Scratch Free Bikes After 1 Year Plus
#26
Senior Member
This describes me to a large extent. I like tinkering with bikes and detailing them. Last year I sold a bike that I had owned for six years and the buyer wanted to see my original sales invoice as he didn't believe the bike was unmarked after six years.
Car detailing is one of my hobbies so I've extended it to detailing bicycles.
All of my bikes are parked in display stands so they don't touch each other or walls.
I find tinkering with bikes and detailing them very therapeutic and rewarding, and a great way to de-stress. I do ride my bikes sometimes, but never in bad weather. Each to their own, I guess...
Car detailing is one of my hobbies so I've extended it to detailing bicycles.
All of my bikes are parked in display stands so they don't touch each other or walls.
I find tinkering with bikes and detailing them very therapeutic and rewarding, and a great way to de-stress. I do ride my bikes sometimes, but never in bad weather. Each to their own, I guess...
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#27
Tortoise Wins by a Hare!
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I'm with taz777 and puma1552. It's not difficult to avoid scratches and dings. I ride my bikes plenty, some in poor weather. I handle them with care and detail them often. It's been over 10 years since I've crashed. Yes, I'll get a tiny nick now and then, but even my 20+ year old bikes look nearly new. Same thing with my cars. I like riding and I like keeping my stuff mint.
When I see how beat up some bikes are I sometimes wonder if their owners jump off and just let 'em crash into the pile when parking them.
When I see how beat up some bikes are I sometimes wonder if their owners jump off and just let 'em crash into the pile when parking them.
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#28
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#29
Non omnino gravis
Well, I put 5,600 miles on my R3 in it's first year, so it's got plenty of nicks and scratches. I didn't buy it to look at it, I bought it to ride it.
Said it before, time is not a useful metric when talking about bikes. A buddy of mine has a pristine looking bike-- which has about 600 miles on it over 3 years. Easy to keep that clean.
Said it before, time is not a useful metric when talking about bikes. A buddy of mine has a pristine looking bike-- which has about 600 miles on it over 3 years. Easy to keep that clean.
#30
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This one has over 20,000 miles, nothing more than a few tiny nicks:
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#33
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I did. My frame really doesn't scratch (at least not easily) because it has a Cerakote finish, not paint. I did get some abrasions this year because I didn't tighten the rear QR enough. When I started to pedal, the rear wheel dislodges and rubbed against the back of the seat tube and inside one of the chainstays. Just noticed that while I was cleaning it on Wednesday.
#35
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It's about the paint quality on your bike and how careful you are to not do something to scratch it. I've had a couple of Trek's and a LeMond that would get paint chips if you breathed on it too hard because the paint was so thin. My 2011 Focus has almost 20,000 miles and looks virtually brand new. You would have to use a magnifier to see any scratches.
#36
Senior Member
My Cannondale fat bike has very soft and thin paint and wears down easily - a light cable rub has worn away the top coat.
My Specialized CrossTrail has an amazing paint job that wouldn't look out of place on a high end car. Silky smooth deep lustre paint and a tough gloss lacquer.
#37
Retired loving & Life!
>XPEL.com no nicks, no scratches, no runs...
I bought a bike that had something like xpel applied to its newly painted surface. It was beautiful until the first scratch event which colored the scratch white. It showed anyone looking close enough that there was a film applied. My further, inevitable scratches finally made it look horrible so I ripped it all off. I'm just naturally rough on my stuff.
I bought a bike that had something like xpel applied to its newly painted surface. It was beautiful until the first scratch event which colored the scratch white. It showed anyone looking close enough that there was a film applied. My further, inevitable scratches finally made it look horrible so I ripped it all off. I'm just naturally rough on my stuff.
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#39
well hello there
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I once purchased a brand new bike and before ever leaving the shop, I scratched the top tube, right where I have to look at it every time I get on the bike.
So I used some nail polish, to attempt to cover it up, and now every time I ride the bike I see a scratch with a dab of nail polish. Oh well.
So I used some nail polish, to attempt to cover it up, and now every time I ride the bike I see a scratch with a dab of nail polish. Oh well.
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
#40
Senior Member
Old innertube sliced up and taped on the underside of my down tube. Looks decent. Well actually you don't even really see it. I taped it on with electrical tape over a year ago and it is is still there doing its job. Plain old electrical tape without the innertube works to but not as resilent and sound deadening as the innertube. I actually don't care about scratches and dirt, I just got annoyed with the constant pinging of debris.
#41
Senior Member
Old innertube sliced up and taped on the underside of my down tube. Looks decent. Well actually you don't even really see it. I taped it on with electrical tape over a year ago and it is is still there doing its job. Plain old electrical tape without the innertube works to but not as resilent and sound deadening as the innertube. I actually don't care about scratches and dirt, I just got annoyed with the constant pinging of debris.
#42
Senior Member
You don't see it unless you hang out under the bike instead of ride it. Like I said, I was more concerned with function. In the end even if visible from underneath, no more pinging and it is covered in dirt and dust after a ride anyway.
Last edited by u235; 08-25-18 at 12:13 PM.
#43
Junior Member
Our five year old tandem is powdercoated white and while we try to take care to avoid scratches and such, it has proven difficult. Transporting it to our ride starts seems to be as rough as anything we do while riding. I like pristine stuff but you can choose to polish or use and we choose to use our bike and use our time doing other things other than cleaning and polishing. That said, I'll not choose another white bike unless it's an extremely good deal.
#44
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I don't follow the difficulty. All of my bikes are scratch free. You don't have to abuse them to ride them.
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nine mile skid on a ten mile ride
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#45
Non omnino gravis
Go ride some fire roads for awhile. After a winter of access roads on Gravelking SKs, the downtube on my Ritchey-- which is powdercoated, not painted-- is sandblasted to an uneven matte finish. Plenty of nicks from rocks on the chainstays, seatstays, and forks. Rock dings on the rims and spokes. Those nicks and dings give character. My Cervelo has 4-5 little chips in the paint from kicked up rocks-- but even while splitting time with the Ritchey, it put on 5,600 miles in its first 12 months.
Bragging about a scratch free bike is... bizarre. Or maybe scratch free comes with living somewhere that the roads don't suck. I wouldn't know.
Bragging about a scratch free bike is... bizarre. Or maybe scratch free comes with living somewhere that the roads don't suck. I wouldn't know.
#46
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If you don't like scratches, throw some helicopter tape on it and then ride the hell out of it. I put a small piece in a couple places (front fork sides, drive side crank) because I know that's where I get the worst wear. Might help with resale someday. It's good for preventive cable rub, too.
#47
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Years ago my son bought a brand new Gary Fisher Joshua mountain bike. Since he was working that day, he offered it to me to ride with my regular Saturday morning mountain bike group. I told him that I couldn't ride his bike before he had a chance to ride it. "What if I wipe out and scratch it up?"
Dad, he said, it's a mountain bike. You're supposed to wipe out and tear it up."
Made me proud. I'm still proud of him.
Dad, he said, it's a mountain bike. You're supposed to wipe out and tear it up."
Made me proud. I'm still proud of him.
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#48
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I ride ~150mi per week, have been riding for at least 10 yrs, used to race. My bike frames are scratch-free, although I have certainly crashed. Handlebars, brake hoods, and saddle are the only parts that have ever been damaged in a crash.... I, on the other hand still have scars :-)
#49
Senior Member
Uhhh scratches? I've broken 4 frames, 2 of them mt bikes. Does that count? Like my scars, each one has a story.
#50
Senior Member
Nope.