Steel frames with vents and rusty water?

[acorn_user]

I got stuck in a rain storm the other day, and a few days after I finished the ride, I found that there was lots of water in the frame that drained our of the rear stays and the seat tube. This happened again recently; I noticed that there are vent holes for the seat stays and chain stays by the rear dropouts.

Do I just need to drain the frame after wet rides, or can I treat the inside of the frame at this point?

[coelacant]

You can mark the lowest point of the BB shell, remove the crank and BB
and drill a drain hole, doesn't need to be too big, 1/8", flipping the bike over.
it's a 5 min job.

[Peter P.]

You can treat the frame anytime. The typical tube treatments are waterproof, so they will not wash off.

Some people take some beeswax and plug the vent holes, which is okay since gas build up is not an issue as is during brazing.

[ridethecliche]

Frame saver or what have you. Just do it and forget about it.

Definitely put in drain holes though.

[acorn_user]

Thanks for the responses. I took the bike in for some frame saver and a drain hole!