Chipped Paint/ Bubbling Paint

[PH]

[Helicopter tape, Laminex tape or a very long front mudflap

I'd agree with Dan, though I'd say and rather than or 

Unless they're going to be used primarily off road, my bikes have long mudflaps.  We sometimes have comical arguments on here about how long they should be, as long as you like, but I don't think there's any such thing as too long.  It becomes a compromise between the advantage of interrupting spray and catching on obstacles. If you draw a straight line from the tyre's contact patch and the BB and the flap doesn't intercept this it would do more good if it was longer.  My bikes have a coating of Turtle Wax applied last month ready for the winter, it's only in part because I like shiny, it also means the muck washes of easier. Plus when applying I'd have noticed any blemishes that I might not have otherwise seen.
In this OP, I'm not sure what originally caused the damage, but it was neglect that allowed it to get like that.  If you ride a lot in the winter, on treated roads, you need to wash that stuff off ASAP, it's highly corrosive. Stone chips on some part of the bike are sooner or later inevitable, they rarely get down to the bare metal, and even if they do a dab of something protective stops the chance of rot.

[ourclarioncall]

Thanks , had a look at those flaps. I’m wondering why these are not standard on all bikes?

Didn’t have a clue what helicopter tape is but now I get it. Again why is this not standard? I would definitely want to do this if I bought a new bike

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/review-7-films-and-tapes-to-keep-your-bike-shiny-and-new.html

[Danneaux]

Didn’t have a clue what helicopter tape is but now I get it.../quote]It gets its name because it was originally developed to apply to the leading edge of helicopter blades to protect them from abrasion in dusty or sandy environments (the Gulf War saw a lot of this in use, along with K&N oiled cotton gauze air filters). It remains a little soft so it tends to deform, "puddle", and recover instead of splitting.

For these reasons it can go far toward preventing stone chips on bike frames. "Helicopter tape" has become a sort of generic term and applies equally to a number of similar products, some marketed specifically for "gravel bikes", carbon frames, and suchlike.

Best,

Dan.

[GamblerGORD649]

Rusting a "little" bit?? LOL .
Looks like it needs a total sandblast and repaint. Better yet get powder coating.
As for flaps, nothing beats a cut up rubber boot. Standard equip on my bikes.

[ourclarioncall]

Ha 😁I can picture a yellow welly boot hanging off the fender . Nice. And hiviz too.

[Matt2matt2002]

Rusting a "little" bit?? LOL .
Looks like it needs a total sandblast and repaint. Better yet get powder coating.
As for flaps, nothing beats a cut up rubber boot. Standard equip on my bikes.

How do you attach the flap to the guard?
Neat idea. Thanks

[GamblerGORD649]

 Mine have 5 mm bolts cut down and rounded the ends. Heads inside is best for cleaning and safety.
Washers at least 1/2" or a strip of stainless metal all the way between the bolts.
Could need 3, 4 or 5 bolts. One in the middle and the others near both sides. Best is if they are not all in one row. Not necessarily possible on all newer fender materials.

I also have sometimes used a stiff electrical wire wrapped around the outside, half the way down the exposed flap to make a cupped shape. Round shape the wire like the fender and fold the ends around and inside a 1/2", squeezed tight.
  My fenders are old, so they are way thicker metal than the half plastic junk sold now.
They shouldn't be less than about 6" from the ground. The flaps are about 4"up. They need to be flexible when riding off squared curbs.

[PH]

How do you attach the flap to the guard?

I don't think I've ever attached them the same way twice, it's not a big job, whatever you have lying around.  This is the rear one on my Mercury, some thick packing material, a reflective tape, double sided tape to hold it in place and a button head from the inside with a dome nut on the outside. A rear one is really only of benefit to following riders in a group.
Getting the right thickness of material is an art, ideally it won't waft about in the breeze, but will move out the way if in contact with an obstacle.  Milk bottles used to be popular (Plastic ones obviously  ) but I found them too stiff, if you catch one on a speedhump it can damage the guard itself.  It used to be a bit of a fashion on Audax to have the cheapest looking flaps on the most expensive bikes, I didn't participate...
 Merc lights by Paul, on Flickr

[martinf]

Getting the right thickness of material is an art, ideally it won't waft about in the breeze, but will move out the way if in contact with an obstacle.

I use 5 litre plastic containers as used for white spirit and many other liquids. These are generally white.

Or, for black mudflaps, 5 litre plastic containers generally used for motor oil. Some oil containers are too thick.

I currently use three 5 mm bolts to fix the mudflap to the mudguard. The round shape of the mudguard gives the mudflap enough stiffness to not bend in the wind, but the material is flexible enough to bend out of the way if I catch it on a curb or rock, although it will usually need to be bent back into shape afterwards.

[ourclarioncall]

Merry Christmas everyone 🌲

What about these ?

https://www.alwaysriding.co.uk/pdw-full-metal-fenders-650-beast-65mm.html

I admit It. I’m a poor man with expensive tastes. Not a good combo 😁

[JohnR]

My red Mercury (2nd page here http://www.sjscycles.com/thornpdf/thorn_mega_brochure.pdf ) has a suitable low-hanging front mudguard with a flap. The specs said that the mudguards were SKS/Thorn Chromoplastic Mudguards -700c/27.5" - P55 but I can't see this currently listed on the SJS website but this is similar https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards/700-x-35-sks-chromoplastic-mudguard-set-700c-black/ .

[ourclarioncall]

What’s your thoughts on their effectiveness? Would a longer mud flap be better or you happy with the length? Are you noticing and wear and tear appearing under the bottom bracket area?

[John Saxby]

I've seen a blogpost by Jan Heine (sorry -- don't have the reference handy) in which he used a 2-ltr Coke bottle (or similar) to make temporary & removeable guards:  With scissors, he cut the guard slightly wider that the fenders (front was his main concern, IIRC), and then slipped the guard inside the fender, to be held in place by tension against the rolled inner edges of the fender.

Might serve as a way of testing length/width/coverage before making a more permanent fix with nuts/bolts/washers.

[JohnR]

What’s your thoughts on their effectiveness? Would a longer mud flap be better or you happy with the length? Are you noticing and wear and tear appearing under the bottom bracket area?

I reckon that the mudguard and flap are as low as they can reasonably go (the flap can catch on the threshold of the back door to my garage). I haven't checked the bottom bracket area for damage but my local mud shouldn't be damaging the paint. Inspection for paint damage will have to wait for a thorough bike clean in the spring - any cleaning before then is only an exercise in removing some excess weight. If there is damage then I'll touch up the paint and overlay with some of that helicopter tape.

The tyres (Panaracer Gravelking SKs) are nominally 48mm so 55mm mudguards don't retain much lateral splatter.The mudguards used to be a snug fit on the tyres but I moved them out to provide more space for sticky mud. As I've commented elsewhere, some of my local roads are somewhat filthy at this time of year. Smoother tyres would probably pick up less muck but I want something with some tread to improve likelihood of making contact with the tarmac.

[steve216c]

What are your thoughts on using T cut? Does it remove the protection of the paint?

I've used T-cut on bikes. I've also used it to get coffee rings off a French polished table. It cuts into the outer coating and does remove what is not well baked in. It won't protect your paint but can help restore the look or even out blemishes.
Not sure it would help in this case as it is really just a cosmetic fix

Clean up the area and protect it with something to stop rust setting in again. Even Hammerite might help as a stop gap fix as it primes and rust protects in one.