Cloth bar tapes can be used as chainstay protectors.
This is especially good for Rivendells, which often uses 8 or 9 speed rear derailleurs with less spring strength. The dinging sound from the chain hitting the chainstay when riding off road can sometimes be annoying. You can prevent the sound from this wrap around style, but there are other ways to apply cloth tapes on the chainstay.
Take some leftover cloth bar tapes…
and stick it on the chainstay.
Then, put some sail twine.
Lastly, finish it with shellac.
I named this technique the “Tani-tector” but nobody unfortunately calls it that.
The “wrap-around style” is a bit of a hassle to do on a bike that’s already built with cables and chains in place and you need a lot of bar tape to do it. This is why the Tani-tector is great. You can use the leftover bar tape and it looks pretty nice.
The Tani-tector was actually inspired by the classic Japanese randonneurs. They would have a tab on the chainstay for putting rubber protectors like in the image.
I think I did this thinking it was a Rivendell style adaptation of it.
However, one of my client’s wife asked me if it was okay to remove the Tani-tector after I had built her bike and applied the Tani-tector.
She probably thought that I was some kind of maniac who randomly puts cloth tapes on a random place. I wanted to off myself!
All jokes aside, chainstay protectors are not something that you must have.
In fact, most Rivendell staff bikes don’t have them.
In fact, from a Riv perspective, the ideal mindset might be that “even the rust caused by paint chipping from the chain hitting the frame is beautiful.”
That said, take a look at this cotton bar tape chainstay protector—it was likely born from a natural desire to do something about “that sound” of the chain hitting the frame, which becomes bothersome as you actually ride the bike.
Isn’t it just beautiful?
They look cool, they exude the rider’s history, and when viewed from a distance, these bikes are exceptionally beautiful.
I want to ride until my bike looks like this!
