cpk0

Was doing some basic maintenance today and I noticed a few parts of my bike are starting to get a bit rusty:

Screws - there are a bunch of screws all over the place that are pretty bad, I don't think they are falling-apart bad, but they certainly don't look new

Inside of the steerer - if I take off that cap that's on top of the steerer/headset, the inside of that is pretty rusty

Brake caliper adjuster lever - that little guy on the side of the brake calliper that lets you open up the brakes is getting pretty hard to move/flaking

Other small things like headset spacers.

Should anything on a bike really be getting rusty after only a couple years? Does that immediately mean its time to get replaced?

filtersweep

Rust is normal. My commuter was kept outside--- and started rusting within a month. It happens.

cpk0

this bike might not have cost that much, but it's def not a commuter and I keep it inside. I really need this bike to last as long as possible, will the rusting become an issue at any point?

rm -rf

I don't like to see the rust on hex head bolts, so I applied a thin coat of rust reformer with a q-tip. It dries to a gray-black color, but is white when liquid. This does a good job of stopping rust. The hex key won't go back in the bolt if it's applied too thick.

Psimet2001 

As long as the rust is just surface rust then you won't have any issues.

rmfnla

Rust always starts on the surface. The problem is it rarely stays there...