Another one bites the dust.

[sg37409]

My 1999 Audax bike died of rust.  (It was/is repairable, and the frame was given to a local youngster starting out, who plans to repair)

Now I notice my 2001 XTC has 3 small rust holes in the seat tube. I'm sadder about this bike than I was about the Audax.  I certainly think thorns of that era had a major paint/rust problem.  They've got their act together considerably since, as they very much had to.

Thorn XTC rust holes by sg310, on Flickr

So, I'm now down to my last Thorn: My raven twin tandem, which sadly didn't turn a wheel in 2015 due to my wife bad back. The paint on this is fine thankfully.

[mickeg]

Do you live near salt water?  I am several thousand miles from salt water, have had virtually no problems with frames rusting out.

The first photo is an old Bridgestone mountain bike I bought from a neighbor.  When his kids moved out, they left their bikes in the back yard.  He decided to teach them a lesson by not putting the bikes away.  Over a decade later, he was moving out and had to get ready to vacate the property.  The Bridgestone had a 2 inch diameter (5 cm) tree growing up through the frame that he had to cut down so I could take the bike, it had been stored outside that long.  I cleaned up the bike, changed bottom bracket, chain, rim tape, inner tubes, tires, some cables, a shifter, a saddle, pedals and grips. Hubs and other bearings were really thirsty for grease.  I also applied Frame Saver to the frame, although the frame looked pretty good without it considering all those years outside.  I still store it outside, second photo after I fixed it up, it is a great errand bike.

In the 1970s, I bought a used 1961 Ideor. (If you never heard of it, that is understandable, I had not either.)  It had been treated rather badly, a lot of the chrome on the frame was virtually flaking off of it as there was a layer of rust between the tubing and the chrome plating.   But the Columbus tubing, once I scraped off and lightly sanded had virtually no rust to be concerned about.  Third photo is what it looks like now, I repainted it again this year.  It has some 1980s parts on it and some modern parts, but the headset, seatpost, front derailleur, brakes (not levers, those are modern) and shift levers are original to the frame.  It had a date code on the campy rear hub for 1961, the Brooks Pro date code was 1962. Fourth photo, I am sure it looks odd with modern brake levers to operate the early 1960s Mafac brakes, but I really do not like riding on the hoods of the vintage Mafac levers.

I am building up a new bike, received the frame yesterday and applied Frame Saver to the frame already.
http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2014/02/frame-saving-and-rust.html

[sg37409]

I live in a pretty wet climate, and the roads are salted during winter. But there are many other steel bike which last, some as nice as you green Ideor.

[Danneaux]

Boy! That is a heartbreaking loss, Steve. All sympathy and empathy your way.

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

i live 3 miles from the sea .but i clean my bike after every spin ok it sounds a bit extream but to be honest i enjoy it , there an expensive item these bikes might as well look after them.

[leftpoole]

i live 3 miles from the sea .but i clean my bike after every spin ok it sounds a bit extreme but to be honest i enjoy it , there an expensive item these bikes might as well look after them.

I live 1 mile from the sea and scared of salt I rarely ride along the sea front.
I save my bike by washing it in WD 40 penetrating oil wiped over it all except main rims.
If I see the slightest covering of sand the bikes are cleaned thoroughly.
Early Thorn bikes were basic but beautifully painted. The paint was not tough enough unlike the modern powder coating and internal wax oil treatment.
Best regards,
John

[mickeg]

I am riding my Nomad in winter in road salt, but I did treat the frame with framesaver before I built it up.  The bottom bracket spindle and the steel parts of the pedals show some rust, but that is about all I see.  I am a bit worried that I might be corroding my rims (CSS Andra 30), the internal section of the rim is a place where corrosion could hid unnoticed and there is no way to clean it out.

I have one pair of SPD cleated shoes I wear in winter, the cleats by end of last winter were a big block of rust from road salt corrosion.

My Nomad is the only bike I expose to road salt, but it also is the only one I put studded tires on.  Have not yet put studs on this year, with a combination of global warming and an El Nino in full force, it is quite mild this early winter.  Current forecast is for 37 degrees F (or about 20 degrees C) above normal this coming Saturday.

Since I live far from the sea, I only fear winter road salt and the occasional rain storm while riding or on a tour.