Steve90068

Beautiful bike. I hate to say it but I'll never own steel just because of the corrosion factor.

Ti all the way

knobster

Yeah, I think that was it. It was an extremely light frameset and had very thin walls. My Bianchi Boron frame also has thin walls but they filled the frame with foam to help stiffen it and help with structural integrity. It has no weight limits so I wonder if the S3 could benefit from foam injection as well.

BikeWise1

It doesn't need foam. It's nearly as strong as Ti.

And for Steve90068, rust on steel frames is such a completely overblown issue. I can't remember, in 30+ years of wrenching, seeing a steel bike that failed due to corrosion. But I have seen several Ti frames with severe dissimilar metals corrosion problems. They are not somehow "inert" or impervious to problems. Aluminum is the worst, though.

mazdaspeed

A good steel frame will probably outlast its owner.

StanSeven

I kept my steel bike at my boat for years. When I wasn't riding it in the salt air, it stayed in a shed 20 feet from the water. There never was rust or corrosin and I rarely washed or cleaned it. The only corrosin occurred on the cables and I fixed that with Gore cables. The bike is 16 years old and has zero rust.

rdubbz

yeah, I see hundreds of 70's and 80's steel bikes out there still. I wouldn't worry about rust unless your bike lives outside. Plus you can always use framesaver.

jrobe

You could store it in your bathtub and it would still outlive your riding days.

slowandsteady

I have a steel MTB that is over 15 years old. It has rust. It was always stored indoors. I don't know how you can own a steel bike, actually ride it, and not have it rust in 15 years. Does it really have no paint chips whatsoever?

I am not saying it will disintigrate. But any well used steel bike will have surface rust. Just like any well used car will have rust. Exposed steel + oxygen = rust

Unless you can ensure that the steel is never ever exposed or you live in a vacuum, you will have rust at some point.

Steve90068

agreed. that was my point, if you have exposed steel it will rust. I had a steel commuter that was 3 years old and it had surface rust. It's more of an aesthetic concern as opposed to a structural one.

rdubbz

clear coat or touch up paint and framesaver = no rust...

mazdaspeed

I have bikes that are 20-30 years old and have no rust at all. I have actually never had a steel bike of any age or abuse level that had anything more than superficial surface rust where the paint was scratched. A frame could have surface rust for 20 years and not have compromised strength.

you guys are ridiculous.

slowandsteady

I never said the strength would be compromised. I have no issues with steel bikes. I own one.

Like I said, you will have surface rust on any used steel bike, as you confirm. I am not saying it is something to worry about, but anyone that claims their 15 year old steel bike has never had rust, is full of it.

mazdaspeed

Wrong, most of the bikes I've owned didn't have any rust AT ALL. My last bike was a 1984 trek 520, made from reynolds tubing. It had absolutely 0 rust ANYWHERE inside or out. Sorry if you don't find this believable but it's true, and there have been others.

LesterOfPuppets

I usually chase the seat tube and steerer tube rust away with a little squirt of WD-40, works well enough to keep the cancer away. My 1988 (or so) Trek 400T was the only steel bike in which I've not had even a little bit of rust show up from time to time. I'm pretty sure they phosphated that frame prior to paint, though. Judging from the dull grey color of the bare steel under the red paint and white primer.

Perhaps your 520 was phosphated also.

One of these days I'm gonna get some framesaver...

slowandsteady

I guess I am more clumsy than you are. My Trek 830 1993? has chips and rust all over it. Minor tiny specks of rust, but it is there. But then again, it is an MTB and I used it like an MTB. It has been crashed and dropped and bumped into rocks and logs many times over the past 17 years. It is a great bike, but no paint job can withstand 17 years of mountain biking. At least not with me at the helm.

I would never decide against steel for the rust issue. It is a minor cosmetic issue not structural. I am not bashing steel. I just never had a bike that didn't get bumped and bruised a bit in normal use.

LesterOfPuppets

Even my bashed up MTBs don't get super rusty. I haven't had a bike with severe rust problems since back in the dark ages when I had to leave my bikes outside 8-24 hours a day. Now they're only outside for rides and get frequent baths and waxings.

slowandsteady

I also don't hesitate to ride in the rain and mud.... then don't bother drying the bike off afterward. I also left it in my barn last year where the guinea hens decided my brooks saddle was really comfy to roost on. Let's just say the bike needed a good bath come spring.

I hate guinea hens.

LesterOfPuppets

A barn is typically a great place to grow rust.

My bikes stay in climate controlled areas at almost all times while not riding. And they see PLENTY of rain. Only a little bit of mud, cuz riding trails while wet isn't very nice to the trails. Waxing at least once a year helps a great deal, I think. After a seriously soaking ride, I'll sometimes put 'em away wet, but wash and dry the very next day. EDIT: and lube, of course.

Fat Boy

Are you sure about that?

https://https://waterfordbikes.com/now/geos.php?Model=666

Walter

Years ago on another forum that Conan scene led to one of the most epic threads I've ever read. Somebody asking about the "realness" of steel and getting responses about not knowing "The Riddle of Steel." Good stuff

mzeffex 

While my road and cross race bikes are carbon and aluminum respectively, and my mtb is aluminum.. I still have a strong desire for a steel cross bike and a steel road bike, each with deep Edge carbon tubies.

Very nice Gunnar.

littlewing6283

before the build I used framesaver and let it dry so that should help with the rust. that stuff is messssssssy

I got a chip already grrrrrrrrrrrr. damn damn damn

Handlebars swung around during the build and nailed the top tube. Every new bike I get I always get a paint mishap the first day.

mazdaspeed

Yeah I think road bikes have it easier for the most part.

mazdaspeed

I think it was. My bianchi has some chips with surface rust, but despite the beat up paint the surface area of all the rust on the bike is less than a few mm squared. I personally feel that the rust issue is overblown. The rustiest bike I've had was my schwinn, which was left outside for a long time. The components and bearings were the worst, but the frame seemed to take well to powdercoating and I doubt it will ever have external rust again.

ciocc_cat

Ever try Frame Saver?