I-Like-To-Bike

A night out at a strip club with your club brothers probably also would cost a pretty penny and may be worth every pretty penny spent, but some of us boys still wouldn't call anything that costs a pretty penny an "investment" because we must have a different dictionary than used in your neck of the woods.

pickettt

I live in Southern California and had bikes for twenty years that have not suffered any UV rays. I assume you're not storing your $5000 bike in the sun for 12 hours a day. There is no polish, sealant, or wax that's going to protect a bike from dirt. Wipe it down after your rides. Some bikes are pretty, but they're meant to be ridden. If you want to keep it pristine, hang it on a wall, but in my opinion THAT would really devalue it.

one4smoke

Oh good-grief...

It's said tongue-in-cheek, slightly sarcastic, for something that "stretches the rubber band a little too tight" (another one of 'em).

I'll forgive your ignorance of southern slang.

Loose Chain

A clean machine is a happy machine and a waxed, clean bicycle will shed dirt snd water. No not all of it but it will not get dirty as fast and will be easier to clean afterwards.

one4smoke

Nobody expects to keep a bike pristine. But, in my opinion, there's certainly nothing wrong with trying to preserve it as much as possible, both mechanically and aesthetically.

The question is, why not?

one4smoke

That's right.

pickettt

There's nothing wrong with taking care of your things. I'm just saying a bike is a tool and I hope you spend more time riding it than polishing it. Good luck with your search for an effective product.

one4smoke

Oh trust me, riding will be about 99.9% of the equation. Rode 127 miles one Sunday last month, which didn't leave much time for polishing that day.

But you make a good point, that I'd imagine might hit home for someone.

mrt2you

any automotive wax will work just fine on a bike.
a former co-worker applied for a job painting trek project one paint jobs. they use the exact same paint on those bikes as in a body shop. the biggest difference is they use a different clear coat that sets up much faster than on a car.

Lemond1985

This stuff sets up pretty fast, it's 2 part paint mixed inside the can. I was really impressed with it.

FlMTNdude

I am curious why after only 12 years the car needs a paint job. My wife traded in an 11 year old car with only minor dings, but a beautiful finish. My truck has worked the past 15 years. Still a shine. We regularly (every other week or a month if getting lax) wash our vehicles and wax every few months, not on a schedule.
Back to bikes - keep it clean, wax once in a while. My 31 year old bike is starting to get some rust mostly from sweat and may get either painted or powder coated this winter. I commute and ride in wet and hot weather. Aside from usage nicks and dings it has faired well.

Milton Keynes

What's wrong with regular car wax? I don't know what car wax has good protection from UV, but if it's going to be available for a bike I'd think it would be available for a car.

Milton Keynes

Perhaps the car got parked under a tree or something. Tree leaves which get wet tend to create an acid which can eat away at car finishes.

Ald1 

My research show they are just starting and yes they are trying to sign up and train bike shops to do the procedure, which has two options, a three or six year warranty. Seems they only will sell some "maintenence/cleaning" products I believe, bike needs to be stripped down to the frame to apply. No idea of cost but suspect it to be pricey...........

mstateglfr 

Doesnt the paint/clear coat already on the bike protect from UV? I know for sure that a frame I built was painted with UV protection in the formula. It was a mix of House of Kolor paints.

Regardless, just wasnt and clean your bike after a dirty ride and then every few rides or so during dry periods. Sure, apply a wax too if you feel the need. Any auto wax/polish works fine. Imron and HoK paints, which have been commonly used for decades on bikes, are used on cars and motorcycles. Auto wax is fine.
If wax were to be commonly advertised as specific for bikes, it would just cost more per weight/volume and come in smaller containers.

I-Like-To-Bike

Perfect for the BF Cycling Enthusiast who takes his investment seriously, unlike the riff-raff just riding around on dirty, soiled bicycle shaped objects without $$ provenance.

mprince

If I ride on a particularly messy or rainy day, I will give the bike a wash. In drier conditions I may do a quick clean every couple weeks, maybe once a year I will use something to shine up the paint. That something is usually some Pledge or car "Quick Detailer" if I am too lazy to walk into the house to get the Pledge.

My bike is 18 years old, and with the exception of one blemish, the powdercoat paint looks the same as it did when I took the frame from the shipping box in 2001.

So, my point is, clean the bike as often as you wish for vanity/maintenance/OCD purposes, but there's really no product IMO that will "protect" your frame's paint over time.

mr_bill

Yeah, nobody sells specialty cleaning and care products for bicycles.

However, currently for a finishing product with UV protection you will have to go to motorcycle products, another "niche" market. Your frame won't care that you are the motor.

Or you could get an automotive finishing product with UV protection.

(BTW, no, you don't have to refinish every time you wash your bike. Who told you that?)


Finally, if you have a bike frame with neon paint (aka highvis or dayglo) you have to make a choice.

Put on a finishing product with UV protection and lose most of the neon (aka highvis or dayglo) effect.

Or don't put on a finishing product with UV protection and your bike color will fade over time.

-mr. bill

Greyhounds

Have two bikes both over 30 years old. First, I suffer from OCD about my bikes so I started waxing it as soon as I bought it. Because I was young and poor, I bought the cheapest crappy brand wax I could afford. A few years later I bought another bike, had a little more money and purchased a very expensive carnauba based wax and started waxing that bike with that wax. Since I was ignorant and naive, I feared using the different wax on my older bike that already many coats of the cheaper wax. So, throughout all these years I have used the the same brand of wax on bike 1 and the the different (same brand) of wax on bike 2. I probably wax each bike over 10 times per year.......(told you I suffer from OCD). Anyhow, any guesses as to which bike paint has held up the best over 30 years? Any takers on the cheap wax? Most of you going with the expensive carnauba based wax?


Well the results are.................................... no difference at all. Each bike I ride when I show up at the groups rides, they say, "hey there's the guy with the shiny bike", or someone will say, "yup that's the guy with the great looking old bikes". My point, Its not so much the product as to the frequency and diligence of the process. Continued maintenance has kept both of my old vintage bikes to appear as brand new after over 30 years. And no, they are not hanging on my wall in a climate controlled room. They are ridden constantly and both of them have over 20,000 miles on them.

one4smoke

Well, thank you for not only having pride and good work ethic, but for showing you don’t have to “hang them on your wall”...“wrap them in bubble wrap”...”try to impress people” or any other of the snide, sarcastic things thrown out here, to want to take care of your bike(s) and preserve them for as long as possible.

Also, *NEWS FLASH* ...ride the hell out of them too.

wolfchild

Not bicycle specific...Bicycles have special bicycle specific paint which require bicycle specific wax, at a cost of 50 dollars per 1 oz and be sold only through your local LBS.

I-Like-To-Bike

That is what is known as "investment grade" wax, the only kind suitable for proud bicyclists with good work ethic.

indyfabz

The stuff I use costs $200/oz. at my local Rapha Clubhouse.

TaintedRide

I use Meguiars quick wax that I can get from Walmart. It's cheap and works great. I like to take care of my stuff with maintenance and I also like to keep them clean so they look good.

https://www.meguiars.com/automotive/...24-24-oz-spray

It says it protects from the sun but it also works great after getting home from a ride. I spray it on and wipe off with a microfiber towel. It helps to remove the really fine sand/dust here in AZ.

Homebrew01

Closed by request.