Frame protection

bogmanfan

I have a new carbon framed bike arriving very soon, and looking to protect the frame. I'm aware of invisiframe, but are there other options out there? And where do people get theirs fitted/applied?

Lemming

bogmanfan wrote: »

I have a new carbon framed bike arriving very soon, and looking to protect the frame. I'm aware of invisiframe, but are there other options out there? And where do people get theirs fitted/applied?

I fitted my own invisi-frame kit on my carbon nukeproof mega over the course of a weekend. Just take your time with it and don't be afraid to apply and then remove to reapply a particular piece, or work on a particular piece for a while to get any air bubbles out. No real point in having a shop do it. Any shop that does a good job of it will charge you and rightly so because it is a time-consuming job. The flip-side of that is a shop getting the skivvy/summer work-experience kid to do it on their lunch-break for €20 and well, you'll get what you pay for.

How long it will take to apply your kit will depend greatly on the frame and the attendant complexity of the invisi-frame kit. Mine took longer because being a new release, some of the frame kit pieces had to be altered by myself (just small things really) which took that bit more time and effort to get right.

You could also get the likes of the AMS frame-guard kits which are a bit more 'take it or leave it' regards patterns and logos on the actual kit pieces themselves, unlike invisi-frame which ... does exactly as it says on the tin. Anyway, what's the new bike on order?

C3PO

I always buy 3M tape from these guys and fit it myself!
As Lemming says take your time and it's no problem. I use water (with a tiny drop of washing up liquid) to allow a little movement and a hair dryer.
http://www.justridingalong.com/parts/copter-tape-frame-tape.html

Lemming

C3PO wrote: »

I always buy 3M tape from these guys and fit it myself!
As Lemming says take your time and it's no problem. I use water (with a tiny drop of washing up liquid) to allow a little movement and a hair dryer.
http://www.justridingalong.com/parts/copter-tape-frame-tape.html

I had forgotten about the 3M stuff.
Steps I took (I'll find the list of exact stuff later if anyone wants it):

• Apply tar removal liquid first (the sort you'll find in Halfords) for removing any residue from the portion of frame to work on first;
• Wipe down with a lint-free cloth.
• Mix a solution of 7/8 water 1/8 baby oil in a squirty bottle,
• Apply solution judiciously to both frame and sticker (both front & back) & then set in place.
• When happy with placement*, I used a hard rubber squee-gee thing that invisiframe provided to work the water and air bubbles out from underneath the sticker (hence the water on top too .. )

* Setting sticker in place may also require working air & water out from under sticker as you go depending on the contours of the frame.

Damienmac

Hi,
I've used these for two carbon mtb frames: https://www.easy-frame.com/
I think they were a little cheaper than invi-frame. The kits fitted well, and it's not obvious that the bike has any tape on it at all. I can't say if they were better/worse than invisi-frame since I've haven't tried both.
I have tried 3M tape on  frames before. It looks a bit messier since the strips of tape aren't made to the frame fit, and it's awkward to cut straight strips of tape to fit the various lines on a frame.  I would avoid the hassle and get a frame specific kit.

Tenzor07

Give Ross in Bikeology a call, a real master with the invisiframe!

https://www.bikeology.ie/contact-us/