In my distant memory when I used to ride with a local bike club (actually just last summer), during lunch stops, people would ask if it’s ok to lean their bike against mine...
I’m old enough to have owned a couple of steel frames. And growing up, I’ve had my various “Sears special” which, scratches may turned into rust spots shortly. So I understand the practical reason for keeping a bike clean and scratch free. When applicable that is.
But these days, any decent bike frames are rust-proofed. So scratches are purely cosmetic blemishes. Clearly, some people cares more about such cosmetic than others.
The reason I don’t care about scratches...
I spend a good few decades of my cycling years mountain biking, where bikes do battle with rocks and tree branches, often at the losing end. That, with mud and dirt, it’s not always possible to see the full paint job on the frame! That “cavalier” attitude towards scratches eventually spill over to my road bikes. (Doesn’t help that my current “road” bike is actually a gravel bike). I see no practical reason to care about cosmetic blemishes. In any case, it would have been a losing battle anyway.
To further reduce my attention to scratches, none of my bikes have fancy paint work. In fact, most of the frames I owned had rather ghastly graphics! You know, some engineer with bad taste decides the best marketing is to splash neon green brand name on a gray or black background! Not just on the down tube, but all three of the main triangle! I’ve occasionally see really good looking frames that would induce a moment of “Wow!”. But typically, the practical motivation isn’t there to empty my wallet on the spot...
What about you?
I’m old enough to have owned a couple of steel frames. And growing up, I’ve had my various “Sears special” which, scratches may turned into rust spots shortly. So I understand the practical reason for keeping a bike clean and scratch free. When applicable that is.
But these days, any decent bike frames are rust-proofed. So scratches are purely cosmetic blemishes. Clearly, some people cares more about such cosmetic than others.
The reason I don’t care about scratches...
I spend a good few decades of my cycling years mountain biking, where bikes do battle with rocks and tree branches, often at the losing end. That, with mud and dirt, it’s not always possible to see the full paint job on the frame! That “cavalier” attitude towards scratches eventually spill over to my road bikes. (Doesn’t help that my current “road” bike is actually a gravel bike). I see no practical reason to care about cosmetic blemishes. In any case, it would have been a losing battle anyway.
To further reduce my attention to scratches, none of my bikes have fancy paint work. In fact, most of the frames I owned had rather ghastly graphics! You know, some engineer with bad taste decides the best marketing is to splash neon green brand name on a gray or black background! Not just on the down tube, but all three of the main triangle! I’ve occasionally see really good looking frames that would induce a moment of “Wow!”. But typically, the practical motivation isn’t there to empty my wallet on the spot...
What about you?