Titanium Frame - 3M tape or no?

[germ79]

Hey, friends! I’m getting my first titanium bike and it should be delivered this coming week. Not having had one before I am curious if folks recommending putting the clear 3M tape on the frame in certain high impact/friction areas or if that isn’t necessary on titanium frames? I’m just not sure what to expect as far as how durable the titanium frames really are.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[mktng]

You'll get cable rub like any other frame. Except instead of paint rubbing off
It'll be the finish on the metal.

Not a huge deal.

Personally. I like avoiding the cable rub at the ht. But other areas. I don't bother.

[wallymann]

IMO cable rub is just part of being a bicycle so i only apply helo tape to protect the drive-side chainstay from chain-slap on my Ti gravel bike, same as on m CF and steel bikes.

[Matthew]

Yes. Use it. Who wants cable rub if you don't have to? I also put a chainstay protector on. Keeps the bike looking nice, isn't that a good thing? And it's cheap. Do it!!!!!!

[weisan]

. I’m just not sure what to expect as far as how durable the titanium frames really are.

You know what I like about my Ti bikes....ride it, forget it, repeat.

[merlinmurph]

You know what I like about my Ti bikes....ride it, forget it, repeat.

I'm with Weisan. Forget it.

[mokofoko]

New or used bike? Brand new, you may as well put some on the sides of the HT (stuff is extremely cheap). If it's used, it'd already have some surface wear--it's just cosmetic. I hate marks/scratches, but that sort of wear I'm somehow able to ignore!

[germ79]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

@mokofoko it’s new.

I’m not trying to be weird about overprotecting it, but I also don’t want to be foolish about it either! I’ve never used the 3M stuff before so I’m not sure how it holds up and looks over time. I suppose you can just remove it and replace it?

Someone told me if there’s marks and scratches you can scrub it out with a scotchbrite pad, but I’m not sure to what extent.

[mktng]

Know what. I'm with everyone else. Just ride it. Once the tape gets old. It's ugly. I see the scuffs on my titanium bikes. Adds character.

[.RJ]

Cross the housing around the head tube (i.e. right shifter/brake goes to the left side cable stop), and then the cables under the downtube, they wont rub as easily. You can clip short sections of cable liner and glue them together where you cross the cables under the downtube if you're worried about them fraying.

[Mike V]

3m tape for cable rub on any bike looks tacky to me. I think it looks worse than the cable rub.

Clear tape for chain slap only.

If your titanium bike has a brushed finish then a little scotch bride and your good to go. If it is matt finish then SOL.

[mokofoko]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

@mokofoko it’s new.

I’m not trying to be weird about overprotecting it, but I also don’t want to be foolish about it either! I’ve never used the 3M stuff before so I’m not sure how it holds up and looks over time. I suppose you can just remove it and replace it?

Someone told me if there’s marks and scratches you can scrub it out with a scotchbrite pad, but I’m not sure to what extent.

You don't need to buy the expensive 3m stuff. Any ol heli tape will work just fine. Companies like Xtremeguard sell large sheets (for tablets, etc) for only a few bucks after coupon. Just cut them up, slap them on--peel off with your fingernails when you want to. Mine last for years. For a low-contact (on the tape edging) location like the headtube, you won't have to worry about it ever peeling back on its own.

I've used scotch pads on TI before. Unless you're prepared to go over the entire bike, it'll likely never end up being a perfect match again once you go at it... you'll only really be concerned until you get that first mark. Fortunately, TI is easier to clean up marks vs painted. I dread having to paint match and fix paint chips, etc.

[mokofoko]

3m tape for cable rub on any bike looks tacky to me. I think it looks worse than the cable rub.

Clear tape for chain slap only.

If your titanium bike has a brushed finish then a little scotch bride and your good to go. If it is matt finish then SOL.

If people are close enough to spot the CLEAR tape on your headtube, they're way, way too close (for this age of covid19)

[weisan]

peel off with your fingernails when you want to.

That takes a bit of finesse...in fact you need a certificate from beauty school.

[mokofoko]

Know what. I'm with everyone else. Just ride it. Once the tape gets old. It's ugly. I see the scuffs on my titanium bikes. Adds character.

I've got rolls of heli tape left over, which I use to custom cover keyboard keys, phones, etc. One $2 sheet would be enough to last a bike for more than a decade, even if you replaced the HT tape biannually. Some brands do tend to yellow over time (had that issue with BSE and early versions of ZAGG)--some don't.

[mokofoko]

That takes a bit of finesse...in fact you need a certificate from beauty school.

Well, I guess I've got yet another employable skill to add to my resume then! :banana:

[Mike V]

If people are close enough to spot the CLEAR tape on your headtube, they're way, way too close (for this age of covid19)

Even in these uncertain times it looks like crap from any feet away. Especially from my vantage point to my bike. That's the most important view.:banana:

[Hilltopperny]

I think it depends on how you use it. I did not protect my Drifter with any kind of clear tape and there is rub through the anodization on the headtube and the lower headset from my hydraulic brake cable. I only see it when I am cleaning the bike and it has been ridden in all kinds of weather and terrain since I had it built.

My titanium road bikes have not seen the same level of wear and I have let them be as well. The main difference is terrain and what type of weather they have been through. If you plan on riding in wet or winter weather or off road then I would cover the wear points unless you want to have some patina.

[Matthew]

Buy a handful of the round stick on protectors from Jagwire. They work great. Available on ebay for cheap. Then get a chainstay protector. Many types available, clear, faux carbon, whatever. Looks like crap in 5-10 years replace it. Far better than scratches.

[avalonracing]

If it is a brushed Ti bike and you get a little cable rub it's easy to take it back to brush. If it is a raw or blasted Ti that's a different story. But I have a couple of tiny dots of clear tape on my Ti bikes and clear tape on the chainstay.

[mokofoko]

Even in these uncertain times it looks like crap from any feet away. Especially from my vantage point to my bike. That's the most important view.:banana:

I've got tape on the HT of at least 6 of my bikes, the only deviants being the ones where the housing comes nowhere close to touching (and my TI gravel bike, already with plenty of marks). The only time I even notice the tape is when I'm up close doing maintenance. The sight of it never bothered me before, so I guess it's a personal thing.

There are a few folks in my bike groups who keep beautifully maintained bikes, and nary a scratch on the paint... aside from the headtube. It makes me sad to see paint loss in that location when it's easily prevented. With TI I'm not convinced it matters, but with paint... I wouldn't cover my whole bike in tape (may as well just bubblewrap it at that point), but it's just an inch or two of space.

[Hellgate]

Cables will scuff a Ti frame over time. As the Hipsters says "It's patina."

Davidson patina

The second photo is just a bonus one. [emoji39]
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200802/51fde56f9a6c0175a4d0ebac407afc67.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200802/f0fc5c4485f35c6f12268dd6c2cf9918.jpg

[weisan]

Hell pal, are we looking at the nipple or the armpit?

[mokofoko]

Cables will scuff a Ti frame over time. As the Hipsters says "It's patina."

Davidson patina

The second photo is just a bonus one. [emoji39]


What caused the gouging of the lower cup?

[Mike V]

I've got tape on the HT of at least 6 of my bikes, the only deviants being the ones where the housing comes nowhere close to touching (and my TI gravel bike, already with plenty of marks). The only time I even notice the tape is when I'm up close doing maintenance. The sight of it never bothered me before, so I guess it's a personal thing.

There are a few folks in my bike groups who keep beautifully maintained bikes, and nary a scratch on the paint... aside from the headtube. It makes me sad to see paint loss in that location when it's easily prevented. With TI I'm not convinced it matters, but with paint... I wouldn't cover my whole bike in tape (may as well just bubblewrap it at that point), but it's just an inch or two of space.

I bet I could see the tape and it would look worst than rub marks. Tape bad shudder. Rub marks no big deal doesn't look bad at all. It's a perspective thing. Ours are different. Yours I can understand. I like mine better. That's all. It what I thought the OP was asking.

[weisan]

I didn't read anyone bringing this up...with the tape, it will SURELY form a line around its parameter over time especially if you clean your bike and run a cloth or something over it. Dirt collects or gathers around the seams.

[pdmtong]

Only on the DSCS

Patina shows the love

[Hellgate]

What caused the gouging of the lower cup?No idea. Time? Moving? Hanging on a rack? Crashing? Packing for travel? I honestly don't know. The frame is 20 years old at this point. [emoji848]

[Hellgate]

Hell pal, are we looking at the nipple or the armpit?Ha! Too funny. The scuffs on the head tube hardly show up in the photo.

[SlowPokePete]

I don't really care about the more "polished" areas on my Lynskey at all.

It ain't paint.

SPP

[Hellgate]

I don't really care about the more "polished" areas on my Lynskey at all.



It ain't paint.



SPPRock on SPP!

[teleguy57]

This stuff is amazing. (https://smile.amazon.com/Lamin-x-Bicycle-Frame-Guard-Matte/dp/B079LR76JV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NYY2N2QT8ZLS&dchild=1&keywords=lamin-x+bicycle+frame+tape+guard&qid=1596506481&s=automotive&sprefix=LAMin%2Cautomotive%2C929&sr=1-1) Matte finish disappears on my brushed ti Alliance. Have it on the DS chainstay and on the sides of the HT to prevent cable rub. Invisible until you're within inches of it.

Pricey, but 60 linear inches of 4" wide tape covers a lot of bike surface so you can share with all your friends....

[germ79]

This is all great information! Does titanium chip or dent fairly easily?

[Hellgate]

This is all great information! Does titanium chip or dent fairly easily?No

[Clancy]

IMO cable rub is just part of being a bicycle so i only apply helo tape to protect the drive-side chainstay from chain-slap on my Ti gravel bike, same as on m CF and steel bikes.


Curious, if cable rub is just part of being a bicycle, why isn’t chain-slap?

[BobbyJones]

Curious, if cable rub is just part of being a bicycle, why isn’t chain-slap?

Glad somebody said it.

Personally, I like my stuff to look as good as possible for as long as it can. With minimal effort and using barely perceptible protection you can keep a bike from looking ratty over the long haul. Aside from decal scratches and significant gouges, Titanium has no paint to chip so it's even more of a benefit to protect from rub wear.

It's not quite the same as putting plastic on your couch, but maybe more relatable to washing and waxing a car.

I use the stuff from crankskins. (https://crankskins.myshopify.com/). I'm also not a big fan of heel rub on crank arms :)

To each their own.

[adrien]

Firefly ships their frames with taped drive side chain stays. Nowhere else.

Not sure what they use (they're good folks -- I'm sure they'd tell you if asked) but it's great; completely disappears and has held well with no discoloration or peeling for me in 5 years and about 25,000 miles. On this bike, it's all I've used, though it's running ETAP so there aren't cables to rub.

I do use helicopter tape on the painted fork, and it's been very effective.

[mokofoko]

This is all great information! Does titanium chip or dent fairly easily?

What Hellgate said.

If you've ever owned a steel bike, expect that level of durability. Any decent TI frame is going to be about as strong as an equivalent steel version (but nearly 50% lighter--at maybe 4x the cost!).

[mokofoko]

Glad somebody said it.

Personally, I like my stuff to look as good as possible for as long as it can. With minimal effort and using barely perceptible protection you can keep a bike from looking ratty over the long haul. Aside from decal scratches and significant gouges, Titanium has no paint to chip so it's even more of a benefit to protect from rub wear.

It's not quite the same as putting plastic on your couch, but maybe more relatable to washing and waxing a car.

I use the stuff from crankskins. (https://crankskins.myshopify.com/). I'm also not a big fan of heel rub on crank arms :)

To each their own.

You and me both. I put heli tape on my crankarms, especially ones with nice Dura/campy decals :)

[germ79]

You and me both. I put heli tape on my crankarms, especially ones with nice Dura/campy decals :)

That’s a good idea!