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I've seen some stuff online about the quality of the paint being pretty poor and easily damaged. I've just got a Nukeproof Scout Comp - the bike shop seemed to think it wasn't worth the price of getting it invisiframed for the price of the frame. I'd be interested to know what other Nukeproof owners have done or would recommend in the way of frame protection. Also interested in hearing from people who have no frame protection on their Nukeproofs - is the paint really that bad? By the way there is no way I'm attempting invisiframing it myself - it would be a disaster!
I’ve only ever bought heli-tape in 50mm width off eBay. Generally only got to top tube/downtube and any where cables can rub and heels !! Have done for 20 years at cost of £5-£8 a bike
Surely if it's nuke proof...
My boyfriend has a nukeproof hardtail, yes the paint is made of butter, similar to the matt finish on rockshox forks that rubs off if you sneeze at it.
Would I invisiframe it is a tough question, it is an expensive job for a fairly low priced frame. How long will you keep it? Just bimbling along the canal perhaps not? Smashing it round the lakes then yeah maybe?
I have a Scout comp 2019 and i did pick it up used via the Tri_Sport_Resort ebay page and knew it had a few chips but the paint is pretty poor, love the bike so may look into a respray at some point. From what i have read on the net is that you normally get some touch up page with Nukeproof bikes new shame mine didn't come with any.
I have a Scout and a Mega - the Scout I heli-taped and the Mega I Invisiframed.
The heli-tape was more awkward than the Invisiframe due to having to cut and shape the heli-tape.
I think it's worth doing.
If you want it to stay nice then get invisiframe.
Cover a few strategic areas with heli tape.
Don't go too mad or it'll end up looking a bit scrappy.
Ask me how I know that.
I bought a Scout comp in October and didn't want to spend £80 on a proper kit, so I bought some 3M ventureshield tape from Amazon as I found an old Dirt mag article that said this was the tape used by invisiframe. I measured the tubes and bought enough strips to cover the top tube, down tube, seat and chain stays for my Scout. It cost about £25 and although there is some faff in having to cut to size, it was relatively simple to do with the round tubes, the stays were a bit more difficult and it isn't as neat as the top and down tubes but they're covered. The Ventureshield feels a bit thicker than invisiframe but that just means it goes on easier and with the gloss finish it's kept the bike looking really good after a tough winter.
I also got a tube of touch up paint with my scout comp, so I'd take that to mean NP are aware of the fragility of their paint.
I never had my Reactor wrapped because they said it came already protected. it does have a small amount tbh in key areas but i couldnt wait so started using it. It now resembles a patchwork quilt with the amount of chopped up sticker patches ive applied to paint chips all over the place!
round here its all shackwrap. i had kindda decided the shakwrap sticker was just a bling badge of honour for the yoof on their santa cruz. i was wrong. an expensive lesson in why i will always have my bikes wrapped in future!
i also got a small pot of touch up paint. useless other than i might take it to a proper paint shop for a colour match?
I got a new mega last year just before lock down. I also bought some frame protector (invisi frame was going to be my first choice but they didn't have a pattern for the 2020 model at the time) I spent a bit of time cutting out bits for the main areas and it doesn't look to bad. One of the bits I didn't do was at the front of the back triangle (the bit in front of the back wheel) . These bits now look pitted to hell, the rest of the bike still looks OK. I'm going to put self adhesive tape across the pitted bits to help hid the chips
TLDR: nukeproof paint is made of cheese
Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm a bit disappointed that the shonky paint reports are unanimously backed up by your experiences. Although I appreciate that not everyone would consider it worth invisiframing, this bike is a significant purchase for me (in lots of ways) and I want to be able to go and enjoy it without worrying about damaging it so I'm going to go and invest in some invisiframe.
Where’s the best place to get heli tape?is it all pretty much the same or is some better than others?
I ended up using bike shield. It took a few full packs to get the bits covered that I wanted. It is quite expensive but seems quite thick and seems to last. Impressed with the finished look but there's probably cheaper out there