An Upgraded Procedure for Preventing Rust in Steel Frames with J.P. Weigle's Framesaver

You love your steel frame. People bond with steel framed bicycles like no other materials. And for good reasons. If you own, or are getting ready to own, a bicycle with a steel frame, and you're dreaming and hoping that it will maintain that great feel, appearance, comfort and utility for many years ...

then carefully treating the internal frame surfaces with J.P. Weigle's Framesaver is a crucial step, and investment, in preserving your beloved steel frame.

The following pictures depict a clean, and extremely thorough, method for applying Framesaver to a frame. It goes beyond the printed instructions that come with Framesaver in that it temporarily seals each section of tubing after Framesaver is applied, to eliminate the mess commonly associated with treating frames, and to further insure that all internal tubing surfaces are very well coated.

What you'll need:

1. J.P. Weigle's Frame Saver (1 can)
2. Paper Towels
3. 2" Wide Painter's Tape (this is low-tac and non marking)
4. Soft surface to work on frame. I used padded foam flooring mats.

1 - Using a small piece of painter's tape, seal the seat stay drain holes, which are generally located by the rear wheel dropouts.

2 - Pack the bottom bracket housing with paper towels.

3 - Seal the bottom bracket housing with painter's tape.

4 - Some frames, like this 2012 Salsa El Mariachi, have open ended gussets. Treat these by spraying a small amount of Framesaver into the open end.

5 - Wipe off any overspray.

6 - Carefully seal the gusset with painter's tape.

7 - Repeat with all open gussets.

8 - Insert Framesaver spray wand into the drain hole of the chainstay, spray for 3 seconds.

9 - Wipe off overspray.

10 - Seal with painter's tape.

11 - At the frame head tube, insert Framesaver spray wand into the top tube and downtube holes, spray for 5 seconds each, then stuff the head tube with paper towels.

12 - Seal the head tube with painter's tape.

13 - Move to the seat tube and spray a short 2 second burst of Framesaver in to the top tube hole.

14 - Spray for 3 seconds into both of the seat stay tubes.

15 - Close / seal the seat tube split, spray Framesaver into the seat tube for 4 seconds coating all walls, and stuff a small section of paper towel into the seat tube. Don't push paper towel more than an inch into the seat tube or you may have trouble removing it.

16 - Seal the seat tube.

17 - Slowly rotate the frame end over end and side over side for a few minutes. Then lie the frame on it's side overnight, or for a few hours.

18 - The next day, remove the seat tube sealing tape and paper towel stuffing, respray the top tube and seat stays, restuff and reseal the seat tube.

19 - Then remove the bottom bottom bracket sealing tape and paper towel stuffing, respray the chain stays, the down tube and seat tube, restuff and reseal the bottom bracket.

20 -  Slowly rotate the frame end over end and side over side for a few minutes. Then lie the frame on it's other side overnight, or for a few hours.

Congratulations! You're done! You have not spilled a drop of Framesaver and you've done an exceptional job of preserving your beloved steel frame.

Product Review: TOMS SHOES - a Bicycle Commuting Secret Weapon!

I work in an office and, for fun & fitness, once or twice a week I try to go on a bike ride during lunch. 

Since my bike commute is a short 2.8 miles, I can comfortably ride wearing my work clothes - including casual shoes. The only exception is that on the days when I will try to bike during lunch I wear my cycling shoes during my commute ... and I pack a pair of TOMS.

TOMS are fashionable, great looking shoes, that are comfortable, super light weight and take up very little space in a pack. TOMS are commonly worn without socks, keeping your feet cool and looking good during the summer, and for cold weather comfort, just slip thin wool socks on before your TOMS.

TOMS simply make my bicycle commuting life easier.

Because I represent the Bike Sherpas Touring Co. as the leader of a weekly, lunch time, group mountain bike ride, I need to carry a lot of gear ... and it'd be a hassle (if not impossible) to try and shove common office shoes in my pack.

My TOMS effortlessly slide into the pack, and, as if all the comfort, versatility, style and practicality of TOMS were not enough ...

and get this - they cost only $44.

TOMS are great to pedal in too. My wife and I enjoyed a Bermuda bicycling honeymoon this past June and the only shoes I wore were my TOMS.

Full Disclosure: I have no affiliation at all with TOMS, other than I love them. My beautiful fashion superhero wife introduced me to them and suggested I wear them with my tux during our wedding - which I did - and the rest is history :)

This image depicts everything I pack when I will bike commute and represent the Bike Sherpas Touring Co. as ride leader for the Uptown Joe's "Lunch Vacation" Mountain Bike Ride - a sweet weekly Blue Ridge Bicycle Club group ride. [Pack Contents: East Coasters long sleeve jersey, Bontrager tights, Bontrager reflective wind shell in stuff sack, Salomon XA20 pack, Pearl Izumi bike shorts, Bontrager gloves, socks, reflective pant / ankle strap, 26" & 29" tubes, Topeak Alien II multitool, patch kit, 8, 9 & 10 speed chain quick links, 4 CO2 cartridges, CO2 inflator, Apple, bag of Almonds, Helmet, shoes, Tri-Flow lube, First Aid Kit, saw, emergency blanket.]

Inexpensive Tubeless Upgrade Procedure

I've upgraded quite a few wheels to run tubeless in the last few years, and I recently realized that you don't need the expensive "tubeless upgrade kits" to perform a very high quality conversion to no tubes.

This is a stock Bontrager SSR 29er rim off of a new 2011 Trek X-Caliber. Leave the blue rim tape in place and ...

Add a layer of Velox rim tape on top of it. Then ...

Add a layer of 3/4" electrical tape along one side of the rim. Once complete ... 

Add a second layer of electrical tape along the other side of the rim to fully cover the rim bed.

Adding second layer.

Completed rim bed preparation. Extremely easy!

Create a hole for the valve either with a razor, round file or drill bit.

Add the Stan's NoTubes Standard Valve Stem ... and you've done it! You've successfully converted / upgraded your wheels to be Tubeless Compatable!  

There are loads of How-To's, instructional videos and DIY guides for mounting tires and airing up and sealing tubeless systems. www.notubes.com has a good series of videos and there are also loads of vids on YouTube. I highly recommend using Stan's Tire Sealant.

All together, upgrading this stock wheelset to tubeless cost under $20 (less than 1/3 the cost of a kit). You can safely run lower tire pressures without pinch flatting, creating a more comfortable ride with better traction, and the sealant virtually eliminates flats caused by thorns and most other punctures. And, if ever you do get a flat, you can simply remove the Stan's NoTubes Valve Stem, install a standard tube and roll on :)