Author Topic: Recommendation for protective decals  (Read 543 times)

fhold

Recommendation for protective decals
« on: November 15, 2024, 01:52:48 AM »
Hey,

does anyone have a recommendation for a transparent protective decal/film to put on the bike to avoid chips and scratches from road/gravel debris?

Cheers
Flavio



SirBikealot

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2024, 05:11:24 AM »
got this one on my road bike:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005224966354.html

nothing bad to talk about at the moment.

fhold

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2024, 07:42:35 AM »
cool thanks! Is that glossy or matte?

SirBikealot

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2024, 07:52:29 AM »
cool thanks! Is that glossy or matte?

yes, it's on the glossy side

Serge_K

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2024, 02:09:46 AM »
got this one on my road bike:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005224966354.html

nothing bad to talk about at the moment.

Interesting. What form factor did you order, and what do you think is best? did you tape the whole bike? I bought helicopter tape years ago, and found it so annoying to apply it that i stopped at the fork, and never bothered with the rest of the frame.
Fast on the flat. And nowhere else.

jfcb

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2024, 02:23:47 AM »
On my gravel bike, I have protection tape on the downtube and frontal area of the fork blades. I noticed mainly the downtube gets a lot of hits from loose gravel.
On my road bikes, I don't have the need for protection of the frame for debris.

SillyMochi

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2024, 07:14:59 AM »
I'd go with something wider that 7cm - otherwise you might need to double-tape thicker parts, like the downtube. If you are only looking to wrap the chainstay or fork, you might be ok.

For my first bike (wasn't used to ordering stuff from AE yet), I went with a premium car vinyl. And also because I wanted a matt one, since my bike coating was matt as well: https://luxshield.de/Lackschutzfolie-Transparent-matt-15x200cm
Must say, even though it was a bit pricey (35€ for 15x200cm roll), it was well worth it. I covered my whole bike frame with it (~90%) - not just the downtube and chainstay. On the bike it is basically invisible from more than 30cm distance. And even if you look at it closely, you have to know it is there or just happen to look at an cut line/end of it. It's still in the same condition one year later, even after a many winter rides, lots of mud, and a few pressure washes. No corners started to peel either.

The also offer "pre-cut vinyl" for bikes but that was even pricier. However, might be worth it, as the measuring, planning, and cutting all the parts took quite a while.

For my road bike I just wanted to cover the downtube and chainstay. Wanted to try a cheap alternative, so gave this one a try (~2€ for 15x200cm): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005677268215.html
Compared to the premium brand, this one is a bit harder to cut and apply. It might be a bit thicker or just cheaper material. Even though, it was still rather easy to cut to size. But I didn't have any "complicated" shapes this time as downtube and chainstay basically meant two rather regular rectangles.

Even though it is not stated in the product description, you can also apply it wet, which makes it even easier to avoid air bubbles or dust containment. However, since it was less bendy than the premium one, it took much longer to adhere to the shape. Wasn't an issue on the downtube as the two bends are rather big but on the chainstay, I had to "babysit" the adherence for about 30 min. Might be different, if you apply it dry but would recommend the wet application nevertheless for much cleaner results.

This one is almost just as invisible as the premium one. However, even after a few months, the corners on the chainstay started to peel off a little. It's mostly on the inside, so not a big concern but I might want to re-apply it after the winter season to have it look nice again. The downtube is just fine.
Slow on the climb. And everywhere else.

wlcrs

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2024, 07:38:06 AM »
I went with these pre-cut pieces:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004009404498.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005486903488.html

Works great on flat pieces of my frame, but they do tend to let go a bit on very curved places. I would suggest applying a bit of heat to the tape when you apply it on those difficult places to heat up the glue/help the vinyl to deform.

TidyDinosaur

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2024, 08:17:26 AM »
For my first bike (wasn't used to ordering stuff from AE yet), I went with a premium car vinyl. And also because I wanted a matt one, since my bike coating was matt as well: https://luxshield.de/Lackschutzfolie-Transparent-matt-15x200cm
Must say, even though it was a bit pricey (35€ for 15x200cm roll), it was well worth it. I covered my whole bike frame with it (~90%) - not just the downtube and chainstay. On the bike it is basically invisible from more than 30cm distance. And even if you look at it closely, you have to know it is there or just happen to look at an cut line/end of it. It's still in the same condition one year later, even after a many winter rides, lots of mud, and a few pressure washes. No corners started to peel either.


I also use this one. Works great en does not peel. I apply it wet first and after that use the heat of a hairdryer to convince the vinyl to get around curves and bends and help it adhere. 

SirBikealot

Re: Recommendation for protective decals
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2024, 08:46:55 AM »
Interesting. What form factor did you order, and what do you think is best? did you tape the whole bike? I bought helicopter tape years ago, and found it so annoying to apply it that i stopped at the fork, and never bothered with the rest of the frame.
got 5cmx3m and went for the most vulnerable parts like lower downtube and the inside parts of the rear triangle on my roadbike. (picture is from the toptube from my gravel; had some bits left) So the parts where the chances for rock impacts are the higtest. But some on the upper parts of the downtube will be applied, as i can see some light scratches in the paint where the water bottle "tries" to enter the bottle cage.