Scratches on a bike/Looking after a bike

[Sepia]

Best purchase one can make is a proper bike rack. (Everything other than Thule is ***)

Bike rack scratches are not an excuse.  These can be avoided by using padding and loading the bike properly.  Too many people just throw the bike on the rack.

 

Other than that, I have a Saris rack where no part of the frame touches the bike.

Works well over all terrain.

[Milosh]

A good platform rack goes a long way.

 

So while I think off myself as careful but not anal 

 

 

Only i wash my bikes 

They sleep in garage - car sleeps outside 

3 bike thule platform rack only carries two bike's 

Standard Thule rack has some pool noodle mods on arm s that go through bikes  

 

ok closer to 6 or 7 on scale ;-)   

 

Use scratches are going to happen with a MTB , but certain transport, and handling stuff can be avoided 

[Tabula Rasa]

A bent or ' just doesn't feel right' rear derailleur will give me more sleepless nights than any scratch ever could.

[G e r h a r d Odendaal]

I cannot live with a scratch. That's just how I am, wish it wasn't that bad.

[Oufy MTB (Roadie)]

Road bike, despite taking a crash it is actually in pristine condition for a 2012 model. Not because I'm anal but just applying common sense and treating it with respect. Mtb , mechanically, rides like it came out of the shop, but looks like a 2014 model bike that did 16 000km of mountain biking, beautiful battle scars

[BaGearA]

On a scale where 1 is don't give a fsck and 10 is anal, I'm a 6.

 

I care about my bike, but more on a mechanical level than cosmetics.

This ^^ 

 

my bike doesnt have to shine after the wash , the working parts just need to be clean and well lubricated 

[Malpiet]

 

Just got out of bed to double check if my bike has any marks on it????

[Malpiet]

Iam probably somewhere around an 11 out of 10 ????

[leeubok]

I'm probably a 7 on the scale. If my bike gets scratched on the trail I don't mind so much because that's part of cycling and it happens. But when it chafes during transport or any other marks not caused by riding makes I get mal! 

[rorydewet]

Best purchase one can make is a proper bike rack. (Everything other than Thule is ***)

i have a platform tow ball mounted 4 bike rack for the bakkie, a 6ft luggage trailer with 4 bike rack on top for family holidays, and a spare wheel 3 bike rack for the off road camping trailer when wife and i camp alone

 

all and i mean all are thule

 

the only place i might look at anything other than a thule is a strap on hatch back rack on sons hatchback car, but he normally uses my bakkie when he rides

 

thule rocks

[Neverfit]

For all the 9's - 11's......we need pictchas....

Let us see HOW and WHAT you do to keep them in pristine condition..

 

My MTB is clean...ish...all mechanical parts ticking over smoothly...paint...not so much

[bikebloke]

  lots of work for a shrink who specialises in folk with OCD in this thread....

[Piernas Flacas]

I only get upset when the bikes get scratches due to my careless mounting on the rack, but I'm getting better at it. Normal trail wear and tear doesn't bother me.

[Sepia]

I'm probably a 7 on the scale. If my bike gets scratched on the trail I don't mind so much because that's part of cycling and it happens. But when it chafes during transport or any other marks not caused by riding makes I get mal! 

Exactly right. 

Scratches from a bike rack or leaning against a wall are not battle scar riding scratches but carless avoidable mistakes.

[Cheese]

Most guys here in the forum so far will probably say I do not take care of my bike if they see it.

 

However my 10 year old bike had the following.

 

1. On my first ride out on the bike a car came past me hear what sounded like a gun shot, was actually a stone that was flicked up and hit my frame and chipped, some of the brand name and top coat removed from the carbon.

2. During a race someone close to me clipped a loose bolt lying on the road, came up hit mi bike and then onto my carbon deep section wheels, two more chips out of the paint.

3 After a race with my bike standing against a wall nicely a guy came past with a Mountain bike lost control and rode into my parked bike.

 

After this I stopped looking at it too critically as it will just get me depressed. However I try to keep it clean. Every now and then I am looking for a new bike exactly for this reason but to get a bike of the same standard is not possible with my financial position. Then I get to a race and I still do my 2:30 94.7 and it feels better again, maybe not the newest or best looking bike anymore but it can still go forward.

[Robbie Stewart]

I was pretty pedantic about keeping my camber looking as spiffy as it was the day I bought it. But eventually the realization popped out of the new-bike mist that this beast wants to be ridden, and so this is what I started doing, properly. Needless to say this meant I eventually came-a-cropper, once in a rock garden and then on a bit of a technical descent at speed. I have now found that I have some scratch marks (some deep-ish) on my fork stanchions and some scratches on the alu frame. I am probably parked at 6 -7 on the scale as far as looks are concerned, but more likely a 9 as far as mechanics go.

A bike looking as good as new has not been ridden, and this means to me at least that when you out on the road / trail, you are not enjoying it as much as you could if you for once stopped idolizing your bike. Take a breath, have a look around, and blast that hill or whatever you find yourself on. The bike will survive.