Hi there
I have had a Reynolds 531 frame and forks since 1988, made for me in Canberra by a frame builder Keith Davis.
It still rides well, most running gear having been replaced a few times and has probably done 100,00kms.
The frame has always been well maintained, not left to corrode, etc. The past 20 years have been in Adelaide away from the sea, and usually quite dry so corrosion is not an issue. Every year or so I spray a bit of rust inhibitor down the holes in the forks.
I just get the jitters sometimes riding along looking at the thin Reynolds forks and wonder about their life-expectancy....and indirectly my own.
Any advice?
Chris Holmwood

They should outlast you, unless they've been abused.

Amen.

Seems like a keeper to me. Pictures would be nice.

Folks are still riding blades made in the fifties. Usually not the original owners who crapped out long before the forks did, but I know of one bike and rider still together for all 50+ years.

One major advantage of steel (and Ti) is that their "fatigue life" is nearly ifinite if they aren't abused or regularly overloaded so your fork hould be good for decades to come if ridden "normally". Accident damage, of course, changes everything.

I rode an old 60' Carlton frame and forks in 531and had it repainted by Mercian many years ago. It's still being ridden and looks a treat.

thanks everyone, reassuring advice.
No they haven't been abused...but then again I am not obsessional about maintenance.
Has been repainted once. Maybe needs blasting and powder coating.....some day.
Cheers Chris

For ever and maybe longer

They should even outlast you (if you do not crash them or let them rust) as many thousands of other 531 forks have also outlasted their owners through the years...RIP......

Chombi