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review
FIBRAX Spiral Frame Protector£6.00
VERDICT:
A simple and cheap way to reduce frame rub from cables and hoses
Weight:
15g
Contact:
www.fibrax.com/Spiral-Frame-Protector-White
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
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These Fibrax Spiral Frame Protectors – you get six in a packet, not one – fit around cable outers or hydraulic hoses to stop them rubbing away paint... or metal... or carbon. For the money, they do a decent job.
The don't completely eliminate rubbing. Your bike's cables or hoses still connect, but encased in these soft silicone spirals they don't saw back and forth in the same way. I fitted a couple to the gear cable outers of one of my road bikes, just where they pass the head tube. They're much neater than the short foam tubes that were fitted to these cable outers before, and there's been no visible paintwork damage since.
Find your nearest dealer here
Buy these online here
The front of the bike is where these protectors will probably find most use, because turning the handlebar moves cables/hoses back and forth and there has to be a fair amount of slack here, but the spirals will fit anywhere there's a couple of inches of cable outer. They go on really easily: you just wrap them around from the side, bit by bit, with no need to disconnect the cable/hose.
The alternative to covering the cables like this is to protect the frame from them with helicopter tape. I prefer Fibrax's solution because it deals with the problem at source. You don't have to work out where the cables could connect the frame and then cut out and fit a sticky see-through polygon to match that; you just need to cover the cable wherever it might connect.
Before investing in these, it's worth checking if you can route your bike's cables/hoses in such a way that they can't rub; cable-ties might help. If that's not feasible, these little protectors are a good answer. They can also be used to reduce the noise of a cable outer knocking against a frame or other cable outer.
They're available in black, white, or red. I reckon black spirals on black outers looks best, but barber's pole contrasts are an option if that's your thing.
Verdict
A simple and cheap way to reduce frame rub from cables and hoses
road.cc test report
Make and model: FIBRAX Spiral Frame Protector
Size tested: White, 6 pack
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Fibrax says:
Our spiral frame protectors have been developed for use on any cable – Gear, Brake & Hose.
Simply wrap around the casing where it touches the frame and the job is done.
(Will also dampen vibrational noise)
6 Pack
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
They're made of silicone. They come in black, red or white.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
6/10
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
5/10
The silicone isn't particularly tough, but that's sort of the point.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
9/10
They weigh basically nothing.
Rate the product for value:
8/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It does what Fibrax claims.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Easy to fit. Noise reduction.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your score
Simple, light, cheap, and they do a good job.
About the tester
Age: 46 Height: 1.78m Weight: 65kg
I usually ride: Ridgeback Solo World fixed wheel My best bike is: Planet X Pro Carbon Track.
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking
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17 comments
4 for £2.98 delivered..and multiples of 4..ie..8 for £4.97 and so on..only in black it would appear..
http://goo.gl/jFS431
4 for £3.95 inc postage from Fibrax on ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251844026438
Have bought stuff from them this way before.
Helicopter tape is a fair bit cheaper e.g. www.ebay.co.uk/usr/paragontapes
Cheers Simon.
True, but thought i'd give this a whirl - seems like it might be neater and easier, something about it appeals to me. One way to find out..
As a member of Fibrax Wrexham Road Club (yes they sponsor us) I've had some fluoro-yellow prototypes of these on my bikes since November last year. They work perfectly. There's no need to dismantle anything to fit them, just wind them round the cable. I've previously used those rubber tubes with a longitudinal slit which can also be fitted without dismantling your cables, but they tend to rotate with use so the slit inevitably ends up against your paintwork! Obviously the Fibrax spiral design doesn't have this problem.
Agreed the B'twin Decathlon ones are fitted on installation of Cables and outers.... I was not being critical of Fibrax as I stock their products in my workshop ...with their workshop packs of cables, outers etc....
What I was saying was B'Twin bikes have these on their bikes from the factory... and how much they cost.. one wonders why, when B'twin can fit these to protect the frames other manufacturers short cut and many now are short cutting on cables too...not naming names...
All in all Frame protectors (which ever you prefer) save your paintwork on the frame and make the Bike more saleable when you sell on...
I just slit a small cable grommet then glue it on the cable where it touches the frame ,you can also use o rings as well job done.
one of the ebayers gives you a discount on the £3.95 for 4 price if you order more than one batch of 4. £6.71 for 8 post free. Don't know about any higher amounts though.
Four for £4 off Ebay of £7 for 6 from UK Bike Store including postage.
I bought something like this off amazon, thought they weren't that much more forgiving than the the bare cable, so I'm now using Sugru, works so well
A helix maintains a tubular shape along its length whereas a spiral increases in diameter along its length.
Or to put it another way you can draw a helix on a tube but you need a cone to draw a (3D) spiral.
Who knew
Btwin have fitted these to ther bikes for years, albeit a solid design rather than spiral.....plus you can buy them in Decathlon stores or online at £2.79 for 4
This is true but to fit them you have to dismantle your gears/brakes or you could slice them with a sharp knife which means they then fall off unless you tape them which takes you back to square one.
I think the Fibrax ones can be fitted with the cable in place.......the link provided takes you to UKBike Store where they are on offer for £4.79 for pack of 6. Postage is extra though unless you buy a bucket load. Don't be fooled by Ebay. They are not cheaper....
Yes, these are fitted with the cables/hoses in place - simply wind around & the natural helical ([pedant alert!] not spiral, I'm sure wikipedia will clarify the distinction) shape holds them in place. I bought a couple of sets from the Fibrax stand @ the Outdoors Show last winter & they've worked a treat, on gear cable outers as well as both mechanical & hydraulic brake cable/hose outers. Look smart too.
They've sold them for years too... http://www.fibrax.com/fibrax-frame-protectors-for-4mm-gear-outer-casing-x-4
Very tempted by the spirals - but half as much again for postage for the lil'fellas (sad face and all that). Any chance of a road.cc promo bit of free postage for them ?
Maybe Road.CC wants to put 'em in their shop.