One of the additions we made to the Westlander and Scotsman Locomotives in production was… a hole.

It's the bottom bracket drain hole that I hope you all have on your bikes. In the days of steel frames and ball bottom brackets, having a hole to drain the water was essential. Then over time it seems that the thing has passed a little in the cavalry: few notice this hole (I bet part of you does not even know if it is on your frame) and in the end it is an additional process that has its costs and its risks.

The hole serves to drain the water that inevitably enters the frame during the rain. Preventing water from entering the frame after hours of pouring rain is impossible ... the problem is that without the hole it accumulates in the bottom bracket which becomes a pool where the bearings swim.

With the hole, the water passes and goes ... and the bearings placed on the sides must bear nothing but a few splashes. The hole is therefore useful even if the frame is in stainless steel or carbon: the problem is, in fact, first of all to safeguard the wheels from traveling for days in the water.

The hole then greatly reduces the effect that a ford higher than that of the bottom bracket would create. It is not always possible to lift a loaded bike over your head when crossing a stream: With the drainage hole, the bearings come into contact with water for a few seconds. Without a hole, you should turn the loaded bike upside down in the hope that the water that has entered will drain from the headset or from the seatpost .. or remove the movement.

If the hole that counts in your bike was not there ... think about it and maybe ask a good shopkeeper to operate after verifying that the operation does not affect the warranty.

Scotsman and Westlander locomotives, bikes intended for hard use in hostile environments, have a beautiful 10 mm hole that makes the water flow away immediately without the too small hole creating effects of capillarity.

If it's nice, a small piece of insulating tape closes the door to dust .. if it's bad, a gesture is enough to be sure that the water does not settle in the box for days, compromising the life of the bearings.