I have an idea for an aesthetic experiment. I'm thinking of wrapping the whole frame and fork of this Trek T1 in friction tape like the top tube. This is my beater / around town bike and I don't want people to see the logo Trek for one reason (I'm no fan of them and don't want to be reminded I'm riding one as well), I always have the TT taped like such on a bike I lock downtown to prevent scratches and sliding, and perhaps it'll look cool?

Anyone have any pics of a bike already done like this, or thoughts on the idea?

or spray the whole bike in truck bed liner. you won't have to worry about scratching and sliding.

Gaffer's tape might be a better option.

Why not just tape over the "TREK" logos only?

bed liner would look pretty cool.

Some dude did that here about two years ago. The bike was on CL for months. I'll look for pics.

OP - waste of tape and time.

Most of the pics are long gone. Here is one:

...

Taped over logos with 3M reflective tape. It's an inexpensive bike, but it being orange was already too flashy, I wanted to tone it down a bit.

Taping over logos to supposedly deter thieves just makes it look like you're hiding something. If I were a bike thief, a frame with covered up logos would seem more appealing.

And it looks like ****.

Plastidip the frame?

You are on to something here.

All the car guys are doing it these days. Its their way of cheaply "coating" an item. So they will take stock wheels and plastidip them. Or take a new wheel and mock it up in a different color with plastidip to see if they like it. Track cars are plastidiping or vinyl wrapping the vehicle to preserve the paint. I actually plastidiped a few park wrenches this weekend to make them a little more comfy in my hand.

but if you care about aesthetics its still not as good as paint or powder so dont try and pass it off as such.

I think that Plastidip idea is an awesome one! What would be the approach to that? Just sand for a rough surface, strip the current paint, simply apply? I wouldn't have tape on the TT with such a job, and there's tape there because of a dent. To cover the aesthetics of the dent (it's not major) just use body filler? Or will I need to put a primer on that and THEN the Plastitip

The number 2 selling point of plasti-dip is that its reversible...so no paint removal needed nor wanted. All you do is peel the plastic off and you are back to where you started,so why strip the paint? Just make sure to clean everything as in no oils.

1.Clean frame
2. Tape up any areas you would not like covered.
3. Apply THIN...I repeat THIN coats and many of them ( would say 6-8) let each coat dry roughly 30min.

There isnt a science to applying this stuff but deff there is a way to do things right. Not sure how it would work on the bike but worth a shot on a beater

The only downside of plastidip is no matter how many layers you apply, hitting it against your lock or perhaps bike racks will still cause it to tear and peel. But then again you can just reapply more.

They're also driving cars. Yay cars!

Run this up the flag pole:

Dipping cars - the "dipped" surfaces are positioned such that moisture will drain out.

Dipping a bike - any moisture (rain, salt, dirt, sweat) which finds its way in will settle into the fully encased nooks and crannies where it will f*** your sh*t up.

Bat has actually brought up a good point and yes that's why i said i would try it on a beater and not a frame I cared for. Im not sure what that last part meant, but it could allow rust to take over if not properly done.

That is the only downside? Srsly?

Youre not a fan of what exactly? Trek? The logos? why did you buy it? DID you buy it? it's a "beater" but you want to prevent scratches? I'm sorry but tape is not going to fix that fact that you obviously have a bike that doesn't suit your needs. Sell it to someone who will enjoy it AND BUY AN ACTUAL BEATER.

A friend of mine at work tapes his whole bike up to deter thieves. The only difference is that his bike is a beater to start with so the tape just makes it look extra goofy. Seems to work though.

Buy a sticker bomb pack from ebay and go to work on the frame.

take a look at food delivery guys in NYC. They're pros at taping and fuglying up their already undesirable MTBs.

Looks like I'll be stripping and custom painting this winter (still biking though, on my cyclcross)