#EASYFRAME REVIEWS FULL#

Other companies have fork and crank tapes or films available but they need to be purchased separately. Bonus: there are even a couple pre-cut pieces of tape for cranks and forks. With so many shapes to use, this DIY approach allows one to tailor protection for tight parts of their specific frame. One Manufacturing left it that way deliberately, reasoning that not all frames have the same curves, and that allowing the user to make articulation slits as needed lets them optimize tape placement for their individual needs. One note: unlike some of the other tape packages reviewed here, the swatches of protective film don't have pre cut slits for articulation.

One Manufacturing already had a couple of different frame tapes available under the One Ball name, but the die cut pack is hands down the best value I found online. One Manufacturing enters the fray with their twenty piece Bicycle Moto Deflection Die-Cut Protective Kit, an 18” x 27” sheet of 6mil PVC film pre cut into handy shapes that will fit the important parts of most frames. Additionally, I limited this review to tapes I could readily get my mitts on there are other options available, like Frameskin and Shack Wrap, that I was unable to easily get my hands on. They are just an abrasion guard for your frame. Keep in mind, though, that tapes and films aren’t armor plate: they won’t prevent dents in an alloy frame, etc. Here, we’ll outline seven protective film options-at least one option should be readily available to you via the interwebs or your local bike shop. One thing to note: none of these tapes were specifically tested in this review for abrasion resistance, but rather for ease of application and my own two cents on personal experience from using them over the years. A thickness of 1 mil equals 1/1000 of an inch or 25.4 microns. These films come in various thicknesses, defined as 'mils' which are thousands of an inch, or microns, which are micrometers. Polyurethane tends to be more elastic and abrasion resistant than straight up vinyl, but vinyl can have plasticizers added to it to increase elasticity and abrasion resistance. All are made of either Polyurethane or PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride - often simply referred to as 'vinyl'). There are a number of readily available films and tapes that can be purchased to protect your bike.

#EASYFRAME REVIEWS FULL#

That brings us full circle to the DIY approach to protecting your investment. And while bike companies could easily do this, that cost would ultimately have to be passed onto the consumer, making an already pricey investment even more expensive. But why don't they do something better than paint to protect a frame head to toe? The simple answer is mo' money: the materials cost of a good protective film isn’t huge, but it has to be applied by hand, and that’s both time consuming and labor intensive to do right. Some frames even have an additional TPU guard on the down tube for shuttle protection.

Just this past year, RC wondered, ' Why don't bike companies do this for you? In some places on the frame they already do: most frames, particularly carbon ones, have a TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane) guard to protect the bottom bracket area from trail debris and on the drivetrain stays to protect from chain slap. Maybe it’s a vanity thing, but when some people are forking out anywhere from $7k to $10k for a complete bike these days, investing in some kind of protective tape or film to keep it looking fresh just seems like common sense. Applying some protection to that new ride will help keep it looking shiny and new a lot longer than just plain old paint.

And it looks sweet as! But a month of shuttles and aggressive trail riding will make any bike look as if it’d been flogged with a chain.

Easyframe reviews