Top Tube Protection
07-07-23, 05:47 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Top Tube Protection
I figured this would be the best form to ask this question. So to all of you who commute regularly or just ride around town a great deal and have to lock your bike up against everything from benches to sign posts, etc.. How do you protect your top tube?
The businesses around my town are hit and miss with proper bike racks so I end up having to find all sorts of things to lock the bike to. I use a kryptonite U-lock that mens I have to often lean the bike on sign posts and such. I suppose you can just let it get banged up but if you’d like to protect your top tube, what do the cool kids generally use?
The businesses around my town are hit and miss with proper bike racks so I end up having to find all sorts of things to lock the bike to. I use a kryptonite U-lock that mens I have to often lean the bike on sign posts and such. I suppose you can just let it get banged up but if you’d like to protect your top tube, what do the cool kids generally use?
07-07-23, 05:54 PM
#2
ignominious poltroon
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I bought a couple of these:
https://lonepeakpacks.com/product/top-tube-protector/
If you don't want to spend $20, get some pipe insulation foam at HomeDepot, cut it to the length of your top tube, and slice it along the cylinderical axis
https://lonepeakpacks.com/product/top-tube-protector/
If you don't want to spend $20, get some pipe insulation foam at HomeDepot, cut it to the length of your top tube, and slice it along the cylinderical axis
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07-09-23, 10:36 AM
#3
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Stickers work
I have aluminum bikes and basically ignore scratches but a steel one can rust and scratches into the steel should be covered up with something... even if it's just fingernail polish
I have aluminum bikes and basically ignore scratches but a steel one can rust and scratches into the steel should be covered up with something... even if it's just fingernail polish
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07-12-23, 09:09 PM
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I ordered a pad for my Long Haul Trucker when I bought it. Before the pad arrived, the bike moved while I was loading groceries, causing the top tube to scrape along a very rusty sign post, leaving a nice scrape on my less than week old Surly. 
Character, it has character. I still used the pad later, it was just convenient to not have to worry about leaning it on something. I have since taken it off, since one side had a reflective surface, and the other side was a nice textured black. I left it so the black side was out. Unfortunately the reflective surface was abrasive, so it marred the finish. 
I polished hte top tube and left the pad off. I did use it again for a while though, but I put something under the pad to prevent the reflective side from scratching the paint.
Character, it has character. I still used the pad later, it was just convenient to not have to worry about leaning it on something. I have since taken it off, since one side had a reflective surface, and the other side was a nice textured black. I left it so the black side was out. Unfortunately the reflective surface was abrasive, so it marred the finish. I polished hte top tube and left the pad off. I did use it again for a while though, but I put something under the pad to prevent the reflective side from scratching the paint.
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07-14-23, 05:02 AM
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07-14-23, 05:54 AM
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I've used heavy-duty clear Gorilla tape to protect certain parts of a bike. Especially with two layers, it's very tough and even provides a little bit of cushion. It also lets the paint show through and it's almost invisible from a few feet away, so it doesn't ruin the aesthetics. Warning though - you need a heat gun to get it off easily.
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07-14-23, 10:22 AM
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Our use case has more in common with this, I am afraid, than does that of the OP.
My wife now has trouble getting her leg over the top tube due to degenerative arthritis, and she can't swing her leg over the saddle like I do. So she is messing up the finish on the top tube. It seemed like the least awful option. Maybe if she gets a hip replacement, we can remove the couch cover.
Edit: Interesting that they have done the same thing with the map on the wall. I bet that vinyl smells delightful.
My wife now has trouble getting her leg over the top tube due to degenerative arthritis, and she can't swing her leg over the saddle like I do. So she is messing up the finish on the top tube. It seemed like the least awful option. Maybe if she gets a hip replacement, we can remove the couch cover.
Edit: Interesting that they have done the same thing with the map on the wall. I bet that vinyl smells delightful.
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07-14-23, 07:05 PM
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07-14-23, 08:44 PM
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i bought a tube of wrap - 1 ft by 5 ft, for $11.50. It does the job and is unobtrusive. Lots of colors - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FWTG35...ing=UTF8&psc=1
08-25-23, 06:15 AM
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08-25-23, 11:18 AM
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If you're locking up the bike in a public place, then you're sorta accepting the risk of losing it anyway.
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08-25-23, 01:46 PM
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There a commuter bike is a beat up beach cruiser.
If it’s scratched or stolen? Oh well.
08-25-23, 02:15 PM
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If a train station bike is so pretty that it needs to be protected from scratches, they won't have to worry about it much longer after it gets stolen.
It's much easier to have make an ugly beater that rivals any $1000 bike.
It's much easier to have make an ugly beater that rivals any $1000 bike.
08-30-23, 04:37 AM
#17
Bicyclist
Top tube protection
At HD or Lowe's you can buy clear plastic florescent tube protectors,slice lengthwise,and install. Plenty strong and you get to see your bike's color thru it!
