Not really mechanics related but I got my Inspired Element 26 the other day. Not usually fussy about scratches on bikes I have because its just wear and tear but the crank arms are getting scratched a lot and on a bike looking this nice I don't really want scratches on the cranks standing out and kind of spoiling the look, I know all bikes get scratched but does anybody have any suggestions on covers or guards I can get for the cranks? Or if anybody has any tips on covering them up I would be grateful of you could tell me how

https://www.crankskins.com/clcr2.html

Helicopter tape. That's really what it's called. Good for chainstays where they get hit by the chain and for frame areas like head tubes abraded by cable housings, too.

Re-angle your cleats slightly so your heels don't hit the crank arms.

This^^^ Polyurethane tape is what this is for googling purposes. Get the outdoor, UV resistant version. I wouldn't be surprised if the crankskins are made of this stuff but as they are already perfectly pre-cut to fit your cranks their price isn't all that bad. Although for about the same price you could get enough helicopter tape to do a few other parts of your frame as well.

You could also buy some "clearbra" film. This stuff is used on $100k - $1m+ cars all the time for front end protection from rock chips. Goes on wet with a 50/50 mixture of water/alcohol. I bought a bulk sheet, 18" wide x 1 yard, a few years ago and I use it on anything with a screen I want to protect (cell phone touch screens work fine with it, camera screens, etc.) and on my bike where the cables touch the frame and rub the paint.

I found one bulk film seller here: https://www.clearmask.com/vehicle_pag...FILMS&year=all and there are likely others.

Bubble wrap.

OCD Therapy .

Bob, you're getting cranky in your old age (pun intended)

said something about the real tape used on Helicopters, but the moderators scrubbed it.

Tell the truth, fietsbob.

That's a trials bike, right?

Thrash around for a couple of days, and you'll get over it.

I'm of the Era of the Vietnam war Draft , my time was spent on As a submarine sailor
with 18 multiple nuclear warhead ballistic missles in my bedroom .

now I get stories passed down from younger guys , in the coast Guard , hereabout
how the Hueys shooting people when they shot back how they sawed off rotars to be of more equal weight and taping up the cut ends so they could fly back to base ..

took Robert McNamara writing his end of life , [rich from the sweat and death of others]
biography to admit the whole war was a political fraud,

then we got home to the crushing of labor and the suppressing of wages and pitting one group of workers
against each other so as to obfuscape the whole game was rigge from the beginning ..

still is ..

bring them all home.

+1

Any how .. want crank arm covers and got the dosh to pay for them?

Swiss Machine designer Florian Schlumpf, for his 2 speed planetary cranks ,
they make a stamped cover for the crank arms, because the shifting is done with the center button

where a dust cap would be , but its purpose is to make the shifting between
button in on the right , out on the left, and the opposite in on the left proud on the Right
easy.

the recent improved version uses a steel button on the end of the shifting shuttle, and a magnet in the cover
so it wont rattle.

The 2 speed cranks are great , i got one for my Brompton M3L. adds 3 more much lower gears.

Schlumpf also makes 2 overdrive cranks , aswell

put heat shrink tubing from Radio Shack on the crank arms. Cheap, tough, remove when you want to ebay them. colors too.

Here's a dumb question - how do crank arms get so beat up anyway? I've got this real purty Giant FCR2 with a great paint job that I try to keep decent-looking, but the black crank arms are scuffed down to bare metal. What the heck is rubbing -I think I'd notice if it were my legs or shoes.

It's your shoes. You're not always aware of light rubbing when it happens.

I know that large diameter shrink tubing is made because I've seen it used on leaf springs, but I doubt you'll find it at Radio Shack.