just imagine all the hidden rust in there.

brunop

it doesn't get rid of rust, but spray some weigle frame saver in that rascal. it'll at least prevent further rust.

dutret

Your options:
1. accept that steel frames rust and if you want to ride steel in crappy weather it's not going to last forever, do nothing and ride this bike for the years it will last then junk the frame and repeat.

2. Take really good care of the steel starting now and hope for the best.
-take everything off the bike
- clean out the whole thing with solvent and a brush for those parts you can reach
- spray the above mentioned frame saver into the bike
-repeat the above steps every few month to once a year(depending on how much crappy weather you ride in
- After every wet ride hang the bike so that the water can drain from those holes.
-rugularly check for and touch up any scratches.

3. Accept that steel will rust, clean the bike out as described above(or don't), and start building a beater or aluminum bike to ride in crap weather.

Most importantly remember that wiping off the outside painted surfaces of the frame is not going to prevent all rust. You should still do it though.

summerinside

Yeah, that's the one drawback of the steel frame. Fashion wise - IMHO - nothing looks as good as a bike that's had thousands of miles put onto it so I wouldnt worry about it.

SingleSpeeDemon

Any thoughts about plugging/covering the holes before the frame has a chance to get wet?

Ceya

Don't junk, just take to a framebuilde and he fix it then repeat.

JP is good stuff and there is a produt that stop rust. Need to search for the name of it.




S/F,
CEYA!
Strength and Honor!!

dutret

Yes it will make the frame rust out alot faster. Those holes allow water to drain from the frame that gets in through other places. Plugging them is a very very bad idea especially as far as rust prevention goes.

dirtyphotons

moisture will find its way in there. the holes are for water to drain out, frame saver is exactly what it claims to be.

EDIT: great minds

powers2b

Spray WD-40 in all the weld-vent holes & tubes (1-2 X /yr).
Put electrical tape over the holes if you are going to ride in cruddy weather.
Make sure you remove said tape when weather is nice.
I ride a steel frame all winter in salty snowy Cleveland and it works for me.

na975

even with rust in it, it will out last you!

strife

I agree with the framesaver idea, I was going to do the same on a few bikes myself. You may already know this, but you must remove everything from the bike: headset, BB, seat tube, etc. if you don't the framesaver will coat it and gunk it up, bearings will wear very fast. Once you spray it rotate the frame to get an even coat all round the inside. One can should last for about 5 frames, or 60 yrs. Hope this helps.