Rusted Bolts on Beater - Keep or Replace ?
 

Maybe this belongs in "commuting" or "mechanics" but I seldom post there.

I have a SS beater that I bought about 18 months ago for my 20 mile round trip commute. I added on fenders but to be honest I am mostly a "fair weather" commuter but don't mind a bit of wet.

Anyway I noticed about 6 months ago that MOST of the bolts on the bike are showing moderate amounts of rust. This includes the ones on the stem, the brake binder, and the hub bolts (it did not come with QRs, just bolt-on).

So the question in my mind is do I either:

A: Don't worry it's a beater commuter just ride it and ignore the rust?

or

B: Replace all rusted bolts.

I am inclined to pick A, but if there is a darn good reason to replace these I would consider it.

ps no one has stollen any of the baby bolts, thankfully

If you think you'll do any maintenance on this bike, do yourself a favour and deal with the rust early. Note that what counts is not the surface of the fastener but the state of the threads.

Yeah, I have assumed (hoped) that the threads are clean but am too lazy (or scared!) to check...

I don't really plan to do much maintenance on this beater, except obviously I oil the chain every now and then. It's a POS from you-know-where that I just need to get me back and forth to work a couple times/week when my schedule allows it.

Option B - replace. Rust never sleeps my friend! Replace the bolts with SS. If you ignore this then eventually the bolts may seize requiring a lot more labor to remove them to perform maintenance or repairs. Better to deal with it now IMHO.

Just noticed that you are in Malvern. I used to work for a company over that way......I live in Allentown.

Cool, I hear there is a pretty good cycling scene there since you are close to T-town.

One of these days when I am bored I will take off the bolts and check the threads, grease them liberally, and possibly replace if the rust is more than superficial. That seems the most reasonable choice.

It's a matter of degree of course, but a little bit of surface rust won't hurt anything. Living on the coast, if I replaced every bolt that had a little rust, I'd spend every weekend putting new bolts on.

I actually live about 2 miles from the Velodrome in Trexlertown. It's convenient as a jump off point for most of the group and club rides in the area. The races are also fun to attend!

i would keep them but lubricate them. undo and regrease or simply drip some oil where it can soak into the threads.