When should you let go?
 

What can be done to save the inside of a steel frame. I am afraid that the internals are rusting or will rust?

Also after time will a good steel frame become like a wet noodle and flex alll over the place?

Let go when your safty is at risk perhaps ?
jarhead#42

Well lets see, Sheldon Brown rides almost every day on a steel bike that was manufactured in 1918...that is not a misprint! He is not the least bit concerned about rusting and he lives in Boston; nor is he concerned the frame is turning into a noodle. How many miles does this old bike have? He's never said but he has hinted that it has more than any bike he's ever seen. Bikes back in those days had no technology for rust prevention, the frames were just straight gauge gas pipe.

Todays mid to highend steel bikes are either zinc (as cars are) or chrome coated to prevent rust. I had a 79 Schwinn Traveler with Tange cro-mo frame that I bought new when I lived on the coast to be my beater bike instead of my good one. I rode that bike in the rain, along the beach, on the sand of the beach, in the ocean water and ocean spray, parked outside the apartment where it was rained on and fogged on; and it only had light surface rust where the paint had been scratched and just a little inside the bottom bracket when I threw the frame away last January and it was not treated with zinc, chromed or Framesaver. My current bike is a 84 Reynolds 531 steel, and this on I have rode a lot and has just over 140,000 miles and a large percentage of that is mountain road riding, but rarely ridden in rain, and it has no rust anywhere. My LBS mechanic test rode the bike about 2 years ago because I thought the frame was getting "noodley" and time to buy a new one . After he took it for a 8 mile ride and told me to save my money because the frame felt very responsive to him.

So A.) don't worry about a steel or TI frame getting weak on you, it will outlast you; and B.) Don't worry to much about the rust factor, but if it will make you sleep better at night then treat it with Framesaver.

The first thing to do with any steel fram bike is to take the bike apart. If the inside of the frame is in good shape, spray the inside with WD-40. There may be better rust preventers, but WD-40 is an old-time trick for preserving the interior of a frame.

If the inside frame shows some signs of rust, you can spray with rust converter that you can get at a hardware store. It won't restore the strength of the frame, but it will stop the rust cancer.

A good quality steel frame can last 50 years and more, barring accidents.

Don't concern yourself too much about rust; quality frames are made from alloy steel with high chrome content so they don't rust like old cars used to. You may see a little surface rust inside but this is normal.

Lastly a steel frame will rarely fail suddenly. Usually a crack will appear first and the frame will start to feel a little more flexible than it should. In other words if it's going to break it will give you a warning first.

Check my website http://www.ProdigalChild.net click on Bicycles for pictures and tech stuff.

Dave,

Welcome aboard, good to see you here!
BTW your frames/bikes etc. are getting alot of buzz on Classic Rendezvous list
lately, some very interesting reading.

Marty

When CylcArt repainted my current Capo (S/N 40324), I did ask them to apply a rust preventive coating to the insides of the frame tubes. I have not worried about rust on my other frames. Having said that, I also admdit that internal rust MIGHT have contributed to two of my frame failures (1971 Nishiki, seat lug of BB shell; 1973 Peugeot UO-8, right chainstay between clearance dimples). I was able to ride both bikes home safely after they broke, as I did when my crashed-and-restraightened 1960 Capo (S/N 45211) finally ruptured at the front end of the downtube.