WLemke Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 (edited) Hey all. I’m starting a vinyl frame protection thread for posterity. I have yet to ride my new bike as I have an irrational fear of the rocky limestone terrain in Central Texas molesting the pristine paint on my carbon frame. To combat that fear, whether justified or not, I’ve decided to install a full frame vinyl protection film on the entire bike. Over kill? Maybe. It seems that there were two main options for a full frame vinyl protection kit, Invisiframe and ridewrap. I ended up ordering the tailored kit from ridewrap mainly because it was estimated to get here sooner. As far as I could tell from online reviews, both products are more or less the same. From the research I’ve done, this is going to be a royal pain in the ass to install. I’m planning on installing it tomorrow throughout the day between work meetings. I’ll post some install photos and my thoughts on the process along the way. Edited September 29, 2020 by WLemke 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuitbreaker Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 that's cool, never tried a whole bike. i might go crazy trying to get all the bubbles out. my 5010 has tape on the downtube which mostly works, but i think still some chips get through. My carbon rims seem to take the worst beating. they are covered in scratches. followed by the BB area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsloan Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Mild temperatures seem to yield the best results. I’ve been slowly adding helicopter tape to my frame over the months and unless you are wrapping around some complex bends, the mid to upper 70’s seem ideal for application. If you have some tricky areas…heat gun. I still think I applied my top tube strip too hot as it stretched and warped a bit while still showing bubbles. Although I’m probably the only one who notices. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willatter Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 It is time consuming but not difficult, took me about 3.5 hours. I installed an invisiframe kit on my blur and it turned out great with no bubbles. I used a mixture of water and baby soap in a spray bottle as instructed to wet the frame before installing each section. Clean the frame really well before, dial in your soap and water mix, use the supplied squeegees and you will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I've done Invisiframe a couple of times. Not that bad but it is time consuming usually 2-3 hours. Keep the vinyl wet and use heat for the compound curves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLemke Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 Alight. Got the first piece done this morning. In all, not too bad. As other has mentioned above, it is indeed a bit time consuming to work the vinyl onto the frame bubble free. Frame prepped and ready to go the schematic the vinyl sheet. 23 pieces in total! first piece done! Found a bubble i slowly peeled the section back. Re-wet the vinyl and pressed the bubble out. Looks much better now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Any bubbles that you can't push out the edge of the tape you can use a sharp pin to remove the water/air that's trapped. If you pierce the tape at the edge of a bubble you can usually push the air/water out the point where you pierced it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 12 hours ago, circuitbreaker said: My carbon rims seem to take the worst beating. Jeez yeah. At 9000 miles my SC Reserve 37 rear wheel is looking rough--it's all cosmetic though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLemke Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 Got the rear triangle done. Was hoping to get more done but work has been a little too busy. After 6 pieces applied I’m starting to get the hang of this. There is an initial burst of tediousness when first getting the vinyl aligned and flattened out on one side of the frame. Once that is over, it’s fairly easy to squeegee the rest of the piece around the frame. What really helps, and what I noticed the pros do and some of the home users don’t do in the videos I’ve watched is to hold a section taught when squeegeeing. This allows the liquid to escape at the point where the squeegee meets the vinyl as you push/pull. If you don’t do this, the liquid tends to form pockets as the remaining vinyl not yet squeegeed will adhere before you get to it with the squeegee. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLemke Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 And for the love of god and all the is holy I have completed installing the vinyl. Everything was going smoothly until I got to the top tube. It was a very large piece and oh my goodness was it was so hard to 1. Line up and 2. Fold the vinyl around the frame without creases. After peeling off the piece multiple times I finally got it lined up “good enough”. From there I spent another 30 minutes slowly folding the piece around the frame. It’s not perfect by any means but it looks good from about 6 feet away The last major pain was the down tube piece. Similar to the top tube it was large and hard to align. I flipped the bike upside down to make it a bit easier to install. The most frustrating part about the down tube was the little flaps that cover the forward shock mount. I really feel that this would have been much easier if this was its own piece instead of part of the down tube piece. Similar to the top tube, the down tube is just ok up close but looks good from a distance. It was just so difficult juggling the tasks of folding, removing bubbles and keeping the vinyl in alignment. I choose to focus on alignment and no creases. you can see a few bubbles in the picture below and a slight alignment issue where the down tube meets the head tube. Fortunately this is on the underside so it’s not visible. All in all, I’d rate my install a B-. It’s good but I certainly won’t be giving the valedictorian speech at graduation. Will I do this again? Hell no. I will happily pay someone $150-$200 to install Vinyl protection in the future. In fact, I didn’t even really want to do it the first time but the COVID bike bonanza put me in the situation of doing it myself or waiting 4+ weeks for a shop to do it for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Magnet Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I know a guy that can put a ceramic coat on your frame for a decent price. It looks good and offers the same type of protection.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinned elbows Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I already have two chips in 6mos on my top tube of the stumpy ....one was done on first ride Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLemke Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 13 hours ago, Tree Magnet said: I know a guy that can put a ceramic coat on your frame for a decent price. It looks good and offers the same type of protection. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Interesting. So is this similar to automobile ceramic coatings where it’s applied like a wax and needs to be reapplied every now and then? Or is this more of a permanent process that is sprayed on and acts as a second clear coat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Magnet Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I think it’s a one and done type thing. I’ll get his info. I’ve seen it on a new Yeti and it looks really good. Protection is TBD.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLemke Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 Well I guess all the effort to install the frame protection was worth it. Got a small scrape today at Emma on the non-drive side chain stay. No paint damage! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 @WLemke How's your Ride Wrap holding up? I'm looking at Ride Wrap's generic "covered" package, but wondering if I would be better off just getting a roll of heli-tape to cover those areas that I believe are most vulnerable. Anybody used heli-tape for frame protection, and if so, what thickness works best? Suppose you could vary the thickness, e.g. 18mil strip on the bottom of the downtube and around the chainstays with something thinner around the seatstays and top tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 48 minutes ago, throet said: @WLemke How's your Ride Wrap holding up? I'm looking at Ride Wrap's generic "covered" package, but wondering if I would be better off just getting a roll of heli-tape to cover those areas that I believe are most vulnerable. Anybody used heli-tape for frame protection, and if so, what thickness works best? Suppose you could vary the thickness, e.g. 18mil strip on the bottom of the downtube and around the chainstays with something thinner around the seatstays and top tube. If you're gonna wrap it get the kit for your bike. When done properly it's basically invisible. I had an Invisiframe kit on my Following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLemke Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 It’s held up pretty good. when I ride brushy, I kick up rocks into the down tube every time I ride and the down tube is looking great. For more serious impacts, the vinyl does act as a sacrificial barrier but leaves you with a reminder of your failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsloan Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I wanted to do the full wrap, but I got impatient and built my bike up before I could get the kit. Once the bike is built it's SIGNIFICANTLY harder to wrap the bike not just because of the parts in the way, but because it'll never again be as clean as it was fresh out of the box. I ended up protecting specific areas with a matte tape from Miles Wide. The tape adds a subtle satin finish instead of it being a true matte like my frame, but it's not too garish. Their gloss finish tape I imagine would look invisible on a glossy frame. The tape works well with a heat gun or blow dryer. I did the down tube, bb, and some areas in the suspension linkage that get a lot of spray from the rear wheel. I should have done some strips along the stays, and I 'll be adding that soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I order rolls of Lamin-x Bicycle Frame Tape Guard. Very easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsloan Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 One other area to wrap that I wouldn't have thought of before, but I'm glad I have it...a strip along the top tube. It doesn't get hit by rocks, but I sit on it a lot and I have my tube and battery (in the winter) strapped to it. That section has probably seen more abuse than all the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 11 minutes ago, Teamsloan said: One other area to wrap that I wouldn't have thought of before, but I'm glad I have it...a strip along the top tube. It doesn't get hit by rocks, but I sit on it a lot and I have my tube and battery (in the winter) strapped to it. That section has probably seen more abuse than all the others. Top tube also gets scuffed by your foot when you step over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsloan Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 9 minutes ago, Chief said: Top tube also gets scuffed by your foot when you step over. Hmm...I just realized I always swing my leg around over the back wheel and saddle to get on. I've never scuffed my foot on the TT like that. Never really thought about that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 (edited) Ive used the stuff from both invisiframe and all mountain style. In the end, I've been happiest with the AMS products as it's easy to install, has great protection and is durable. Wife's bike has had it for 3.5 years and none of the edges are peeling or anything of the sort. They offer a ton of colors and styles for a reasonable price too. IMHO, always go with the XL or largest size available and trim it down for the most coverage. https://www.allmountainstyle.com/ Edited April 8, 2021 by ATXZJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorgs Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 7 hours ago, WLemke said: It’s held up pretty good. when I ride brushy, I kick up rocks into the down tube every time I ride and the down tube is looking great. For more serious impacts, the vinyl does act as a sacrificial barrier but leaves you with a reminder of your failure. Am I missing something or are those areas with chips in the tape now vulnerable to scratch? Sort of like a single use...condom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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