This cheap frame had a series of gouges/scapes on the frame on both sides (worse on the non drive side) that had rusted over the years, and generally looked worse than a typical charactered patina. I thought about trying to paint it, but figured it wasn’t really worth the effort. I don’t think the corrosion is bad enough to be considered a structural issue but it looked rough – like someone wore a suit of armor that scraped the frame every pedal stroke.
My solution was to first treat the corrosion with loc-tite, then clean the entire downtube with isopropyl/degreaser and “wrap” the frame with a strip of rubberized grip tape I found on amazon. The 4” wide strip left a small seam that runs just along the bottom of the bike and isn’t visible. I measured and cut out a strip for the bottle cage mount points as well. Finished product from like 5 feet away looks like just a flat grey/primed downtube. Up close its a softish grippy finish that pretty effectively masked all of the uneven spots on the frame, and the application went on pretty smooth. I added two extra strips as a chain guard + to cover up some bare steel that was exposed on the opposite side. Does this look ridiculous? Will it cause any unforeseen issues down the line? Or is this a viable solution to masking an otherwise crappy section of frame?
by fats-dildo-dominus
4 Comments
Cool solution to protect your frame. Is the tape reflective as well? Adding some reflective tape that isn’t too horrible looking in regular light would be another option. Maybe something like that for the seat stays to make your bike more visible at night.
Looks good to me. Gives the bike a cool “utilitarian” feel too.
What the hell made all those marks on the downtube? Gonna be honest I hate the look of it but I guess if Wolverine is attacking your frame while you ride it serves a purpose.
I wrapped all the tubes on a bike i have. It turned out really nice too. Makes it feel “new”