Carbon frame protection, what parts are more prone to damage?
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Carbon frame protection, what parts are more prone to damage?
Hello, I getting a frame protection kit from AMS, I would like to ask what parts of the frame of a gravel bike are more prone to damage or scratches. I am new to gravel.
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Chainstay and underside of downtube.
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I often hear small rocks (I assume) being flicked up and hitting the underside of the downtube and bottom bracket area. My Checkpoint has a piece of screw-on plastic "armour" in that area to protect the carbon.
Chainstays too from chain slap in some cases.
Anywhere that you might mount a bag (or where the bag contacts the frame) that could rub away at the paintwork is worth protecting also.
Chainstays too from chain slap in some cases.
Anywhere that you might mount a bag (or where the bag contacts the frame) that could rub away at the paintwork is worth protecting also.
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Wrap whatever you want to wrap- there is no functional downside to wrapping an area. The inside of the fork blades and the underside of the fork crown would be the two spots that I could see someone wanting to wrap(basically, the area around where the tire is) because that would be where abrasion occurs when mud and gunk builds up.
At the same time, I just tore down my gravel bike over the winter to fully clean it, regrease, and swap worn components. The carbon fork is unpainted(raw look) and has no scratches or noticeable abrasion after over 4 years of use. The frame has random tiny chips/scratches/scrapes in the paint in that same amount of time. The chips are on the underside of the bottom bracket, underside of the downtube, and back side of the seat tube(rocks fling off of tires). The only frame protection I have is part of an old inner tube wrapped around the driveside chainstay to protect the chainstay from chainslap.
If I were to get a new frame and want to wrap parts of the bike, those are the 4 spots I would cover- BB shell, under downtube, back of seat tube, driveside chainstay. I wouldnt wrap the fork because I dont ride in crappy weather often enough to be concerned with mud build up on the tires. If I rode in mud a lot, I would cover the inner part of the fork for sure.
At the same time, I just tore down my gravel bike over the winter to fully clean it, regrease, and swap worn components. The carbon fork is unpainted(raw look) and has no scratches or noticeable abrasion after over 4 years of use. The frame has random tiny chips/scratches/scrapes in the paint in that same amount of time. The chips are on the underside of the bottom bracket, underside of the downtube, and back side of the seat tube(rocks fling off of tires). The only frame protection I have is part of an old inner tube wrapped around the driveside chainstay to protect the chainstay from chainslap.
If I were to get a new frame and want to wrap parts of the bike, those are the 4 spots I would cover- BB shell, under downtube, back of seat tube, driveside chainstay. I wouldnt wrap the fork because I dont ride in crappy weather often enough to be concerned with mud build up on the tires. If I rode in mud a lot, I would cover the inner part of the fork for sure.
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bottom bracket due to chain drop or junk kicking up & jamming in between the crank & frame. A chain saver helps but not a 100% solution.
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#10
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Agree and the frame at the bottom bracket from inside chain drop if it's a 2X. I put chain catchers on my CF bikes even though I am good at adjusting the front derailleur. "Stuff" happens and a chain catcher is good redundancy for preventing it.