It's been said that "rust never sleeps." That has proved true this year. In contrast to years past, Buddy's gotten parked outside during the day. What's more, it's been pretty much a "rain or shine" bike. In little ways, you can see where Specialized and its component suppliers have not considered how to keep rust at bay.
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| OE Cross Top Brake Set Screw is Starting to Corrode |
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| OE V Brake is Not Only Ill Suited to the Bike, it's Corroding as Well. No Such Evidence on the Cantilever Brake in Back |
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| Chrome Works Well - Until it Doesn't |
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| Stem Bolt Corrosion on Specialized Tricross Expert after 2.5 Years of Mostly Dry Use |
6 comments:
Sadly, I have rusty bits on my tricross also.
You don't know nothing 'bout rust. I know rust. I ride rust. Rust is just another color.
I would WD-40 those right away.
I would upgrade those parts right away.
Cheesy chrome is just one aspect of cost control in the world of production bikes. Exposure to the weather will degrade your bike incredibly quickly. Once the rain ends, the sun comes out to blast your bike with UV, fading the finish, breaking down the plastics and frying the tires to a crisp. For all those reasons and more I would build the cheapest possible fixed gear for commuting to jobs where I didn't have indoor parking. The fixie with front brake only has almost the fewest moving parts necessary to be a bicycle. For rainy days I had a sheet of plastic rolled up under the seat rails to use as a tarp once the bike was locked. In extended wet weather everything gets wet anyway. Careful drying at home helped somewhat. Chrome was better back then, too. Now I think chrome is built in a day.
For rainy weather even up here in hilly New England on a fairly long route I still use the fixed gear with fenders. This one is built on a Univega touring frame I bought for $20. I hose out the inside of the tubes with Boeshield or Pro Gold PG 2000 every few weeks. Just aim the skinny tube on the spray can into the tiny gas holes near the ends of the stays and forks. I generally get a couple of decades out of a steel frame before the rust wins. Since I build all my own wheels I know the spoke nipples were properly lubed, so I can always true the wheels in the rare case that they need it.
You can't always get stainless bolts for every vulnerable spot. More expensive components will not necessarily withstand the weather better. They'll just bum you out more when they get crappy.
Every single bicycle I've ever owned has rusted like this. As with yours, it's usually the bolts and such that are the biggest problem.
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No Need for Non-Robot proof here!