Rust - Tips [with pics]

iGlaswegian

Hi everyone

Tips on this would be appreciated.

I do approx 8 miles a day, I clean the bike once a week thoroughly (degrease chain, hose it down etc). The weather is a bit cold and thus grit on the roads means i have to give it a clean at least once a week.

Despite my best efforts, Ive noticed that the bike is getting rusty (as shown below). Some of the nuts/bolts on the bike are showing signs of rust.

Any tips on how to take care of this? Kinda gutted as I bought the bike brand spanking new and not too pleased ;(

thescouselander

Looks like you might have been too aggressive on the cleaning. Things like your chain ring will have had a protective layer of grease from the factory to protect it. Once this is washed off the bare metal is exposed to the air and will oxidise. It shouldn't be too hard to clean up but once you've done that I'd suggest reapplying some sort of protective lubricant - you could try giving the rusting parts a quick coat of GT85 to provide some protection.

Wirral_paul

Do you dry the chain off after blasting it with a hose?? I always run mine backwards through a dry rag before lubricating with a decent wet lube in the winter / dry lube in the summer. Wiping over the components with a rag sprayed with GT85 should but a very thin film over the components and offer some rust protection

jgsi

Sometimes winter riding is in inverse proportion to the amount of after ride care you need to allow for... a 30 minutes ride can mean a hour of diligent cleaning if you want that bike kept pristine looking.
Be happy in being ocd and pay no heed to the lazy baatrds who would have you chuck the bike in shed and throw away the key after a commute or jaunt.

desweller

A good way of protecting the chain is to oil it then smear some moly grease over it. It will act as a mobile sealant, preventing the oil from being washed out in poor weather.

You don't need to go mad with degreasing it every week. A thorough wipe with a rag will do just as well.

As far as bolts go, the best way to stop them from rusting is to replace them with stainless steel parts...

gmacz

Your best efforts are a clean a week.
You are going to get a rusty bike.
I feel sorry for the bike.

rake

help enormously if you can store the bike inside where it can dry out. ont clean non moving sufaces too much, a bit of grease and oil will stop it even if coated in muck. just clean the moving bits.