I suppose I should explain myself. I have two bikes, one is a beater and this one is not. I've never crashed on this one, even though it will inevitably happen. I never had a BMX, but grew up in the 90s with a mountain bike like every other kid. Yes, I do flip the bike upside down to work on it if there is no stand. What happens occasionally is that I'll haphazardly rest the bike against a wall or something like that, and it'll tip over. Or I leave it locked in a public area and someone knocks it over. No big deal, bikes get scuffed. I don't really care about the appearance of the bike, I just don't want to have to go through the trouble of replacing parts one day.

I just know that on some saddles there are plastic guards on the sides that prevent the saddle from scuffing and are replaceable. I was curious if someone had invented this for brifters.

That tip about applying epoxy, painting, and sanding them sounds useful though.

Also, in retrospect, Shimano 105 would've sufficed as opposed to Ultegra. But at least I didn't get that new fancy electronic Dura-Ace and break the bank.