Protect Your Frame
A while back I saw a really sweet Frame Bag designed with the Colorado Flag - and two thoughts came to mind.
- Would that fit on my bike (I ride a small frame)?
- What’s all that Velcro going to do to the finish of my carbon frame?
After some digging I was able to find a smaller version of the frame bag called a 1/2 bag, but the whole idea of sand and crushed granite (Colorado’s dirt) didn’t sit well with me.
After some lurking on the boards - it seemed that most folks just wrapped their frames with some kind of tape? Which didn’t seem all that bad until I started reading posts of people trying to get the tape off and it pealing the paint, or even worse pulling off part of the clear coating of some carbon frames.
For grins, I made a call to Borealis to ask about warranty - and well as expected - if I put tape on the frame and when it’s removed it damages the frame - not covered, and rightfully so!
Along came a spider - well actually Revelate Designs; the folks that make the 1/2 Triangle I was talking about earlier. They have a solution to the problem - it’s called “Silicone Frame Saver tape”!
Their Description:
“Our Silicone tape has lots of uses. It sticks to itself, leaves no adhesive residue, adds grip and padding.
Wrap it on frame contact points, use as a chain stay protector, wrap your brake levers, seal blown hoses on your car.. the list goes on.”
It’s actually not tape at all - it’s some kind of silicone wrap that while it does stick to itself (very well mind you) it doesn’t actually stick to your frame- yet once wrapped, it’s does not move a millimeter!
Attached are some photos - that I took tonight while wrapping my frame in preparation for the 1/2 Triangle. I have added comments to the photos.
Update: It looks like RD is no longer carrying the wrap, but I did find it on Amazon for about 1/2 the price, but I have not actually tried it yet - I'm ordering it today and will report back.
