Originally Posted by kwarterlb
Hey James, what's up with the black ... is it electrical tape? Are you protecting the frame from damage, trying to make it look less enticing for thieves, or just fond of black?
There are 2 types of trains in CalTrain's commute fleet...essentially, the old, rickety trains with 32-bike capacity per bike car, and the newer "bullet" style trains with air suspension, and only 16-bike capacity per bike car. On the newer trains, I can fold my Swift and bungee-cord it to the "end-caps" of the bike racks, well away from any other bikes. On the older trains, there's no place for me to store my bike folded, so I need to rack it up alongside the rest of the bikes. As a result of being "dog-piled" on by these legacy "fixed-frame-huge-wheeled" machines built on technology dating as far back as the early 1800's (or is it 1700's?), my once pristine frame now looks like it's been attacked by a pack of pit bulls, gouged and scratched by various components such as steel pedal cages, derailleurs, quick-release levers, chainrings, you name it. By placing black electrical tape in strategic areas of my frame that come in contact with other bikes (built on legacy technology), it offers a good degree of defense against scratches, gouges, and bites.