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I watched an Orange P7 video review the other in horror as the owner reviewed his 3 week old bike showing several big scratches and marks on the tubes and at least one failed attempt to leap onto a picnic table which had the bike crash head on into it.
I’m aware some people are happy to have thier bikes look “used”. I’m a serial cleaner and can get a bit distraught when putting my bikes through the grinder on a muddy ride or as recently some Peak District rock chipped the paintwork.
But abusing a bike as above, have I misjudged how tough my bikes are or do folk not worry about the cost of things?
They're there to be ridden. I guess it just depends on what sort of riding you do.
I don't have much churn of the rigs in my quiver ( 😉 ) so resale value's irrelevant and I don't worry about scratches etc
(I don't do all that much leaping onto picnic tables though)
I'll put heli-tape on for protection, especially in the areas my bikepacking bags will contact the frame, but after that it does become something of acceptance that over time scratches and scrapes will accumulate.
Bikes are pretty tough and frame/fork damage is only really going to occur if you crash and are still on the bike when it decelerates and so provide turning forces.
I suppose if you are a serial bike swapper then keeping a bike pristine keeps the resale value up (a bit), two of my MTBs are second hand and the other is nearly six years old so it's not something that really worries me.
You bought it, you own it, just ride it.
I think I was precious of my carbon santa cruz for about 30 mins then just rode the hell out of it, chips to the paint, scratches etc it just kept going really well.
Finally the moment when you toss a lump of metal into a skip is the final release that they are just tools that do a job.
My bikes are not 'new' as they've been used at BPW, Afan, Morzine, XC Racing etc... but it's VERY VERY close to new. I'd go as far as immaculate.
Post up the vid then op
Some call it scratches, I call it a patina.
I may have preciously over egged the damage levels, but still...
Yeah seen that! Got the T - shirt.
Your bikes are probs lol at you whilst telling you to mtfu.
I want a P7 now lol...
always buy second hand, ride them until they fall apart, buy again.
Never mind the scratches, how annoying is that blokes voice. I couldn't stand it for even a minute of the 5 minute video.
I actually bought my FS with scratches - dropped about £300 off the price - only small scratches like, which I've touched up.
I do keep them clean and ready to go, but will touch up scratches as this protects the surface (e.g. corrosion on steel/alloy bikes).
My old 90's MTB is full of chips, but that's the way it is - you can only see if you are close up.
I loaded a brand new c16r out the shop into the car and scratched it on the boot lock...
Ride it. Paint is just there to look pretty, but it's going to get scratched. End of.
My 3/4 year old Cannondale Supersix road bike looks brand new, and gets babied.
My 5 month old hard tail is well scratched and scuffed. I was worried about damaged it at first, but once it got a few scraps it was kind of liberating, as then I got just got on and enjoyed it!
My P7 is collecting some nice scratches and dings. I buy bikes to ride and have fun not worry about resale values.
I bought a new-but-never-built mk1 Switchback frame in February this year so it's only really 8 months old in use but it looks a chunk older than that now. There are a few chips in the paint and the top tube has gone a bit matt where my muddy shorts have rubbed the paint. Meh. I'm not too fussed, it's just a bike. I'll get it recoated when it looks properly knackered (or I get bored of the red which will probably happen sooner!)
I buy bikes to ride and have fun not worry about resale values.
This.
Buy paintless bikes. Best of both worlds. Rag them and they always look new.
Ti for hardtails, bare Alu for full suspension
My 2012 Liteville looks like it just came out of the box
Paint is for walls and ceilings
If you're worrying about the bike, you're not committing to the ride 😉
Deliberate abuse is one thing, but damage accumulated through riding is normal and to be expected IMO, I don't really buy bikes with resale in mind, if it's worth anything when I'm done with it then that's a bonus, and I've given several old ones away to people who will get use out of them.
I worry about it until the first song or scratch, then **** it, who cares!
My P7 is collecting some nice scratches and dings. I buy bikes to ride and have fun not worry about resale values.
This. I’m always suspicious of clean, spotless mountain bikes. They’re built tough and designed to ride aggressively. Heli-tape where needed, touch up paint and then every ding and scratch tells a tale of my serious lack of mad skillz!
then every ding and scratch tells a tale of my serious lack of mad skillz!
Or that time it fell over in the bike rack at work...
I find it a bit weird how so many people obsess about keeping their bikes in pristine condition to preserve their resale value. When I buy a bike, it's such a serious investment for me, that I fully intend to ride that bike to the death.
I think in nearly 30 yrs of mountain biking I've only sold 2 bikes. The rest have either broken or are still in my garage, hanging up as trophies. They're designed to take a hammering, and every scrape and ding has a story behind it, just as they do on my sadly abused, chubby wee body.
Viva La entropy!
C.
Or that time it fell over in the bike rack at work…
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Why do people assume just because bikes are looked after that they're not ridden hard ?
Some of my stuff is secondhand so already scuffed up. Some new, but it doesn't take too long to get a few scratches. I tape key areas but don't worry too much after that. I have snapped 2 frames and had one bent for me by a road sign, and whilst it's gutting to chuck them, they are only bikes and nothing lasts forever.
I put a big scratch on my new road/commute bike top tube in my haste to cut the cable ties that were holding the protective packaging on for shipping. Meh.
I get enjoyment by riding my bikes, not by looking at them. Scratches etc don't bother me, wear/tear and damage to a bike though riding it is part of the sport.
Keep bikes maintained mechanically but not prescious about them, it's a tool so if it gets a bit scruffy then it is valued and brings joy as it has had plenty of use. I can't see how you could actually enjoy using a bike if you were worried about damage, would think maybe you have chosen the wrong past time.
An immaculate bike makes me think that it must be the wrong bike as it's not being used enough so something isn't right.
Also I'm rubbish at selling stuff so things normally get kept till whey are worn out or not really worth anything.
I went so far as Invisiframing my last one, and it cracked anyway.
I'm not precious about the frame, other than I won't purposely smash it up, but I race DH & Enduro, bikes are never going to look pretty for long.
The only thing I do try and be careful with are stanchions/shock shafts, scratches will happen. My race bike will be raw soon anyway, as the last couple have been battered.
Why do people assume just because bikes are looked after that they’re not ridden hard ?
I don’t think anyone is saying don’t look after it. More that if it’s ridden hard it’s going to get damaged to some degree. If riding hard at some point you’re going to be falling off and the bike is going to cartwheel about a bit.
Does anyone else have an irrational dislike of scratching their bike in a non-riding way (standing against a dry stone wall and slipping over for example) but then really not caring about a rock putting a gopping great dent in it whilst actually riding?
FWIW, I like to look after my bikes, but in a 'functional' way - you won't spot a crack if it is covered in mud all the time. I occasionally take a bit of polish to the frame, but this is in the vain hope that mud won't stick to it as much (I have never seen much evidence of this being true).
I only stick frame protection tape where things like cables and hoses might actually damage the bike.
The scratches, chips and dings show the bike has been ridden properly and remind you of "that time the you smacked the DT into a rock in Tignes...
Why do people assume just because bikes are looked after that they’re not ridden hard ?
I don’t think anyone is saying don’t look after it. More that if it’s ridden hard it’s going to get damaged to some degree. If riding hard at some point you’re going to be falling off and the bike is going to cartwheel about a bit.
^ that
I don't abuse my bikes, but I do use them, that inevitably results in scratches dents and whatnot. I do look after them but there's only so much you can do once the pointier bits of nature are involved.
It's called a patina.
Clean it, replace oily/greasy bits to keep everything working well, but chipped/scratched paint happens even without an accident - the downtube of my HT has a rash of chips, I've had fairly sizeable dents from rocks thrown up by the front wheel, both rims have the odd small ding and scrapes on the side of them. It's what happens when you use a bike, and you will fall off and possibly break stuff from time to time. One day the whole bike will be worn out or bent and I'll get another and do the same to it, I hope.
Couldn't care less about knocks and scratches. My frames, cranks etc,. have stone chips all over them within a few months.
In fact I took a file to the rear seat stay bridge at the weekend to improve the clearance between my tyre and the brake bridge.
I treat my bikes like I treat my women.
You make them wet and stick your cock in the seat tube?
Ride it, clean, lube and maintain it.
Scratches, rub mark and dings are all to be expected in the life of a mountain bike. Embrace them all!
Scratches & scuffs are the bikes scars. They prove the bikes lived a full & exciting life 😁
Heli-tape it. Give it a bit of care during storage and transportation not to trash it unnecessarily. After that, if it gets scratched while riding, well that's what its for.
ndthornton
Member
Buy paintless bikes. Best of both worlds. Rag them and they always look new.
Ti for hardtails, bare Alu for full suspension
My 2012 Liteville looks like it just came out of the box
To a point, that’s true - although my raw 301 doesn’t quite look like it came out of the box, it looks far fresher than its black anodised brother.
My Ti Hummingbird does however look pretty immaculate...
Although, being into Litevilles, I’ve seen plenty that look as if they’ve been thrown off cliffs (multiple times) and yet they just keep on keeping on. Cosmetics don’t really matter imho.
As someone famous (possibly) once said:
It's better to collect scratches than dust!
It ain't no garage queen.
My 2009 ti ragley just been stripped for yet another incarnation.
Like wise my 2008 carbon race bike has just been rebuilt for my nth time comeback......
Rather than get hung up on semantics of spec I realise that even changing wheel size to what ever the flavour of the week is it'll likely save me at best a couple of places.
So bikes generally don't get changed unless they banjo'd which is a bit more than a little paint damage.
My ibis looks like it's been through a hedge backwards many times with lots of scratches but it still works and it still shifts.
I have a fear of putting the first scratch on a new bike by having a big scratch. To stop this I deliberately hit a new frame with something like a spanner and put a chip in the paint somewhere as soon as I get it! The only time I didn't do it was when I got my Orange 5 re-powdercoated and upgraded a lot of bits. First ride out at BPW it spat me off!! Thankfully I was pedalling up so it just put me OTB halfway up the climb, behaved perfectly from then on.
As for general scratches? If it happened while riding it it's just patina and adds character, making that bike mine. IF any of my bikes get scratched by me or someone else knocking it or being careless with it I get really annoyed. I have to bite my tongue sometimes on uplift days...
Mechanics over cosmetics.
I don't abuse but I don't worry about a knock or a ding or scrape.
A clicking BB, mushy brakes or grotty drivetrain by contrast 😬😬😬😬