Rust....

[Pointy boy]

Got a bit of light surface rust on bits and pieces of my road bike.

Nothing on the frame or major mechanicals, mostly just on bolt-heads on the stem & saddle, and on the springs of the brake-calipers. It's all very light, superficial stuff. Purely cosmetic.

Two questions: best way to remove it, and any tips for preventing it from returning. The bike is rarely ridden in the wet, and never left outside - I suspect this has come about as a result of storage in a cold and slightly damp-prone out-building. Since keeping the bike inside would probably cost me a divorce is there anything else I can do to minimise the rust in our lovely British climate?

Thanks in advance.

 

[tyred]

If it's only light surface rust, use something gentle to remove it like one of those small brass wire brushes used for cleaning spark plugs. You should be able to buy one for a few quid in a motor factors.

Occasional applications of WD40 or similar or a smear of vaseline should keep surface corrosion at bay in storage. Or a little paint or wax. Bolts can be replaced with stainless steel ones which won't corrode.

 

[Pointy boy]

Great thanks. Quite fancy the idea of stainless bolts :-)

 

[Colin_P]

Crumple up a bit of tin foil and rub it over the rusty bits.

Use water as lube, yes water! But obviously dry things quick.

Prevention, get some car wax and keep the bike warm and dry as best you can.

 

[Nibor]

metal polish like servisol this should also protect it

 

[S.Giles]

It's very easy and cheap to replace machine screws and nuts with their stainless steel equivalents. Ebay is a good source. There are apparently a few places where the bolts should be high tensile, but my old (since stolen) bike had all nuts and bolts replaced with SS, any I didn't have any problems.

Stainless steel looks nice too!

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Great thanks. Quite fancy the idea of stainless bolts :-)

Stainless bolts are a poor replacement for most bolts on bicycles including:

1) Stem bolts (very dangerous)
2) Seat post bolts (I'll leave the consequences to your imagination)
3) Crank bolts

These bolts are all made from high-tensile steel for a very good reason and replacing them with inferior stainless steel is a folly.

 

[Drago]

Paint on De-Ox gel.

Wait.

Rinse off De-Ox gel.

Dry.

Enjoy the sight of newly revealed bright metal.

 

[Pointy boy]

Great advice, thanks all.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Paint on De-Ox gel.

Wait.

Rinse off De-Ox gel.

Dry.

Enjoy the sight of newly revealed bright metal.

Wait

Enjoy the sight of newly rusted bright metal

Paint on De-Ox gel

Wait

Dry

Enjoy the sight of newly revealed bright meta

Wait

....

 

[Drago]

Oh aye, he would have to look after it to prevent a recurrence, but that was beyond the original brief.

 

[lutonloony]

Stainless bolts are a poor replacement for most bolts on bicycles including:

1) Stem bolts (very dangerous)
2) Seat post bolts (I'll leave the consequences to your imagination)
3) Crank bolts

These bolts are all made from high-tensile steel for a very good reason and replacing them with inferior stainless steel is a folly.

I think folly should be used far more often. Nothing to add re rust I'm afraid

 

[Profpointy]

Stainless bolts are a poor replacement for most bolts on bicycles including:

1) Stem bolts (very dangerous)
2) Seat post bolts (I'll leave the consequences to your imagination)
3) Crank bolts

These bolts are all made from high-tensile steel for a very good reason and replacing them with inferior stainless steel is a folly.

I'd need a good bit of convincing for the examples you give. Granted stainless steel are "weaker" than 12.9 high tensile cap screws, yet I'd I'd be suprised if A2 stainless were not perfectly strong enough for handlebars and the like. They're screwed into soft allow after all so I'd be suprised if the bolts weren't pletnty good enough - maybe 10.8 equivalent?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I'd need a good bit of convincing for the examples you give. Granted stainless steel are "weaker" than 12.9 high tensile cap screws, yet I'd I'd be suprised if A2 stainless were not perfectly strong enough for handlebars and the like. They're screwed into soft allow after all so I'd be suprised if the bolts weren't pletnty good enough - maybe 10.8 equivalent?

We're not after tensile strength here but after durability under cyclical stresses. There's a crucial difference. Stainless provides sufficient clamping force for static assemblies but not enough resistance to stress cracks. There's a reason stainless is not fitted as OEM on bicycles. On high end equipment you'll find titanium bolts but never stainless, not even on lower end.

 

[Apollonius]

So titanium is OK then? I have odd bits of rusty chrome on my plastic bikes and was considering titanium. It seems to work on aeroplanes.