How To Fix Rusted Bike Gears

Cracks or splits in the frame can cause catastrophic failure.

How to fix rusted bike gears. And they shouldn t get rusty if properly oiled. How to fix squeaky bike brakes. Safety issues come to the fore when working with rusty bikes. The shifters on this bike were very stiff.

I am often asked how to fix a bike that won t shift gears or will only shift to some gears. The steel used for bike chains tends to rust especially when exposed to salt on the roads which is highly corrosive to steel. The main problem was an old rusty shift cable and bent crimped cable housings. A wheel that is not seated properly will be off kilter and may rub.

I explain the common causes of stiff shifting and show how to fix them. Lime will also work best in this situation. Before attempting to silence a squeak make sure your wheel is properly seated in the dropout of your front fork or rear part of the frame. Since it s only been a year you should be able to do a decent clean up.

By gears i assume you re talking about the rear sprockets or perhaps the smallest front sprocket since they re about the only gears that are made of steel. Imperfections in severely deteriorated chains can damage other parts of your drivetrain. The problem will be the shifters derailleurs or cables. Either way it will be cheaper than buying a new.

Pour in some lime juice and let it settle on the gears before scrubbing it off with a brush. If despite your best efforts there s still lots of rust left or the bike doesn t feel right then your local bike shop should be able to fix it. Never use oil or polish on rims as it causes brake failure. A little rust won t hurt the sprockets.

Your bike has 2 shifter cables. Removing rust from bike gears. Use your other hand to change the gears until the chain is on the smallest gear in either the front or the back. Rusty bike repair often focuses on the moving parts.

Keep rust removal simple with regular cleanings and lubings that help prevent the orange brown stuff from accumulating. I walk through the steps to isolate and locate. If you notice that your shifter cables are bent frayed in the middle rusted or otherwise damaged and worn out the best way to fix them is to remove and replace them. Plan on a tune up charge at minimum or some new components in the worst case.

Never lube your brakes. For bikes only suffering surface rust lime juice or wd 40 are great ways of restoring your chain to shiny and rust free condition. Bike gears may take a while to deal with. Squeaking brakes are one of the few squeaks that you don t fix with lube.

This helps reach tricky parts of the gear mechanism. Use a toothbrush or a brush with long sturdy bristles. The rust on the frame is mostly cosmetic and how much you remove is up to you.