Let’s say you just spent thousands of your hard-earned dollars on a killer new bike. Hashtag #newbikeday! Before you bust out on that first ride, you might want to consider a piece of advice that your parents dished out during your teen years: “Use protection!” Frame protection, that is.
These adhesive kits will protect your frame paint or clear coat from scratches, abrasions, and even light impact, keeping the bike looking new, and retaining its value. Considering the range of damage that can occur from crashes, airborne rocks or gravel, shuttle vehicles, frame bags/accessories, cable rub or the constant vibration during shipping or flying, there are many reasons to protect your new machine.
The staff at Sports Garage recommends several good options. In addition to YouTube links for install instructions, we also offer frame protection installation through the SG Service Department. Properly-installed frame protection products can be worth thousands when it comes time to trade-up your bike.
Contact our techs at service@sportsgarage.net or call the shop to ask about install services for the following two excellent choices:
Uplnd Stoke
Based in Golden, CO
Owner and president Kris Delgado launched the company in the summer of 2018, after working many years as a bike mechanic and seeing how much surface damage occurs on bikes. “I also saw how much it devalues the bike,” Delgado said. “I thought, there’s got to be a way to design a product to prevent this.” Although riders have been cutting up their own pieces of protective film for some time now, “there’s a lot of figuring it out, and people quickly realize there’s not enough time in the day. Now, you can just put the stickers on and ride out the door.”
Products:
Antik bike-specific kits: These kits are pre-shaped for a specific bike in a specific model year and size. There’s a solid list of bikes available, especially for neighbor brand Yeti Cycles, and Tempe-based Pivot Cycles. But since these kits are extremely time-consuming to create, it’s not a comprehensive list. If enough requests come in for a specific bike, Delgado says, he’ll do everything he can to produce it. Antik is available in gloss or matte, transparent or with limited edition graphics. Replacement pieces (transparent only) are also sold separately if you need to re-cover just one spot after an incident.
Hijinx universal kit: This kit will work on any mountain bike, and includes modular chips to extend coverage wherever you need it. Each piece is optimally shaped and sized for each section of your frame, but minor trimming may be needed. Available in gloss or matte finish, transparent or with graphic options if you’re looking to personalize your bike.
Rangr: This kit is a universal fit for gravel and cyclocross bikes. Available in gloss or matte transparent.
Shenanigans: Optimally shaped pieces to protect your extra bits like fork legs, handlebars and crankarms. Available in transparent matte finish.
Installation:
The pieces go on dry, using a two-step tacking adhesive, allowing the pieces to be removed and repositioned as needed. Instructions are included, and installation help can be found here.
“Bikes are expensive, and I feel like some paint jobs aren’t quite what they used to be,” said Amy Thomas, who handles sales and marketing at Uplnd Stoke. “Our protection is thicker than a lot of other stuff out there, and it goes a long way to minimize damage.”
The company also focuses on their local impact, supporting events such as the Golden Giddyup, for which they also made a custom graphic kit. “We’re local, we ride, and we strive to be part of the community.”
InvisiFRAME
Based in the United Kingdom
This company was founded in 2011 by Lee Regan, who worked in the automotive industry and had easy access to automotive grade protection film. The first bike he covered was his own 2011 Yeti ASR5c. “This was closely followed by requests from my fellow riders who could also see the value in this, so I set about protecting as many frames as I could with the tools I had,” he said. The first production kit was for the 2011 Yeti 575.
Products:
- Bike-specific kits for a particular bike, model year and size; available in gloss or matte finish. The list is fairly comprehensive, since the company is committed to making model-specific products.
- Universal kits for fat bikes, road bikes, cx bikes, and hardtails; available in gloss or matte.
- Blank sheets and dots
- Brand-specific fork and crank protection
- A variety of decals for customization, including brand-specific options for rims, hubs, forks and shocks.
Installation:
“You put a screen protector on your phone,” said Thomas. “This is the same idea, and preserving your bike’s value is huge.”