We love steel, but you already knew that. But do you know how to love your steel Sour frame? Let’s dive into some specifics of caring for your steel frame, just in case.
Steel is real, real durable, real comfortable, but it will also really rust if you don’t pay attention. Most rust on steel frames will be surface, and really no problem at all, but a little surface rust will make it harder to remove your seatpost and may cause some noise if you have an EBB like with our Pasta Party. Don’t worry though, even that little bit of surface is easy to prevent!
All our frames are ED coated. Think of ED coating like fancy anodising not only on the outside but als on the inside of the frame. Wild, right? That’s what we thought. So we doubled down and included ED coating on all our frames, it’s even under the powdercoat! That fancy anodising is working day-in day-out to keep corrosion at bay. Nonetheless, a little grease at a few key points will help prevent any headaches.
If you live near an ocean, in a rainy climate, or clean your bike every. single. day., pay close attention and maybe even consider doing a few of the following just a little more often. Afterall, it never hurts to give just a little extra attention to your favourite bike, right?
The most common, and easiest, bit of service for your steel frame is right up top, it’s your seatpost. Seatposts are generally aluminium, and aluminium is just a little too friendly with steel. Leave them together for too long and they will actually start to chemically weld themselves together, that’s called galvanic corrosion. To prevent this, pull your seatpost out every 6-12 months, clean the post and the inside of the seat tube and brush on some new waterproof assembly grease. For cleaning, a little degreaser and a rag will do for the seatpost, and a bottle brush will get down into your frame… use a drill to spin it around and all your friends will think you’re pro!
Once everything is cleaned up and dried out, a good waterproof assembly grease like the grease from Dynamic will help keep the steel atoms and aluminium atoms on their respective sides of the room as they should be. Spread a thin layer of grease of the seatpost, maybe with a brush or just your finger, and repeat the same thing with the inside of your frame. Maybe use that bottle brush to spread the grease into the frame, again, looking very professional of course!
Okay, seatpost greased, ready for phase two. Well, phase two is easy just rinse and repeat on any parts that you may need to replace or are worried about. Swapping out your bottom bracket? You know the drill! Clean out the bottom bracket shell, give it a lick of grease and get a new BB in your bike and go ride!
That’s it, you did it! You’ve protected a few spots on your frame, prevented spot and surface rust in the most problematic areas, and you looked professional as can be while doing it. Now go tell all your fellow steel-fan friends!
