Take the 2-minute tour ×  I have a $300 MTB used for commuting.
It has been three years now, and the rain and snow have said
their word. Two weeks ago I disassembled the fork and spent a
good one hour with the sandpaper, removing rust. Still some was
left. It has been two rainshowers from then. Yesterday I had
another look and ... it is not promising.  I have move
aggressive means of removing material (so that there will remain
no rust) - a grinding wheel. However, I am afraid to use it, as
I guess it will be weakening the tubes too much. I do not seek
top performance - it is a no-steal bike (for example the
handlebar is visibly bent).  Below are the two pictures. Should
I clean the rust? How? How reliable is the fork currently? How
long does it have left?  enter image description here enter
image description here  share|improve this question I'm more
worried about the bent handlebars. A stuck suspension fork will
only become a rigid fork while a fatigued handlebar can fail
unexpectedly (as aluminum has a ten