How to stop rust when bikes are in the shed...

Volan

Hi guys,

I have 2 bikes. A mountaing bike and a racer.

The racer will get some use this winter probably once/twice a week if its not terrible terrible weather.

The mountain bike however will not get used until probably until March/April when the weather gets sligtly warmer etc...

So my problem is I have to keep the bikes in the shed. No other option before anyone says leave them in the house.
And yes I'm a fair weather cyclist before thats pointed out also

Anyway the problem I face with in particular the mountain bike I'd imagine is rust. To a point the racer too I'd imagine.
I better point out the mountain bike was recently serviced in Halfords and the racer was only bought a couple of months back.

Is there any way I can stop the rust??
Precautions??
Will a cover help for example??
Products that I can use?? I read this article, but I'm newbie and need advices.
I know your meant to lube certain parts but I really wouldnt know where to start.
Completely new to this so dont know where to start. Bikes I've had in the past were very cheap so I didnt care.

Any advice welcome.
Thanks a lot.

fenix

Have you cleaned the bikes before putting them away ? If you leave them covered in crap they won't far well.

Wash and dry and clean the bike. Lube the chain. Sorted. It's not complicated.

I've not kept bikes in a shed before - always in the garage but I've never had problems.

secretsqizz

1950s called and want their name back.... whats a racer?

wongataa

Make sure they stay dry in the shed. Make sure the shed has some ventilation. That is the best you can do really.

step83

Spray the bits with something like GT85 an keep it clean they should last much longer.

bonk_king

Disassemble the shed and erect it in your living room. That way the temperature will be toasty in the shed and the bikes will still be shiny come spring.

StillGoing

Old school bowl of rice. It might not work, but it'll keep the mice happy.

figbat

In the motorcycle world you would cover it in ACF-50 and then wash it off in the spring.

Alejandrosdog

bonk king wrote:

Disassemble the shed and erect it in your living room. That way the temperature will be toasty in the shed and the bikes will still be shiny come spring.

Matthewfalle

Step83 wrote:

Spray the bits with something like GT85 an keep it clean they should last much longer.

this exactly.

get a can of wd of gt85 and just spray it all over the bike.

job jobbed.

Matthewfalle

or keep them in the car.

pilot_pete

Clean them. Properly. Dry them, thoroughly. I personally use a pet hair dryer (like an industrial hair dryer) which blows hot air under high pressure and gets ALL the water out of every crevice, including between all the links in the chain. My bike is then BONE DRY and clean. If you don’t have a pet dryer, or at the very least an air line with high pressure air to do this you need to remove as much of the moisture as possible and then keep the bike at room temperature for a number of hours to achieve the same. Even then you may find you have some water/moisture trapped in places like the bottom headset bearing on the fork crown etc. Depends how liberal you have been with the hose pipe.

Then lubricate it with something oil based which will prevent the moisture in the air creating rust. As others have said, something like WD-40, GT-85 etc will disperse water and cover the bare metal with a rust preventing film of light oil. 3-in-1 do an aerosol version that has ‘rust preventative additives’, which may just be marketing and mean it’s got oil in it!

However, be careful where you spray this lot as they will displace grease too. So you should be fine as most bearings have weather seals to prevent water ingress, but spraying directly at the seals would be better avoided. Also, there shouldn’t be any need to spray it on brake discs (which are usually stainless steel), but if you do, remember they will need thoroughly cleaning with something like isopropyl alcohol to remove all traces of oil before use, and if you spray on the pads, or apply the brakes with oil on the discs you will contaminate the pads.

If the bike doesn’t get ridden for any length of time whilst prepped for storage like this it may we’ll attract lots of dust which will cling to the oil and will take a good clean to remove when hibernation ends in the spring.

The drivetrain would be where I would concentrate your rust prevention efforts, but depending on the quality of your bike, all the exposed bolt heads may rust as most are not titanium as standard or high quality stainless steel. If they are plated, then use of an Allen key to tighten them can damage the plating and lead to rust getting to the base metal. A little smear of grease into each bolt head will protect them as well as possible. The ones which spring to mind as most needing this are handlebar stem bolts, which are often cheap on lower priced stems and prone to such damage and rust. If you really want to stop the rust in such areas buying and swapping for better quality stainless steel or titanium bolts works wonders for not too much money. Perhaps consider this if winter ravages your bolts despite your best efforts.

Tyres can decay when left, but usually over longer time periods and mainly due to exposure to UV light. If they are out of direct sunlight then this shouldn’t be an issue, especially if you are only going to store the bike for a few months unused.

The only other thing to consider is protecting the bike from knocks etc whilst in the shed. Will the shed be used regularly by you, or worse still someone else? If so then there is a stronger chance of it getting knocked, or having something dropped on it etc. If you choose to cover it be careful what you cover it with - if it is lovely and soft like an old duvet or blanket it could well attract moisture and you end up draping your bike in damp cloth; the perfect way to introduce mold and rust! Depends how dry/ damp your shed is I suppose.

PP