Hi, so I was recently cleaning my bike for the first time, I have had it for around a month, and noticed this. Is this normal?
I have used condor touch-up paint (it’s a terrible colour match) to try to protect it and prevent rusting. But that is also starting to crack and flake off.
Does anyone have any suggestions to permanently protect this area/fix it?
I have seen these protectors:
https://www.londoncraftwork.co.uk/product/aluminium-bottom-protector-for-brompton-v1
Would anyone recommend them?
by Aimdoggo
5 Comments
You can buy some 3M Helicopter tape on Amazon or eBay that you can cut to size to cover this area. You might want to see if you can get some nail varnish a similar colour and then touch it up before you put the tape on. Rough up the bare frame with some wire wool or fine sand-paper before applying the nail varnish – that’ll just give it a better surface to stick to.
1 month old, I can’t even consider this to be normal any more. Yesterday I commented on a FB post about someone having a 1 year old one that started to rust in different spots. It was kept indoors and had rust on the top which was a no contact zone.
That spot on the photo is famous for tyre rubbing which will damage the paint in a way that it will go through it, but this, this is just the paint flaking off. Please contact Brompton about it and mention that you have owned the bike for 1 month with the photo included.
Can you also have a look at the underside where the seatpost slides in and out?
I would use the warranty.
I agree with what others said. I have a 2012 and I *wore* through the paint in this spot, but the surrounding paint never chipped or lost adhesion. Something fundamentally wrong with the paint in your case.
I ended-up using touch-up paint on it then installing one of the aftermarket stick-on plates (like the one OP cited) to protect this area (as well as the chainstay where the hook rests).
As far as I know, they will send you a repair kit with a flask filled with paint in your colour.