Remember that first scratch on your new bike.

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While i was washing my bike yesterday and doing a general visual, I noticed some new scratches courtesy of the single track, And i thought back to when my bike was spanking new and after a fall a came home to the first scratch on the frame.

I was devastated, I slept badly and was moody for days, it was like that blemish on your face, during your teen dating years, it seemed bigger and more obvious than it actually was. You keep rubbing it hoping it will go away.

Now its another day another scratch until i get a new baby.

A friend of mine recently bought a new GT Avalanche Expert complete with Crank Bros Candy C pedals. He's only new to using clipless. Two days ago after a ride, he got to his place, came to a stop and forgot to unclip. He started tipping sideways. Not wanting to scratch his new baby, though, my mate lunged in order to place his body between the bike and the ground leaving him on his back with the bike above (and still clipped into the pedals). We're going bush this weekend (the first time since he bought the bike) so it should be an interesting ride. I suspect his first scratch will be appearing soon.:):rolleyes:

Yep was rather annoyed when I noticed my rear disk brake cable had scratched my top tube after a few days of owning my latest bike, luckly enough mines gloss black so I covered the scratch line with some black electrical tape which you cant really see as its under the cable & any other minor scratches I paint over with model paint so it still looks mint after 2 years use.

the first day out on my latest bike i stopped for a breather and tried placing my foot on a rock as i sat on the bike. foot slipped fell and forks hit the rock scratching all down the side. i was gutted. ;0(

Yep was rather annoyed when I noticed my rear disk brake cable had scratched my top tube after a few days of owning my latest bike, luckly enough mines gloss black so I covered the scratch line with some black electrical tape which you cant really see as its under the cable & any other minor scratches I paint over with model paint so it still looks mint after 2 years use.if ur cables are scratching ur frame i would recommend getting a few spacers (small plastic rings) to put on the cable which just hold it up off the frame and stop it scratching.

I remember when i lived in the uk in derbyshire and was out with a few mates on the local tracks and we all got to the top of this hill absolutley bollox'd i lay my bike down which was only a few days old on the ground and my mate just let his go straight on top of mine well his pedal hit my chainstay and put a huge dirty ding in the alluminium it was like someone had taken a knife to my heart oh i was very upset to say the least (you bastard andrew you know who you are):p

Hmmm, had my current bike since last april can't remember first scratch but I think there was one minor one there when it was delivered http://www.cycling.net.au/images/smilies/mad.gif. oh well I fixed that by giving my bike a thrashing on a few single tracks can't remember which was the first scratch now as there are so many. Considering I always make a point not to - stupid me put my road bike against the car while pumpin up the tyres and brake lever scratched the duco (black) now that hurt!!!! http://www.cycling.net.au/images/smilies/eek.gif arghhh

The ones that hurt the most are the scratches and dents someone else does to your bike or car even. http://www.cycling.net.au/images/smilies/mad.gif:mad::mad:

i have recently built up a NOS GT LTS frame i found that had been sitting on a shelf waiting for me.
I built it up with all the latest kit,
* Frame Size & Color - GT LTS 1000 1998 polished silver 18 inch
* Shock - Rockshox super deluxe
* Fork - Rockshox Pike 454 UTurn coil
* Brakes - Shimano LX levers + Saint calipers + Goodridge carbon hoses + 160 rotors
* Cranks - Shimano saint 175mm (22-34-44)
* Shifters - XT
* Front Derailleur - XT top swing dual pull
* Rear Derailleur - XT
* Pedals - Shimano 520 SPD
* Stem - Race Face Diabolous 50mm 10deg rise
* Handlebar - Truvativ Team Carbon riser
* Seatpost - Kore Lite
* Saddle - GT Titanium Flite copy
* Bottom Bracket - Shimano Saint
* Cassette - XT 11-32
* Chain - XTR
* Headset - Race Face Diabolous
* Grips - Schwinn silver glitter
* Front Tire - Panaracer Fire XC 2.1
* Front Rim - Mavic XM321
* Front Hub/Skewer - White Industries Venti 20mm + Rockshox Maxel
* Rear Tire - Panaracer Fire XC 2.1
* Rear Rim - Mavic EX325
* Rear Hub/Skewer - White Industries DJ + red hope

since building it i have been so careful not to let it lean against anything etc.

then just the other week the girlfriend had a friend over for dinner , after many bottles of wine later he asked if he could have a ride and said " i havent ridden a bike since i was 16" this should have rung alarm bells but the kind chap i am said OK.

so he hops in rides round the close and outside my house grabs both brakes , the bike stops, he dose not and is catapulted over the bars which he dosent let go of and ends up going over the handle bars , sliding down the front tire on his face and then headbutting the tarmac.

after patching up his face and hand i turn my attention to the damage to see he has scraped hell out of my carbon bars and ripped the vintage GT titanium saddle.

oh do i regret saying yes to him , still the girlfriend was mortified and has offered to replace any damaged components ( this could work out a bit pricy i think!):eek:

[QUOTE=spline72]i have recently built up a NOS GT LTS frame i found that had been sitting on a shelf waiting for me.

Nice build,that damage must have felt like someone ripping your heart out.

Nice build,that damage must have felt like someone ripping your heart out.[/QUOTE]
I must say i was least pleased, still , at least he was so impressed that i am going to have to go bike shopping with him soon, maybe i can cut his brake lines while he is not looking!

Mine was caused by travelling with one of those A-frame towbar bike racks. After a couple of hours rubbing against my son's bike I have a nasty scar on my front forks right thru the Rockshox sticker down to the base metal. And being bright red, matching auto touch-up colours will be impossible. :mad:

Not impressed with those A-frame racks. :(

You people are all kidding right? You have mountain bikes for riding off road through scrub, rocks, stumps, all manor of offroad crap and you get upset about a scratch? I picked up a new bike 2 years ago paid way more for a bike than I should have but the last thing I was worried about was a scratch. I wear them as badges of honor. Now if you want to talk about something upsetting, how about riding through a forest trail and having a wild stick jump up and into your wheel, and derailleur! It was a slow ride back with one gear, and expensive when I realized the derailler would never derail again!

maybe you should all go back to road bikes!;)

I rember the first scratch I got was smaller than a tick, literally, I was mad, blamed it on a couple things, now I look at it this way, scratches show you use your bike

You people are all kidding right? ;)Recentlly i cracked my swingarm and had it welded up,this big scar on my bike was nothing as traumatic as that first scratch,its only human bru :cool:

Recentlly i cracked my swingarm and had it welded up,this big scar on my bike was nothing as traumatic as that first scratch,its only human bru :cool:
I used to be really worried about it. New, Shiny. As folks who are "hip" would say, it was a sexay machine.

Then, as fate would have it, I took a nice quick ride down a gravel road on it. That nearly destroyed the end of the bar. It also warped the crap out of the front wheel so badly it wouldn't turn. The very next week, I managed to bang it up badly as I took a turn a little to sharp and managed to highside myself. The bike frame slammed a tree.

Being the optimist I am, I paid $400 to have it professionally painted, assuming that the extra expense would make me treat it better. Less than a week, I had it tossed in the back of my pickup for a trailblazer event a hundred miles down the road. (I've destroyed a few bikes there!)

Now, as long as the scratch leaves just a wee bit of metal left to keep the frame integrity, I'm cool with it, and I'll ride it. I'm saving for a "wallhanger" bike, one that I'll not ride. (Sorta like a show bike if there is such a thing).

My bikes are run hard personally. And, I don't worry too much about scratches on the paint on my "duty" bike. It aint nuthin but a bit o' paint. If I had a two thousand buck bike, I'd worry.

The project bike I'm tinkering a bit right now, it will be one that will be treated with kid gloves. But the bike I ride most, it looks like it has participated in a war, and lost. Twice.

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While i was washing my bike yesterday and doing a general visual, I noticed some new scratches courtesy of the single track, And i thought back to when my bike was spanking new and after a fall a came home to the first scratch on the frame.

I was devastated, I slept badly and was moody for days, it was like that blemish on your face, during your teen dating years, it seemed bigger and more obvious than it actually was. You keep rubbing it hoping it will go away.

Now its another day another scratch until i get a new baby. Hey i just bought my first brand new bike a few weeks ago. I know you're supposed to get your first scratch falling down at 35mph and that is how i thought it would happen. yesterday i was out for my daily 20 mi and a piece of flat steel laying in the road, Something your sure you could just pass over. My back wheel picked it right up and dragged it the length of boh seatstays i think they're called, and my right leg. happy day, swerve to miss.

I bead-blasted all the paint off my aluminum frame the day after I got it. Now if I get a scratch, I remove it for the most part with a Scotch-Brite pad.Bikes are made for scratchin'!

I bead-blasted all the paint off my aluminum frame the day after I got it. Now if I get a scratch, I remove it for the most part with a Scotch-Brite pad.Bikes are made for scratchin'!
My $700.00 dent

Mountain bikes are built to be scratched. My Intense 6.6 was covered in scratches before I even went for the first ride.