Carbon fiber bike with chips through paint -fix?

[opergayal49]

Recently purchased my first carbon fiber bike: a 2020 Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon R build. It was a demo bike so has quite a few small scratches, as well as some deeper gouges in the frame that appear to go through the paint to the frame. Nothing structural, just cosmetic from what I can tell. Is there anything I should do to repair to keep the frame safe? I don’t mind the cosmetic issues, just want to make sure there’s nothing I should be doing to keep it from getting worse. Thanks!

 

[jmdirt]

Recently purchased my first carbon fiber bike: a 2020 Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon R build. It was a demo bike so has quite a few small scratches, as well as some deeper gouges in the frame that appear to go through the paint to the frame. Nothing structural, just cosmetic from what I can tell. Is there anything I should do to repair to keep the frame safe? I don’t mind the cosmetic issues, just want to make sure there’s nothing I should be doing to keep it from getting worse. Thanks!

I know that some people use downtube protection (tapes, wraps, plastic guards...), but I never have. The downtube on the bike I have now looks worse than any other bike I have ever had (after~8 months). Some of that has to do with the tires I used this year, but it makes me wish that I would have used something. One of the bike rags did a comparison review of some of the popular products...maybe bike radar or pinkbike? Google/YouTube search it a bit and see what you think.

A guy I ride with has a carbon printed foam sticker from Bike Armor (I'm pretty sure that's the name on it) that seems to work well. I think that it was only about $10.

 

[BroDeal]

If you want cosmetic protection then a product like Invisiframe is very good. These are bike model specific kits with pieces of transparent vinyl cut into shapes that fit together to allow the frame to be fully wrapped. They are relatively expensive for what they are ($100-120) and quite time consuming to apply to the frame. It is best done with the frame fully stripped of components and when you have hours and hours to devote to the job. The end result is after several years of use you can remove the wrapping and the frame will pretty much look new. This adds value if you plan on selling the bike or frame.

Most people don't go to that degree of protection. You can buy in bulk the same 3M product that Invisiframe and similar kits are made from then strategically apply it to a few areas on the frame. This would be the underside of the down tube, seat and chainstays, maybe backside of the seat tube, whatever. There are a number of Youtube videos demonstrating this, and they will tell you the product they use.

This stuff is all cosmetic. Scratches and scrapes in the paint will not affect the carbon fiber.