I bought a Ridgeback Cyclone back in June and I have been commuting to work most days since then. Today I noticed that there appears to be a significant amount of orange fluid, which I am 99.9% certain is rust. It appears to be coming from (please forgive me for a lack of knowledge when it comes to bike nomenclature) the area where the frame and the front forks meet and also some where the frame meets the handlebars.
Surely this can't be normal? Is this because my bike is using cheap materials or is there a seal that may be damaged? I will probably be taking it back to the LBS at the weekend to get it checked, but I wanted to be sure that this sort of thing would be covered buy guarantee.
This problem is likely to get worse as it does occasionally rain in Glasgow :-(
Sounds like they forgot to grease the headset bearings when they put the bike together - unless you have been storing it upside down outside in the rain which would fill the bearings with water. Likely to be damaged bearings so take it back to the shop - the grease should have lasted for a year or more so it's their fault even if you haven't oiled it since you bought it.
cheers
Jacob
Thanks for the reply. It is stored upright in a shed.
I have washed when it was upside down, but surely this wouldn't cause the problem. Anyway I probably don't wash it enough!
Sounds like they forgot to grease the headset bearings when they put the bike together - unless you have been storing it upside down outside in the rain which would fill the bearings with water. Likely to be damaged bearings so take it back to the shop - the grease should have lasted for a year or more so it's their fault even if you haven't oiled it since you bought it.
Sounds like they forgot to grease the headset bearings when they put the bike together - unless you have been storing it upside down outside in the rain which would fill the bearings with water. Likely to be damaged bearings so take it back to the shop - the grease should have lasted for a year or more so it's their fault even if you haven't oiled it since you bought it.
cheers
Jacob
Thanks for the reply. It is stored upright in a shed.
I have washed when it was upside down, but surely this wouldn't cause the problem. Anyway I probably don't wash it enough!
Could well be the cause especially if you have used a jet spray or even a normal hose pipe. You may have a prob with wheel bearings too, if you have been too enthuiastic. Bikes best left unwashed IMO and well slathered in grease and oil at all times. Just the occasional wipe down with an oily rag.
Could well be the cause especially if you have used a jet spray or even a normal hose pipe. You may have a prob with wheel bearings too, if you have been too enthuiastic. Bikes best left unwashed IMO and well slathered in grease and oil at all times. Just the occasional wipe down with an oily rag.
cheers
Jacob
Mmm. I did use a hose a few weeks ago but the pressure was pretty low. Also the problem seems to be worse when it rains .It rained a lot yesterday and there was a small orange puddle on my shed floor this morning! This suggests to me my washing wasn't the main problem.
The LBS and most websites I have looked at have suggested that you should wash the bike, to reduce wear and tear (i.e grinding dirt). Are there different schools of thought on this issue?
It seems I am damned if I do, damned if I don't......
The LBS and most websites I have looked at have suggested that you should wash the bike, to reduce wear and tear (i.e grinding dirt).
The headset (the bit the orange water is coming out of) is designed to be rainproof - but only if the water is coming from above. (Look at the way the bearing races fit together, with the top overlapping the bottom.)
Washing the bike upside-down is a very good way to get water into the bearings.
Similarly, if you don't have mudguards, water may be sprayed up into the headset from the wheels. This may be why you notice the problem more when it is raining.
Quoted message said:
Are there different schools of thought on this issue?
Washing is good, but don't wash your bike in the same way you would wash a car - unlike a car, many of the important mechanical bits on a bike are on the outside.
Similarly, if you don't have mudguards, water may be sprayed up into the headset from the wheels. This may be why you notice the problem more when it is raining.
Ah but I do have mudguards ( SKS P65's as suggested in this newsgroup!) so water must be getting in where it shouldn't. My LBS are pretty good so I will see what they say.
Quoted message said:
Washing is good, but don't wash your bike in the same way you would wash a car - unlike a car, many of the important mechanical bits on a bike are on the outside.
d.
Fair enough. So I reckon the the local supermarket automatioc car wash is out of the question then?! (the perfect place to test your waterproofs!)
Mmm. I did use a hose a few weeks ago but the pressure was pretty low. Also the problem seems to be worse when it rains .It rained a lot yesterday and there was a small orange puddle on my shed floor this morning! This suggests to me my washing wasn't the main problem.
Forks should be removed to examine them, the headset and the frame. Headset = parts and bearings at top & bottom of frame's head tube that allow the forks to steer.
Quoted message said:
The LBS and most websites I have looked at have suggested that you should wash the bike, to reduce wear and tear (i.e grinding dirt). Are there different schools of thought on this issue?
It seems I am damned if I do, damned if I don't......
Using any sort of hose with even a dribble is potentially more harmful than riding in the rain and puddles because of where and how the water goes.
Bike frame and wheels can be washed with a wet cloth or sponge; components with degreaser on a cloth or just a dry cloth; chain can be cleaned by removing* and immersing in degreaser or using a clamp-on cleaner device; sprockets with a rag or brush.
* SRAM Powerlink makes this easier, works with Shimano chains as well as SRAM.
Dave B <[email hidden]> wrote: | I bought a Ridgeback Cyclone back in June and I have been commuting to | work most days since then. Today I noticed that there appears to be a | significant amount of orange fluid, which I am 99.9% certain is rust. It | appears to be coming from (please forgive me for a lack of knowledge | when it comes to bike nomenclature) the area where the frame and the | front forks meet and also some where the frame meets the handlebars.
I had the same problem with a newish Ridgeback velocity: rusty water dribling through the lower headstock bearing onto the mudguard. As far as I can tell in my case the water was getting in around the head of the bolt holding the stem, trickling down the inside of the stem, and washing out of the lower bearing.
The (caged) balls in the lower bearing were writen-off by the time I spotted the rust; but replacing the balls, greasing everything (relevant) in sight and reassembling seems to have cured the problem.
The LBS and most websites I have looked at have suggested that you should wash the bike, to reduce wear and tear (i.e grinding dirt). Are there different schools of thought on this issue?
Quoted message said:
It seems I am damned if I do, damned if I don't......
If joe public takes a bike into the sea it gets washed immediately - and then stripped and regreased. The bike shed has several fan heaters to dry the bikes if they are put away damp - never ever wet.
Could it be copper grease used to lube the ahead stem? Hard to imagine its getting washed out by rainwater, but maybe being squeezed out by the action of steering. Send a sample down to the lab...
I had the same problem with a newish Ridgeback velocity: rusty water dribling through the lower headstock bearing onto the mudguard. As far as I can tell in my case the water was getting in around the head of the bolt holding the stem, trickling down the inside of the stem, and washing out of the lower bearing.
The (caged) balls in the lower bearing were writen-off by the time I spotted the rust; but replacing the balls, greasing everything (relevant) in sight and reassembling seems to have cured the problem.
I bought a Ridgeback Cyclone back in June and I have been commuting to work most days since then. Today I noticed that there appears to be a significant amount of orange fluid, which I am 99.9% certain is rust. It appears to be coming from (please forgive me for a lack of knowledge when it comes to bike nomenclature) the area where the frame and the front forks meet and also some where the frame meets the handlebars.
Surely this can't be normal? Is this because my bike is using cheap materials or is there a seal that may be damaged? I will probably be taking it back to the LBS at the weekend to get it checked, but I wanted to be sure that this sort of thing would be covered buy guarantee.
I've had two Ridgebacks and loved them both; superb bikes at a good price. But in each case, the damned headset has disintegrated within a year.
I bought a Ridgeback Cyclone back in June and I have been commuting to work most days since then. Today I noticed that there appears to be a significant amount of orange fluid, which I am 99.9% certain is rust. It appears to be coming from (please forgive me for a lack of knowledge when it comes to bike nomenclature) the area where the frame and the front forks meet and also some where the frame meets the handlebars.
Surely this can't be normal? Is this because my bike is using cheap materials or is there a seal that may be damaged? I will probably be taking it back to the LBS at the weekend to get it checked, but I wanted to be sure that this sort of thing would be covered buy guarantee.
I've had two Ridgebacks and loved them both; superb bikes at a good price. But in each case, the damned headset has disintegrated within a year.
Well there you go then - in my experience headsets last forever, given occasional squitrs of oil or grease. It's not as though they are highly stressed or anything like a bottom bracket or a wheel bearing. Clearly Ridgeback headsets are [censored] or the ancillary gear is badly chosen/designed.
