Originally Posted by
graveltravel
Just picked up a new to me cross check for commuting and riding where ever (roads, paths, dirt, gravel- general getting around). I removed the seatpost and shined a light down the tube to see if there was any rust in there, and noticed there was some rust where the edges of the tube meet the bottom bracket (on both the frame and BB). My questions are 1) Does this mean it is likely there is further rust in the frame? 2) Should I get the rust off or leave it there? 3) Is this a common thing I should not worry about?
Thanks for any help... first steel bike
I don't have a Surly here to look at, but there might not be a vent hole in the BB shell. This is a bad thing, because water can seep in from the seatpost bore but then it has nowhere to go so it sits and gets the metal rusting. I've seen more than a few frames rust out badly from such a problem to where the seat tube detached from the BB shell (a good friend's Yo Eddy, for example.) If I were you, I'd drill some kind of vent hole if it doesn't have one.
If it does, then the rest of the frame probably has some rust in it too. Probably not a big issue, as others have said, these are pretty stout tubes. But I'd treat it. If you don't want to bother removing the rust, you could give it a good soaking with WD-40, then after it mostly dries, use some Frame Saver or LPS-3 or Boeshield or what have you to seal it up. If you want to go after the rust, Evapo-rust works great and won't hurt paint.