In this article, we’re going to demonstrate a simple trick that you can use for removing Russ from bicycle parts. So here we have discussed the details.
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So you can transform them from looking like a shiny bicycle. All you need for this is a ball of aluminum foil, some water, and a clean rag. So first I’ll demonstrate how to remove the surface rust off of this side of the handlebars.
Then afterward I’ll explain the science behind it and what the limitations are of using this trick. Start by taking the crumpled-up ball of aluminum foil and dipping it in the water.
Now, take the aluminum foil and start rubbing it on the areas on here where you can see the rust
After you’d been going for a while. You can take your rag and wipe it off and use water. So just with a little bit of rubbing.
It already looks a whole lot better and after I’ve wiped it off, I can see what areas require more treatment. So, I’ll keep going and improve it further.
As you can see what just a few minutes of rubbing. The handlebars look a whole lot better than they did before.
This is also important to know how to clean a bike chain easily.
So now that I’ve finished demonstrating how to use this trick, I’ll talk about what my theory is behind what’s going on at the surface of the metal and why exactly this trick works so well.
So, I believe these handlebars and made them up steel, but the steel is plated with chromium, which is the shiny, reflective, outer surface that you can actually see.
The reason that steel rusts, when it gets wet is because water contains oxygen. That’s where the O in H2O stands for.
Second Step
However, the air that we breathe also contains oxygen. So steel will rust, even if it doesn’t get wet just from the oxygen in the air but this happens at a slower rate.
So it’s a lot more likely to leave scratches on the surface of the chromium. So I recommend sticking with the aluminum foil.
You can definitely do it without water, but it makes more of a mess in my experience. So the main limitation of this trick is that it only works for parts of the bike, which are chromium-plated steel.
It varies quite a bit from one bike to another but the easiest way to identify this material is to look for parts of the bike, which have a shiny mirror, like surface.
For example, on this bike, in addition to the handlebars, the STEM and the hardware down here for the headset are also made of chromium-plated steel.
Also this top part here of the front fork, this part here of the front derailer, and this part down here of the rear derailleur.
Small bits of chromium have flaked off exposing the bare steel. Once the chromium is missing, it’s never going to be perfectly shiny.
Like it was when it was new, but rubbing with the aluminum foil will still make it look a lot better.
Another question you might be wondering is whether the fix that I’ve done to both of these sets of handlebars is going to be permanent.
Conclusion
Anyway, that concludes this how-to article. Do you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section below, and thanks for reading.