Rusted 6700 lever clamps

[Veloo]

Working on a friend's CX bike.
Lotsa dirt under the tape and found the left lever clamp to be quite rusty.

Would you ride or replace?

Do replacement Shimano (6700) clamps even sell separately?

PS. Electrical tape fetishes get tiring to deal with. Bars are carbon internally routed and the mechanic still went to town with the tape.
Sheesh!

[Mark McM]

I might polish them up a bit to get a better idea of how deep the rust goes. Maybe you can get a little more use out of them. But on the hand, replacement ST-6700 lever clamp bands can be had not too expensively ($10 or less each).

[zzy]

I would be more worried about the alu bars than the clamps. The rust will come off easily from the steel clamps so you can inspect for pitting or cracking.

[Veloo]

Bars are actually carbon.
Shops are closed for our "Family Day" today but hopefully my go to LBS has replacement clams for cheap.

[zzy]

10sp Shimano clamps are fairly interchangeable in my experience, but I would clean them up before tossing them. Most LBSs won't have the exact replacement either. Bici or Wheels may tho.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Veloo

Bars are actually carbon.

Carbon fiber is subject to galvanic corrosion when in contact with any metal, including steel.

[jimcav]

if not, i've done this:

soak paper towel in CLR, twirl to narrow size, wrap around corroded area, then over wrap that with some sort of saran-type wrap and seal ends if needed (tape, rubber band) to keep the CLR moisture in.

Let sit a several hours,

remove, scrub with toothbrush, green pad etc,

remove clamp

do same thing to any bar areas under clamp.

coat clamp/bar with T-9 boshield or similar

reassemble

ride ride ride