Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Has anyone ever thought of...

...using that spray-on rubber pickup truck "Bedliner" coating for their bike-- on the top tube, for instance, to avoid scratches and rust from locking? A more durable alternative to wrapping with tape or innertubes?

I don't mean on nice looking or expensive bikes, just beater/commuter rides.

I put some on one of my bikes - it's real durable and everything, but uncomfortable if you ever hit it with bare skin (inside of thighs on top tube specifically)

Yikes. Didn't think of that.

I don't know, but Herculiner absolutely sucks for a truck bed.

Herculiner sucks. It is a poor excuse for the real thing. I am thinking about doing my bike, in parts at least, with Rhino liner or Line-x. Just a thin layer ya know. I had though about doing the downtube and chainguard in that but now you've got me thinking about doing the whole BIKE. Interesting.... wonder how much it would weigh?

rhino is tough stuff. i know a guy who sprayed the outside of his four wheeler (line-x in his case) with excellent (if not ugly) results. i say go for it. i am sure it is heavier than paint, but it is still fairly low-density.
btw, why are you worried about scratches, if your bike is a "beater"?

Because rust is a precursor to frame failure. Who needs that, beater or no?

Many of the smaller shops will spray liner on without the grit. Very popular for metal boats around here. Outside of the hull without grit, inside of the hull with the grit.

tempting for the single speed, they offer line-x in various colors, right?

line-x can mix custom colors as well.

Black automotive undercoating in spray can available from most auto parts stores is the cheapest way to go. Many colors available as long as they're black.

A friend of mine sprayed an entire car with rhino-liner... including the keyholes because they didn't work anyway. The thing was apparently indestructible.

undercoating is asphalt-based. you don't wanna paint your bike with tar.

I work 3 doors down from a Rhino dealer. I waltzed over there and asked him a few questions.

1) Can you spray it without the grit?

Yes. It will not come out very smooth however, as there will be a large orange-peel type texture.

2) How much would you charge to spray a whole bike frame?

$75

3) Between powdercoating and Rhino lining, what would you recommend?

Powder coating. Application is much smoother, and you'll get better coverage in the corners and areas where its hard to spray bedliner.

I'm sold on powder coating, myself.

powdercoating is the shizzle to the nizzle. you can't scratch it, and it will not chip or peel in the dropouts. there is a home powdercoating kit available from eastwood.com if you feel like coating a whole bunch of stuff. you just need clearance from the ball and chain to bake your parts in the oven.

the other thing about rhinoliner that i'm not sure about is, once it's on, how do you get it off?

I don't think you can get it off (otherwise I'd not have it in the bed of my Ranger anymore). Another thing (if you are at all concerned) is keeping your bike clean. You'd have to hose or powerwash it, instead of wiping it down. Perhaps I'm a neat freak.

you don't want to powerwash a bike. sounds like a good thing, but you'll blow the grease out your bearings, ruin seals on susp forks, and git water in places that won't easily dry. baby wipes for your baby.

Because rust is a precursor to frame failure. Who needs that, beater or no?


If you can keep the rust from being anymore exposed to oxygen, it won't continue to rust.

For what it's worth, they also make paint-on electrical tape. It's cheap and fairly durable, and when you do want to get it off, you can peel it. Also, you can always keep a roll of tape on hand for on-the-go patching.

What about coating your bike with that plasti dip (http://www.plastidip.com/consumer/index.html) stuff...the kind that you can dip your tool handles in and it'll come out with a rubber grip? Apparently you can get a spray on one too!

That company sure has some innovative plastics based products!

Now that will get some hearts athrobbing. A latex rubber covered bike.

yeah, it's called gacoflex. i like the plastidip idea... maybe for brake levers or something.