Revracer

So the heatwave is about a week old in the east and brought a 97F day in the saddle yesterday. In past years, I stop riding my C&V bikes as I have bought a few bikes that had serious sweat damage to the top tube and especially with top run cables and even worse with the top tube clamp on cable guides. For the sake of keeping my rides interesting, I want to ride my C&V bikes but cannot tell when a drip of sweat will find its way inside a top tube cable guide and quietly start a corrosion process.

I am sure the best approach is ensuring that all paint is intact, but that is not the case with many bikes that have patina and I have debated the clear nail polish when paint matches would be worse than the small nick. The next would be to wax the cable holes and ensure complete wax coverage. I was caught with my wax down as I took my Grand Sports out the other day to find that the top tube has many tiny nicks that turned to rusty freckles. Removable with a light compound and then more wax but it can be a ride demotivator.

Today after the ride I elected to give the bike a good wash because water is better than water with salt, but I am quite certain that water can sit in the cable guides. Considered the air compressor to lightly blow out the water take care to not push it into the bearings at the spinny bits, but this is a Raleigh with the under tube cable that seem to fair better.

What do you all do to preserve your bike in sweaty weather or are you all like my wife who just glows while I have a faucet dripping from my chin?

AdventureManCO 

I've used this product that was engineered for uncoated/unpainted undercarriage parts on vintage cars that is supposed to protect them while keeping them historically correct. The idea is an ultra thin coating that is applied via heat and coats the item, then cools and provides a durable layer to protect from the elements. I got it when I was trying to figure out a protective coating for a bike build ('89 Centurion) that I did when I decided to completely strip the paint (due to rust) and did a cold-blued finish (basically, not protected at all). At the time I was trying to decide on either a 'hard' coat (i.e. shellac/varnish, poly, etc) and get durability or a 'soft' coat (i.e. wax, oil, etc) and get repairability. When I did the research, seemed like lots of people were having problems with the hard coats, which would get compromised with a scratch or a finish crack, then let in moisture and then trap it. I decided to go the 'soft' repairable route. It has been about a year and a half since I've coated it and just got the tiniest hint of surface discoloration/rust (able to be wiped away) around the area where I'm always carrying it upstairs and such, and probably just wore the coating off. I like it and will use it again. Think of it as wax on steroids. Lasts much longer. I've ridden a few times in the rain, and it has done okay.

I forgot the name, but just looked and it is called Rust Prevention Magic. Pretty cheesy/snake oil name, but I like it and will use it again.

Wildwood 

A good coat of wax or 3.
Quick hose off and wipe down following each ride.
Both.

Or move to the left coast, north of southern CA.

Revracer

Nice, got extra room? Wax is pretty straight forward and truly pretty fast for a bike that has limited surface area.

...wait a minute, Pacific Northwest is not at all a dry area as I spent a good amount of time in Seattle and a little in PDX...perhaps the rain washes them regularly?

Revracer

Actually, based on this link it sounds legit, as it always wondered me why there is not more crossover between car and bike hobbies.
Rust Prevention Magic (RPM) - Made by ECS Automotive Concepts, LLC

Revracer

Hmm, good product for true bare frame parts, but the more I read, having to heat the part would not allow preserving the original paint to hit the patina areas I fear.

mitchmellow62

I've had to sand and repaint that strip of top tube where the cable housing lies on my Schwinn Voyageur (88). I've owned it since new and didn't recognize the problem early enough. Of course, the paint doesn't perfectly match but it is mostly covered by the cable housing. Additionly, I found some pin striping tape to go under the cable housing. It seems that the small movement of the cable housing slowly destroys the paint and leaves bare metal. I think the tape would have stopped it if I had recognized the issue early enough. Anyone know which automotive touch up paint best matches the Schwinn "emerald" color of my bike (used on '88 and '89 Voyageurs).

ramzilla

3M Electrical tape comes in several colors. 1 neatly applied layer of tape over a problem area will make your troubles go away.

noglider 

Rust forms when water dries on iron (steel). So the number of rainfalls is what causes rust. In the PNW, it only rains once a year, for nine months. Then they get three months of no rain.

Chombi1 

I figure, a good number of the bikes with rusty top tubes and cable guides out there were used as trainer bikes mounted on stationary trainers for extended times. The sweat from the owners did not have anywhere to go but on all the top surfaces of the bike which then promoted corrosion. Other really rusty bikes might have been triathlon veterans that had sea water from the riders drip on them between the swim and bike stages....
One can buy special stretchy towel covers that mount on to the bars and setpost over the top tube to catch rider sweat for trainer mounted bikes. As for bikes ridden in triathlon type of events, a good was af6er each race and thorough drying should get off most of the salt that could damage the bike.....just don't put it away wet!!

DIMcyclist

If all else fails, you could move to Arizona...

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