Protecting the frame on new bike

dastrass
dastrass Posts: 61
edited April 2012 in MTB general
Hi,
Just splashed out on a new bike and i was wondering what was the best way to protect the frame from cable rub etc before using it.

Comments

  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Many people would suggest helicopter tape, which is a tough anti-abrasive clear tape that you stick on to the metal.
    My own view, however, is that a mountain bike will get scratched damaged and brutalised during it's life anyway, so keeping it scratch free is a tad pointless.
    My photos
  • dastrass
    dastrass Posts: 61
    See where your coming from yeeha,but every little helps. My last bike suffered badly from cable rub,did'nt realise till it was to late,and just wanted to try and prevent this if poss
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Fair enough, I guess. A new bike shouldn't really suffer cable rub if it's been thought out and built properly. It saddens me slightly that they do.
    My photos
  • jehosophat
    jehosophat Posts: 108
    I used to use patches like Lizard Skin's and recently tried helicopter tape patches off Ebay but both come off really easily, mud gets around the edges of them on curved surfaces. So like yeehaamcgee I just expect the odd mark these days, and use car polish from time to time to improve the look of small imperfections. It is a mountain bike frame, after all!
  • IBISMojoHDamon
    IBISMojoHDamon Posts: 330
    The problem with this stems from our brakes being the other way round from the way the bike was designed... My last bike (Intense Uzzi) was defiantly designed around the front brake being on the left and the rear brake being mounted on the right. I've tried to change this by swapping the cable routing over but most bikes suffer from (in the UK) having the issue of poor cable routing.
    The Ibis Mojo HD I currently have is the same, the rear brake cable routing is designed around the brake being mounted on the right so unless I cross the cables over at some point, the initial sweeping curve of the rear brake is designed to stay on the right side of the bike... I've put clear bike protective tape over most of where I'd expect frame rub including the top tube for during ride chats when I rest up by sitting on the top tube and I guess protecting the frame as much as possible where cables rub the frame is the best solution.
    Ibis Mojo HD 2011 www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... t=12842777
    Intense Uzzi www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... t=12839786
    Intense 6.6 www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... #p17479899
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    jehosophat wrote:
    I used to use patches like Lizard Skin's and recently tried helicopter tape patches off Ebay
    I've not used it myself, but I've been told that some cheapo stuff being sold as copter tape doesn't really work. It's just plastic sticky tape, essentially.

    If you do want to use it, this is the real deal...
    http://www.justridingalong.com/just-rid ... -50cm.html
    My photos
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    IBISMojoHDamon wrote:
    The problem with this stems from our brakes being the other way round from the way the bike was designed... My last bike (Intense Uzzi) was defiantly designed around the front brake being on the left and the rear brake being mounted on the right.
    I see where you're coming from, but it actually has very little to do with handlebar brake position. The brake callipers are always on the left side of the bike, and the front one doesn't mount on the frame at all, it just sweeps from bars to fork.
    My photos
  • ste_t
    ste_t Posts: 1,599
    I bought a new bike last week and forgot to get some frame patches whilst I was there. Went for a ride the next day and crashed a couple of times on some wet Welsh slate, resulting in a couple of scrapes. Not in any rush to protect it now.

    You'll only scratch it where you've not protected it anyway, don't stress too much about it
  • A planty
    A planty Posts: 47
    best thing to do is wash it, keep it clean and lubed and ride it hard. dont worry about anything else it is after all a mtb design for rough riding !!!
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    A planty wrote:
    best thing to do is wash it, keep it clean and lubed and ride it hard. dont worry about anything else
    I'm glad you mentioned MTBs there towards the end, I was beginning to wonder where you were heading with that sentence :lol:
    My photos
  • A planty
    A planty Posts: 47
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    A planty wrote:
    best thing to do is wash it, keep it clean and lubed and ride it hard. dont worry about anything else
    I'm glad you mentioned MTBs there towards the end, I was beginning to wonder where you were heading with that sentence :lol:
    lol
  • milfredo
    milfredo Posts: 322
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    IBISMojoHDamon wrote:
    The problem with this stems from our brakes being the other way round from the way the bike was designed... My last bike (Intense Uzzi) was defiantly designed around the front brake being on the left and the rear brake being mounted on the right.
    I see where you're coming from, but it actually has very little to do with handlebar brake position. The brake callipers are always on the left side of the bike, and the front one doesn't mount on the frame at all, it just sweeps from bars to fork.

    My Blur LTc suffers this problem in that as the rear cable runs down the left hand down tube, you have to have a loop from the left bar to the left of the down tube and to have enough cable for full movement of the bars, the loop rubs on the head tube. There is no easy way around it rather than mounting the rear brake on the right of the bars so the loop goes across the front of the head tube and then down the left.

    I use some sort of Vinyl that is used on exhibition stands to prevent scratches. My friend gave it to me and from over two years of use, there isn't even a mark on it. It has an almost matte finish as I think it contains small particles of finely crushed glass to help prevent wear and is easier to work with than helicopter tape.
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    One way around it is how Marin have set their bikes up. The rear brake cable comes from the left handlebar grip, and loops round to the right hand side of the top or downtube. The rear mech cable does the opposite. Then, halfway along the bike, they cross over to the right side.
    My photos
  • timpop
    timpop Posts: 394
    Duct-tape works well.
    Many happy trails!
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    31aOqcmUbEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

    Duck tape came first.
    My photos
  • jehosophat
    jehosophat Posts: 108
    YeehaaMcgee wrote:
    I've not used it myself, but I've been told that some cheapo stuff being sold as copter tape doesn't really work. It's just plastic sticky tape, essentially.

    If you do want to use it, this is the real deal...
    http://www.justridingalong.com/just-rid ... -50cm.html

    That's interesting because I was expecting to find for sale rolls of some sort of ultra-sticky reinforced tape but the patches I bought are not much better than sellotape! The little sticky carbon patches and so on I have used are strong but come off easily. Will look to the link, thanks...

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