Originally Posted by
Lovegasoline
I'm asking because I'm ignorant and duct tape seems tough:
I've been a climber for 25 years, when I first started I didn't trust my weight hanging off of something like 1/2" wide piece of tubular nylon webbing, or a piece of 6 or 7mm diameter nylon cord.
What would two seperate .5" - 1.0" wide strips of duct tape each wrapped in 10 or 15 layer thick loops under the BB and up over the top tube hold? I only weight 135lbs.
It would match the bike's paint job perfectly.
Absolutely absurd idea. Let's take your videos first. In neither of those videos is the tape confronted with multiple angled and curved surfaces, nor the concentrated, periodic stress that occurs at a bottom bracket. In neither case is stretching of the tape a factor, nor is it measured. Yes, duct tape is strong, but it is also elastic to some degree. As for nylon rope, it also stretches, though admittedly to a very minor degree, and in any case has no relationship to duct tape wrapped around a BB, and neither does your initial feelings about trusting rope. Finally, the stress on the BB is not merely up and down, but also side to side and torsional, so the idea of holding the BB up against the seat tube is ludicrous.
You say you don't have time to go around checking bikes, but you do seem to have time to make multiple posts on how to avoid a new bike and to find duct tape videos. Find a shop that sells used bikes, or screen ads for the best looking 2 or 3 bikes and check them out.