Helicopter tape.

muddylegs

How many people have used the helicopter tape on there bike?
I think I saw something about folks with carbon bikes using it. My new bike arrives next week and I was thinking about investing in a meter roll, only £11.00, it is not carbon but aluminum.

77ric

muddylegs wrote:

How many people have used the helicopter tape on there bike?
I think I saw something about folks with carbon bikes using it. My new bike arrives next week and I was thinking about investing in a meter roll, only £11.00, it is not carbon but aluminum.

Never used the stuff but at 11 notes for a meter i'd give it a go. Especially around the points where the cables run up against the paintwork, like in the following pic.



also handy for the drive side chain and seat stays, if you prefer the cleaner look. Also along the underside of the down tube, to try and prevent stone chips. A meter should be enough.

muddylegs

Thank you very much that is the kind of response i was looking for. I had not thought of putting it on the chain stay the main place was going to be on the down tube, is it quite thick?

77ric

as i've said i've never used it so i'm not sure how thick it is, but i'm lead to believe that it is quite robust. My present bike came with what i presume was chopper tape on the chainstays and if it is it's thicker than sellotape by maybe three times but still very discreet.

bomberesque

I haven't used H-tape but a similar product (can't recall the name atm, bought it off CRC) but I suppose they're all similar. Whatever, it is very robust. I've just finished taping the leading edges and tyre contact points (insides of chain and seatstays) on my new carbon wonder Ibis Tranny. It sticks like sh1t to a blanket but is more pliable than I had expected, which is good as the Tranny frame surfaces flow and buck around all over the place.

I have put tape on in place of a chainstay protector aswell, but I'm unsure whether it's really good enough for this and I'm not sure I have the courage to take a "time will tell" approach to this on a 1000 GBP carbon frame....

to protect against cable rub there are several products available though, some of them probably cheaper than H-tape, although if you want clear then that's that i guess.

mtbikerboy

i used to have my bike covered in copter take, but the job was not so neat so took it off. I only use it now to prevent cable rub.

The type i had was relatively quite thick, but i would prefer to have a proper chainstay protector on the driveside to minimise effects of chainslap- the noise and the chips.

pdid

I copter taped my meta in all the cable rub area`s, plus where it clamps to by car rack and it`s been great no rub at all. I also did my fork lowers and as yet they`re unmarked other than a bit of dirt around the edges where I probably didn`t clean it properley.

I used this:

http://www.justridingalong.com/?product=73

muddylegs

77ric wrote:

as i've said i've never used it so i'm not sure how thick it is, but i'm lead to believe that it is quite robust. My present bike came with what i presume was chopper tape on the chainstays and if it is it's thicker than sellotape by maybe three times but still very discreet.

Sorry did not see the bit about you not trying it.

antfly

I use it for cable rub etc..You can`t see it at all and it works out much cheaper than buying the stickers. It`s good stuff.

capoz77

what a waste of money in my case anyway. It was about as sticky as a used stamp!

looked messy, kept peeling off a bit at the edges, then when washing the bike the whole strip would come off.

I swear by lizard skins frame rub patches now. At a fiver a pack there expensive but 6 pads normally do the whole bike anyway 8)

antfly

Did you take the backing paper off first? :?

supertwisted

I've got copter tape on my Rockhopper. Certainly does the job, though annoyingly I have plenly of scratches in all the other places where I haven't taped!

Midly tricky to put on. I cut templates with thin card, then cut identical measures of the tape and applied using a hair drier to make it more maleable.

chrisski

im gonna get some helicopter tape and have found some on bike tart however they say to wet it before you apply it but ive been told by others to not do that as the tape wont stick and last as long onto the frame!

any of you guys tried wet applying tape onto frame?

nicklouse

wet applying is very common as it allows for repositioning. very good for large pieces.

chrisski

really nick? i was told that the acrylic adhesive on the helicopter tape doesnt like wetness and this was from a supplier of the tape!

mr joey

used on my fork lower legs ond other parts of my bike,it does the job but use the hair dryer method makes it a whole lot easier

ali$tair

chrisski wrote:

im gonna get some helicopter tape and have found some on bike tart however they say to wet it before you apply it but ive been told by others to not do that as the tape wont stick and last as long onto the frame!

any of you guys tried wet applying tape onto frame?

I got mine from bike tart and applied it wet, it really helps especially round the tricky areas like the pivot on my EX 8. Once in place if you can heat it with a hair dryer, it helps it stick.

I've had no problems with mine, even when using a pressure washer to clean.