Question on rust?

dfvcad said:

I have an Orbea Liege thats about 9 months old and has about 1200 miles. My question is how can I prevent rust formation on the wire itself and keep it shiny. This happens to the exposed part of the brake cable/wire that runs on the side of the top tube. I know that its due to the my sweat. I do wipe down the bike every other ride. Is there any technique or approach to prevent more rust on the wire. 🙁 Thanks in advance

Just go over it with an oily rag once in a while. Or, use stainless steel cables.

dfvcad said:

I have an Orbea Liege thats about 9 months old and has about 1200 miles. My question is how can I prevent rust formation on the wire itself and keep it shiny. This happens to the exposed part of the brake cable/wire that runs on the side of the top tube. I know that its due to the my sweat. I do wipe down the bike every other ride. Is there any technique or approach to prevent more rust on the wire. 🙁 Thanks in advance

Sweat is very corrosive. Stainless steel cables are the way to go. Greasing or oiling the exposed portions of the cables will just attract dirt and everytime you bump into it, you will get a linear greasy black tatoo.

John M said:

Sweat is very corrosive. Stainless steel cables are the way to tatoo.

Why isn't another solution just to put a housing segment over the part of exposed cable? What does having broken cable segments really do for us (ignoring weight savings)?

jasong said:

Why isn't another solution just to put a housing segment over the part of exposed cable? What does having broken cable segments really do for us (ignoring weight savings)?

Other than cheapo nasty bikes, the cable guides are usually split to allow you to remove the cables for maintenance and check for split cable strands. It also prevents excess cable flex which it suffers from in even the best housings. And it looks nicer too. I'm sure there's more reasons but I can't think of 'em, it's too early in the day!

shannons dad said:

Other than cheapo nasty bikes, the cable guides are usually split to allow you to remove the cables for maintenance and check for split cable strands. It also prevents excess cable flex which it suffers from in even the best housings. And it looks nicer too. I'm sure there's more reasons but I can't think of 'em, it's too early in the day!

Removing the cables is still possible with having a complete cable housing. The housing won't be contributing to this flex when it's in a straight run, or did you mean something else? Further, because it's a straight run, friction contribution will be next to nothing.

Also, internally routing cabling usually uses a complete housing section, doesn't it? Would hardly say those are cheapo nasty bikes. Folding bicycles are another example, and price ranges are from $300 to $3k.

jasong said:

Removing the cables is still possible with having a complete cable housing. The housing won't be contributing to this flex when it's in a straight run, or did you mean something else? Further, because it's a straight run, friction contribution will be next to nothing.

Also, internally routing cabling usually uses a complete housing section, doesn't it? Would hardly say those are cheapo nasty bikes. Folding bicycles are another example, and price ranges are from $300 to $3k.

Admittedly, my road bike uses fully housed cables for the brakes. I was thinking more alone the lines of gear cables. When you fit new cables, you can feel the inner cable as it goes through the housing. There's your friction. The more housing you use, the more friction you'll encounter. Throw a bit of water and grit in there and you'll have shifting problems.

shannons dad said:

Admittedly, my road bike uses fully housed cables for the brakes. I was thinking more alone the lines of gear cables. When you fit new cables, you can feel the inner cable as it goes through the housing. There's your friction. The more housing you use, the more friction you'll encounter. Throw a bit of water and grit in there and you'll have shifting problems.

But the section for which I'm questioning its use is a flat run (don't consider the bend under the bottom bracket just yet) - for which there will be little if any perceivable additional friction added when putting in full housing sections. So one can't generalize saying for more housing you use, more friction.. The idea is to eliminate the entry paths for this water and grit to get in there.

For the bends around the bottom bracket, it may be true that the cable radius can be reduced (more important for front derailleur) without the housing and thus a smaller space used. But that doesn't really appear to be a requirement.

In that case, the only thing I personally can think of, is reduced cost. It may not save much on an individual bike, but when the things are rolling off a production line, the savings would soon build up.

dfvcad said:

I have an Orbea Liege thats about 9 months old and has about 1200 miles. My question is how can I prevent rust formation on the wire itself and keep it shiny. This happens to the exposed part of the brake cable/wire that runs on the side of the top tube. I know that its due to the my sweat. I do wipe down the bike every other ride. Is there any technique or approach to prevent more rust on the wire. 🙁 Thanks in advance

Use stainless cables and find something else to worry about.

jasong said:

The housing won't be contributing to this flex when it's in a straight run.......

That's nonsense.

shannons dad said:

In that case, the only thing I personally can think of, is reduced cost. It may not save much on an individual bike, but when the things are rolling off a production line, the savings would soon build up.

What mindless babble. Minimal housing with spiit stops is just the smart effecient way to do it from several angles...Done!

boudreaux said:

What mindless babble. Minimal housing with spiit stops is just the smart effecient way to do it from several angles...Done!

Which angles would they be then? They only go in 2 ways, across and down. I'd already covered these points, but worded them differently to you. Maybe if you'd read the WHOLE topic, you'd have realized that, and wouldn't have felt the need to post 'mindless drabble.'

shannons dad said:

I'd already covered these points, but worded them differently to you.

That was the mindless babble part.Don't you just get it Willis?

boudreaux said:

That was the mindless babble part.Don't you just get it Willis?

I like to back up my answers with a reason. Go back to ironing your frilly french knickers boudrollocks.

Until recently I've experienced very little rust - thanks entirely to a Ti frame and Campy components on my road bike - there's a little rust on a couple of the hex bolts where maybe some water has sat for awhile on an impure portion of the metal - but that's all !!!!!

But recently I bought a couple of hybrid/urban bikes with Shimano derailleurs and a Sugino triple - not sure if the cogs on the rear free hub are Shimano or Sugino or something else - but the morning after riding in the rain recently, I noticed a little rust between a couple of the cog teeth - in addition to cable rust !!!!!!!!!!!!

These are brand new bikes !!! seems like you have to shell out relatively big bucks to avoid rust ??????????