Heli Tape

trigger118

Hi all,

I'm after some frame protection for my new frame (2013 Mega AM) and of course heli-tape is the one that springs to mind with lots of distributors and versions.

My main question is to anyone who has used it. How much do I need to do the majority of a frame? I'm thinking:
Chainstays (to protect from heel rub and chain slap)
Cable rub areas
Downtube
Top tube (gritty shorts taking paint off)
Any other areas that I should be looking at?

Also I have read about it yellowing after a period of time? Is this still the case or just on the older cheaper stuff?

Thanks

peter413

2m should manage it but I bought 4m to do my TR and I'm left with about 1m after I messed up the top tube and had to throw that bit away. I got 100mm wide stuff. It's generally considered that 3M is some of the better stuff available. It cost me about £25 for 4m from ebay (Union Mart UK) last week. When I bought it it was only available in 2m lengths. I would always buy extra so that if you do mess up you have enough to finish and if you don't mess up you have some spare for down the line or to sell to others.

The stuff on my Rocky is yellowy brown on any white bits after 2 and a half years. Was like that pretty quickly after I applied it but the red bits still look fine so unless you're doing anything white you should be fine regarding discolouring.

stubs

I have used several brands of heli tape and 3M seems the best. You will need a hairdryer to do the job properly use it to warm the tape and frame so it moulds into all the nooks on the frame.

ride_whenever

Ignore the above, buy the invisiframe kit. You'll end up with a far better finish and it really isn't that expensive for laser cut 3m vinyl. Done a load of kits now and the coverage is excellent and the stuff is top notch.

Kowalski675

Look at Paragon tapes on Ebay - excellent stuff.