After reading pedal heads thread about killing his pegasus, i was wondering who on here uses down tube protection for their carbon bike? Trek have something for their new fuel.

Nothing here on my Rocky Mountain Vertex – I’ve heard plenty of stuff ping off it and it’s just paint scuffs. That’s just riding xc though.

Mmm, guess i’ll have to see what happens when it’s ridden properly!

I picked up a clear plastic sheeting that is self adhesive after you peel off the paper on the back. Cut it to fit about 1/3 of the way around the downtube and, after cleaning down tube well, applied it. Has been on 2+ years and not a ding on the carbon. Also use small rounds cut of of the same material where a cable touches/rubs on the carbon frame

Brilliant, i’ll look out for some. Ta.

On my Carbon 456 I have a nice home made protection strip based on some aerospace products we have been investigating. It is based around polyurethane rotor blade protection tape. I made sure it didn’t look like a bit of tape by cutting it to flair out with the down tube.

If I was riding in areas with flint I would probably add some extra armour but I know the frame already has kevlar there for impacts.

I have a carbon 456 and just coated the down tube in hellicopter tape, truly amazing stuff, its like a rubber coating when it goes on and it does not crease when going over the bowl part under the BB, i was well amazed, its around £5 for a 1M strip at 50mm wide, you may do better if you can get some 75mm wide stuff.

I should have access to leading edge tape, good for erosion on leading edges but i’m not too sure about impact protection. If you guys use it and it works then i’ll give it a go.

Ibis had one made for the Mojo HD:

That’s a cable protector. 😉

No mojo/mojo HD downtubes have ever broken from impact.

Well, yes, it is a cable protector, but I’m betting at least part of it’s raison d’être is to protect from rock strikes etc to the frame (or, perhaps more accurately, to provide ‘piece of mind’ re. such things)… will make me feel better to have it there anyhoo 😆

I’ve put the HD cable protector on my Mojo SL to help with fending off the Dyfi forest rocks. Plenty of helicopter tape underneath as well helps at the BB tube 🙂

whether the ibis protector is referred to as a cable protector or not i reckon the real reason for it is to reassure potential owners that their gnarly carbon bike will survive rock strikes-maybe calling it a downtube protector would sound like admitting they need it. SC have gone to great lengths to hype how tough that area of the carbon nomad is. Fragility to impacts is one of the main concerns that puts people off carbon (whether justified or not).

I was riding with pedalhead when it happened and I still cant fathom how unlucky he was and how freaky the impact muct have been, in the rock-free chilterns to find something that can do that to titanium (which is hard and flexible, 2 properties that should ward off such damage).

I am not unduly worried as before I fitted it, I had some jug whacks from rocks flying up and hitting the downtime. big enough to feel through the bike and handlebars and has made me stop a couple of times to check the frame. Some big gouges in the helicopter tape was the only damage 🙂 and that was 6-8 moon this ago. So the only time I would worry about a carbon frame and rocks would be on a big off and the bike landing hard down on the chainstays……….but, then an alu frame would be taking some damage then as well, though the damage would be more apparent.

You can get nice thick helitape from http://www.helitape.co.uk then get protectors as mentioned for certail frames. I got one from the US from a forum member who was making them specially for the Tallboy and RIP 9 which is more to protect the suspension links and under the BB from impacts (but extends up the downtube a bit). There are also these for bearing protection http://cadaix.pagesperso-orange.fr/cadaix6_003.htm

I think that a lot of the problem with carbon is that the damage isn’t necessarily visible. A lot of damage can be underneath the top layer.