ridethecliche

How do you guys take care of some of the nice bikes that see winter use?

I'm using my trek to ride and get around in the winter and I try to wipe it down after it gets salt all over the frame. The bike was crashed by the previous owner(s) at some point of time and there are a few places where the paint has chipped and steel is visible and some parts I can see a little bit of surface rust.

What can I do to keep the frame structurally safe and to ensure that no damage comes to it from this rust and from winter riding.

Thanks!

P.S.: Not riding it outside is not an option

cuda2k

Frame Saver on the inside, nailpolish or other touch up paint & a wax job on the surface should help keep that Trek rolling for a lot longer.

AEO

+1
the frame won't rust out as long as the bare steel is covered up.

I recently pulled apart my miyata which is all season duty, the worst parts on the frame is the BB and fork steerer,and that was minor rusting, nothing terrible. They were in way better shape than the drive train parts were... BB full of grime, rusting chain, cassette rims, spokes and hubs.

Henke

I use nail polish for touch ups, and wax to seal as was mentioned. But inside the frames, I use something us swedes call creep oil. It's basically a low viscosity oil in a spraycan, so it "creeps" to cover all of the insides even if you don't hit all the spots when spraying it. Is frame saver similar to this? I'm guessing it's oil based at least?

RichinPeoria

My winter bike is also a steel frame and its gloss black. I touched up the scratches with Rustolium after wiping the area down with mineral spirits and cleaning up the rust a little with steel wool. The bike stays in the basement and it seems to dry off pretty fast after my rides.

brillodelsol

I have a 1984 Basso Gap that I commute with and just rode 25 yesterday on...i have been thinking of stripping it and dunking and repainting, but to tell the truth its in fine shape. And for the first 20 years i had it was in Chicago, plenty of salt. So just keep it washed and WD-40'd and touch up those nicks as above.

Steel is real.

brillodelsol

This is an older pic, i just put Campy Veloce and Neuvation wheels on it but haven't shot it yet:

Bikedued

I'd get a winter beater in my humble opinion. Riding that 531P bike in salt and slush is asking for it
to rust out. Wiping the salt off won't do much IMHO. Rinsing it off would help, but would also get water in the bearings. I don't see how you guys can stand it,,,,BD

hhabca

If it was me... I'd put fenders on it to keep water off the BB and headset and to keep stones from chipping the paint, which exposes metal and starts painit to bubble. Wash salt water off it ASAP after riding. Plain hot tap water will not corrode steel as fast as salt water. Touch up paint chips, keep it waxed. I spray automotive rust proofing spray inside the tubes - helps to stop existing rust and prevents new rust from forming, mostly by keepinig salt water out of contact with bare metal.

ridethecliche

That makes me feel pretty relieved...

I sprayed WD40 into the headtube and the seatube, where else should I spray and pray haha.

I need to take apart the frame to apply frame saver right? I've never done that, how do I apply it?
I'll probably get fenders for it at some point too. Would SKS Raceblades or something along those lines work? It doesn't have frame mounts for that stuff.

I'll get purple nailpolish to touch up the paint where it's a little down. Should I bother with scraping the rust off first or should I let the protective coating stay?

Thanks!

nlerner

That's what I do. My Bridgestone city bike usually lives under a tarp in the backyard, but for the winter I've been keeping it in the front porch. Fenders, front and rear rack, 6 very low gears. I do absolutely nothing to it after a ride (which means commuting the 3.5-mile route to work and back). And wouldn't you know that as soon as I bought studded tires, the piles of snow largely melted!

Neal

solveg

I know! I'm really upset because I got this $50 Scott rigid mtn bike (my first non-road bike) and I've totally fallen for it! My LBS guys are all winter commuters and they said that winter bikes pretty much die a slow and inevitable death.

They said that the best you could do was take it all apart in the spring and clean/lube it. Luckily, the Scott is aluminum, so it's not so bad, but I'm still disheartened.

USAZorro

I'd take the bike apart to apply framesaver. It comes in a spray can - similar in concept (though not content) to WD-40 with the little spray tube.

I would try to remove as much rust as possible before touching-up.

ridethecliche

Well. The bike stays indoors. I won't be riding it through the snow, but I do ride it through a little bit of rain every now and then. I try to remember to wipe it down if it's wet.

I don't get that much time to ride outside during the winter due to my schedule and doing research during the day. So it might get a lot of trainer use and some outdoor use on the weekends when it's a little grimey out.

I'm not going to be riding it through snow and all that stuff. If it's super nasty out, I'll ride my MTB.

I'm just trying to figure out what I can do to take care of it since it will get ridden when there's some salt on the road and stuff.

ridethecliche

So for the frame saver, just take off seatpost and stem and take off cranks/bottom bracket and spray through the seat tube, head tube, and bottom bracket? How long do I have to wait for it to 'cure'.

Also, do I have to spray this outdoors, as in, is it hazardous?

Thanks!

USAZorro

Outdoors is highly recommended, but if you have good ventilation...

You need to give it about a day to set. The instructions that come with the product are very good and thorough.