All about bicycles, electric-assisted bikes, technology and safety in the press

In our daily work as we deal with bicycle safety, technology and user manuals we come across lots of safety risks. The most frequent ones are published in articles of the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR – Europas Rennrad-Magazin Nr. 1, BIKE – Das Mountainbike Magazin Europas Nr. 1 and E-Bike – Das Pedelec-Magazin to make this information important for the sector accessible to a wider public.

For many years now the Eurobike Show Daily accompanying the annual international Eurobike Show has given us the opportunity to publish our perspective on major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent lectures about all topics relating to bicycle technology and bicycle market. In addition, we are regularly cited by further special-interest magazines or trade journals as well as more and more by radio and television and in their media reports, which shows us that we are completely right with our information. The section NEWS informs you about the latest news from our specialist fields. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to topics of interest.

TOUR Newsletter 08/09 2012
Reading time 1:00 minute

"Lacquer on carbon frames"

More and more carbon frames have a noble finish in form of a matt lacquer-coating. But many cyclists ask themselves whether these surfaces are not very sensitive and require time-consuming maintenance.

Here are the basics you should know: Lacquer coatings of carbon frames cannot cope with powder-coated or anodized aluminium frames. The latter are more durable, require less maintenance and are more solid in use. The reason: Carbon frames are wet painted and dried at only moderate temperatures. But also the lacquers of carbon frames clearly differ from one another. Frames with a thin and clear lacquer coating come off well, whereas white frames are sensitive. Often very bright lacquer coatings crack during use due to the thick coating of lacquer. The best option for matt finish frames is black. Bright colours very quickly obtain a dirty appearance. Cleaning takes a lot of time, abrasive and intensive cleaning methods are out of the question. The normally recommendable treatment with hard wax can lead to a fat, shiny appearance. From a matt lacquer coating, in contrast to a shining finish, even minor scratches cannot be removed by polishing. This remains always visible. The spot will be shiny subsequently. To fussy cyclists one must recommend that they do not opt for a matt coating.

Author: Graduate engineer Dirk Zedler, TOUR technology expert and bicycle expert

Go back