New (steel) frame protection

kevinharley

Hi,

Just ordered the On One 45650b full bike yesterday, in the 'Raw' finish.

This will be my first steel frame, so looking for advice about whether I need to do anything particular to protect it?

The Raw finish is, I understand, covered in a layer of laquer - does anyone know whether this is likely to be softer / harder than 'normal' paint? Presumably, if scratched, and the surface of the frame comes into contact with moisture, it will start to rust (at least on the surface?) ... so, heli-tape is presumably a good idea for vulnerable areas?

(Any recommendations as to good value heli-tape retailers?)

Now, what about the inside? Is the frame likely to come with any sort of internal protection - eg layer of grease / waxoil etc? If not, would you recommend treating the frame in this way, and with what?

Finally, what are the current 'go-to' options for front / rear guards? I currently use a Crud (I think) downtube guard plus a home-made guard between the crown and arch of the fork, made from an old inner tube and zip-ties. Its perfectly effective at keeping the mud out of my face, but on a new bike would like something a little more elegant, and which would reduce mud on the stanchions and up the fork steerer tube.

Thanks for any advice ...

cooldad

I have steel frames over 25+ years old. None have rusted through.

kevinharley

cooldad wrote:

I have steel frames over 25+ years old. None have rusted through.

= no need to do anything then?

Cheers CD

cooldad

Couple of marks where the paint has chipped, but nothing I worry about.

FishFish

There was a report on a 2008 Orange P7 having the chain stays rotted through. Apparently there was subsequently a change to the Reynolds steel spec (dunno either). Someone did say oil bath the steel frame - but then you would never be able to paint it if that was the case. Steel of course does oxidise and although my 20 year old pub bike is not damaged (well not externally anyway), I bought a Charge frame and that is a much flimsier and I wonder if it will survive. A traditional method is to attach a bit of Mg to the steel and as an electron donor will inhibit the rusting! I think that greasing key points like the seatpost and the BB is good risk management and you can squirt some oil into the chainstay holes if you want. These are small holes to allow welding gas to escape.

drlodge

I think alot depends on how you look after the frame and whether you ride it in wet weather etc. I have a 531 professional frame built in 1987 and its still going strong, despite having ultra thin 753 rear stays. There is some light rust, dusty in nature, down the inside of the seat post but the thing about rust is that if kind of self protections once its built up to a certain level. Of course, this is in the dry. Wetness inside the frame will be a disaster though, the steel is thin so it won't take long for it to rust through (by contrast, my 1981 Cortina was a rust bucket by 1988)

rockmonkeysc

On One's paint is terrible so plenty of heli tape is a good idea.
The inside of the frame is unpainted so grease the seat tube regularly to help prevent water ingress and if you can leave it somewhere warm to dry out after a wet ride.

ride_whenever

Surlys have some sort of electroplating on the inside.

Generally don't bother treating the inside as certain treatments will melt and leak out over your rotors...


My 456 snapped recently and it wasn't rust at all on the inside, over 5 years old

rockmonkeysc

How did you snap a 456? I did two seasons of downhill racing on mine and really abused it hard but it stayed solid.

ride_whenever

It's 'cos I'm so rad...

I suspect it's because I'd had some chain suck which caused a stress riser so when I did some stair sets badly it overloaded the chainstay and it cracked through.



It's an old frame with a hard life and the chain suck means I don't overly blame on one (despite their bikes being cheap garbage)

ride_whenever

ride_whenever wrote:

It's 'cos I'm so rad...

I suspect it's because I'd had some chain suck which caused a stress riser so when I did some stair sets badly (compounded by running it with skinny dtswiss wheel, and 100mm sid forks) it overloaded the chainstay and it cracked through.



It's an old frame with a hard life and the chain suck means I don't overly blame on one (despite their bikes being cheap garbage)

cooldad

So rad you had to say it twice?

ride_whenever

I say everything twice

Twice...

Posting on my phone, also to the op beware the lacquer is porous so it will eventually rust everywhere.

ride_whenever

Twice

kevinharley

ride_whenever wrote:

... also to the op beware the lacquer is porous so it will eventually rust everywhere.

Really?! :shock: That's a concern! Is it true, or do you just have a downer on On One?

If true, can anyone recommend a lacquer that I can apply over the existing layer?

And back to the other part of my question ... 'go to' choices for mudguards / fenders etc?

cooldad

Ignore him. I think he's drunk.

BigAl

This is from On-One's webby:

The Raw Finish is designed to have manufacturing blemishes and might not appeal to all. Also, it's extremely likely that some degree of surface rusting may appear in time, though due to the only process that this frame has been through is the first surface treatment in the paint process, the action of that rust on the frame is only as bad as the action of rust on the inside of a painted frame. The frame is coated with a matt laquer, which being slightly porous will allow the steel tubes to corrode, but this, we consider, gives a patina of age and wear (like a nice wok) rather than it being a problem.

ride_whenever

cooldad wrote:

Ignore him. I think he's drunk.

I may well have been drunk, I was also right... 8)

If it is really going to bug you then either wax it or get the frame powder coated. I don't have a downer on on one (despite also cracking the c456 before it got nicked) but they are cheap...

The Rookie

This stuff http://www.dinitrol.co.uk/rust_preventi ... _oils.aspx is brilliant, all my steel frames have a light spray down inside the tubes, once set it's a thick wax and you don't get any leaching even in hot weather (1 day a year!).

cooldad

No, I say don't randomly spray WD40 (or similar) at your bike. Although personally I don't.

Unless it's Brut, The Mark of a Man, to make it smell manlier.