Brand new blue pig x frame, first ride tomorrow without tape or wait and cover it first ???

Cover it, if you can wait! You know you’ll get a nice big ding or scratch if you don’t cover it.. Sod’s law!

I vote no, heli tape won’t stop a ding, and scratches add character.

I basically laminate all my bikes… Not just for the protection though, I just really like applying helitape!

Never bothered.

Bikes are like guitars, they look better used.

I carefully taped up my last bike in all the usual places. Couple of rides in: massive scratch on the top of the top tube (don’t ask, I wasn’t even riding the thing) and horrible chainsuck scars on the chainstay. You can’t win…

Still worth it to prevent cable-rub damage though, I reckon.

hmmm. I would have said yes. Until the winter sh!t collected around the edges of the heli tape on my white / turquiose yeti….

I taped my new bike but then got annoyed as it was a matte frame and it made it shiny. I won’t bother next time, maybe just the downtube.
I’ve got an old rockhopper which is ex-demo and scratched like anything, and it looks loads better. A shiny bike with 1 scratch looks silly, a bike covered in scratches and little chips looks quite good actually. Well used 🙂

I don’t agree with covering your bike with tape but stopping damage from cable/heel rub or chainslap are pretty sensible imo as they are inevitable regardless of how/what you ride.

See, I like scratches, etc- good honest damage earned in the line of duty. But I hate cablerub, roofrack clamp marks etc.

I think I might just protect the chainslap and heel rub areas and leave the rest, I think lol, it just looks so lovely in its dark metallic blue !!

I taped the top tube only – I have virtually no standover and didn’t want my muddy shorts to rub away all the paint.

I left the down tube which is now totally scratched. Looks like it’s seen some action that way though. I don’t mind war scars but hate cable rub and shorts rub.

To prevent cable rub only. I like it that my bikes look used.