Titanium Frame - 3M tape or no?

[Hellgate]

Originally Posted by SlowPokePete

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



It ain't paint.



SPP

Rock on SPP!

[teleguy57]

This stuff is amazing. 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]

Originally Posted by germ79

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

No

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[BobbyJones]

Originally Posted by Clancy

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.. 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]

Originally Posted by germ79

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]

Originally Posted by BobbyJones

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.. 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]

Originally Posted by mokofoko

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

That’s a good idea!