I have a trek 5200 and a saris hitch rack. The rack seems very well made and I wrap my top tube with pipe insulation when it’s on the rack. The problem is the sticker package still gets messed up. I am very particular about my bikes and I hate this. I wax it also to try to protect the finish , still the sticker gets damaged???
I also have a P3 yellow . This model doesn’t have a clearcoat or has a very light one. I only carry it inside my exterra. I wrap it in a blanket and it also seems to get small chips.
Now I have a Jeep that I drive off road through everything you can think of and it seems to get very few scratches??????????????
Is it a weight issue on bike paint? Do they use less or a different type of paint??? If I get the Cervelo repainted should I know something
Dunno why but it seems that bike decals are so easy to damage. Just yesterday I buggered up one of the decals on my wife’s road bike. I clamped her bike around the seat tube in the bike stand to do some work on it. The clamp on the stand has a rubber coated insert but it still messed up one of the decals on the seat tube. She wasn’t too impressed, but I did everything right. You wouldn’t think something like this would happen so easily. It just seems that bike decals are very sensative for some reason.
Tom,
Who do you use to customize your bike decals? Do you use the water-based decals or do you use vinyl?
Many factors can affect the durability of decals. Is the decal vinyl, water slide, etc? Was the decal under the clearcoat? Clear over the decals will make a big difference in preventing damage. The glue on the decal can also be affected by the heat and allow the decal to move arround.
I prefer to paint all of the lettering and graphics if possible. Painting allows for a much smoother finish and many more color options than decals. This does cost more but well worth it.
I am looking at re-decaling my Litespeed saber. What do you think would work best with ti? I would like to custom my “Saber” decal.
We use die cut vinyl from one of those machines where you design the graphic on a computer and then a little knife controlled by a robot cuts it out of a roll of fabric or paper. It works awesome.
The smaller name stickers aren’t super durable but they get the job done, look nice and are easily replaced. Kim Ross at Intuitive Business Solutions does ours and most local signmakers can do the same.
Uhhh. . .I suggest dumping the Xterra and investing in the Triathlete’s dream vehicle. . .The Honda Element. I fit three bikes INSIDE, without having to remove ANY wheels OR adjust ANY saddles. Three bikes, three people, weekend in the mountains worth of gear and refuel supplies. . .and a fairly decent stereo. . .NO pain damage involved. Dump yer pseudo “utility” vehicle for a REAL utility vehicle!
5 People-2 bikes inside plus a lot of equipment -3 bikes on the rack. We car pool. I can carry 5 people plus 3 bikes inside . Does the element do this ? No one around here likes the element except me. I love that new orange/rust color.
5 people and 3 bikes inside an Xterra? Am I reading that correctly? Hopefully that arrangement is only for crosstown jaunts. . .anything more would be downright obscene in my imagination. . .Too much sitting on laps going on there. . .Gotta take the wheels off the bikes as well, don’t you?
That’s the great thing about the Element. . .no one likes it. They aren’t going to be taking over the highways anytime soon. Hell, I still think mine is a slightly fugly little toad, but damn if I don’t love it.
That said, I had to bow in “I’m not worthy” mode when a REAL Willy’s Woodie passed me on the highway the other day. . .completely loaded with surfboards and a strange haziness eminating from the “cigarette” the driver was passing around. . .ok, I’m kidding about the “cigarette”. . .but it could have happened. . .the ambience was certainly there.