Left a bike outside on the balcony for couple of months. How to get rid of the rust?

[vadim26]

   

Is there a way to get rid of that rust or do I need to replace certain components?

More pics

[Papa Dom]

most of the rust is cosmetic, in my opinion. chain can be cleaned with wd40 or wiped and left in Evapo-rust for couple of hours. afterwards lube the chain and check if it is worn. did you test the shifting performance?

@Painkiller made a nice post about Evapo-rust and rusty bolts: https://forums.bikeride.com/thread-6262.html

[Painkiller]

as Long as it functions properly, just lube it and go. the key is to keep it lubed once in a while. A new chain with a quik link can be had for around 12 to 15 bucks if need be. I would opt for 1. if it works leave it alone and keep it lubed, 2. Buy a new chain because Evapo-rust will cost about as much as new chain.
What I see in the pic looks to cosmetic like mentioned above. The bike looks to be a user, not a show bike. You should be fine.

[Lss555]

Gotta agree with the top two comments if it works why fix it, but I bet just putting some chain lube on it while shifting through the gears to make sure it’s a well oiled machine should make it good as new. But if not just replace the chain/take a link out to tighten if it’s slipping gears or something

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

Trying to get rust off a chain is a nightmare. You can use evporust, and then try lubing the chain after, but the evporust can cause the chain to seize up.

Your best bet is usually just to replace the chain.

[enkei]

The rust looks to be confined mostly to the outside faces of the chain links. As others have pointed out, that's cosmetic rust. It looks bad but shouldn't have any deleterious effect on the operation or life on the drivetrain. Lube it, use it, and maintain it a bit better in future (by regularly cleaning and relubing the chain.)

The most important thing to bear in mind is that chains are cheaper than drivetrains. If you don't maintain the chain, keep it free of dirt (AKA 'grinding paste') and replace it when it gets too worn (measured with a simple chain wear tool), the rest of the drivetrain will wear much faster, and you'll end up spending much more money, especially if you have to pay someone to replace components.

So, in summary: light rust, so just lube and ride. Also, get some decent chain lube, get in the habit of cleaning/lubing the chain, and get a chain wear tool (they're not expensive).

[GirishH]

I love this topic. I mostly would store my bike indoors but now and then it would get rained on while riding or such. Then a few days/weeks later, I would see rust. I thought my bike's chain is gone. But I heard the exact same opinion from many bike mechanics as many have expressed here. So, glad to hear that that's a universal practice to leave it if it's just cosmetic.

I do wonder if rust will spread to other parts of the drivetrain because, with cars or other rusty things, I was warned to avoid the rust from spreading one had to take care of the little rust one had. I would love to hear people's opinions on rust spreading..