Trawling around the catalogues as I consider this winter’s new frame purchase, I noticed the Giant TCR Anodised.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?ProductID=5360009967
Does anyone have any experience with how this finish looks in the flesh, and any experience in general with anodised Alu as a frame finish?
Cheers Guys…
Check out the thread on Anodizing within the “EFBe and Cervelo… Something fishy going on” thread (it is called something like that…)
There are bunch of materials guys who posted. Anodizing is more durable than paint, but more porous. It also requires very thorough and well executed frame prep. That being said, Santa Cruz & Ellsworth do it on their MTB’s with good success, and mtb’s usually see more abuse than road bikes.
Hello,
I looks like a very colorful, dull finish (by dull, I mean lack of gloss, not boring). Paint is much more glossy. Anodized can be virtually any color and graphiic, fades, etc are all possible, as is clear (most aluminum parts are anodized).
The finish is porous as rappstar says, but that is not really a problem, the pores on a good finish are sealed with a corrosion preventative compound and the porosity is what allows the finish to be colored with dyes.
The abrasion resistance is about the same as with paint, cable rubbing, heal rubbing, chain slap, etc will abrade the surface down to bare metal.
The coating is difficult to touch up without it being noticeable.
The coating is lighter than paint by approximately one half pound.
Manufacturers who offer paint and anodizing typically charge more for anodizing.
Anodizing wont cover or hide cracks or defects in the frame, making post crash inspection easier.
Styrrell