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Looking for a new road bike and wondering how the very popular Matt black finish frames (Specialized probably) hold up in terms of finish. I assume they polish up at rub points and show scuffs as bright patches, is this the case? I tend to hold onto things for a while and like to keep things looking good for as long as possible (sad but true) so that needs to be borne in mind.
Don't know about the Spesh but I have had a white matt finish Storck for a few years. It is impossible to keep clean, showing up road spray far quicker than a gloss finish white, especially in the wet and apparently the black ones do too. I quite like it because it means it never looks like a garage queen but I know a couple of guys who I ride with who really don't like the look.
I haven't suffered from shiny wear spots on mine. I know when cleaning matt cars you have to be careful with what you use but I just spray on Hope sh1tsh1fter and wipe off the worst of the grime with a warm wet sponge. No polish or silicon spray.
I also have a black matt clearcoat finish ibis but all the cablewear points and underside are covered in helitape so not sure whether that would have gone shiny. That is cleaned with the same cleaner and a mobi bike wash.
I have a matt black trek frame. I will never have one again as it shows all scratches really obviously. Looked good new though!
My Felt eddict FS is matt black, as above it shows every little scratch, not noticed any high spots on mine but then I dont worry too much about scratches and scuffs on my mtbs... wouldn't want it on the road bike though.
My Arkose is Matt black. As the others have said, it shows every little scratch and abrasion.
Hmm-looking at a Roubaix to be honest so may not be such a good idea. The Spesh red might be the only other option with the SRAM Rival group set but it is VERY red.
Yes I've got a couple of Matt frames with no clear coat. Bit of a pain.
There is a special Matt bike cleaner that works well. Red ant Matt finish.
For scratches, tricky - you can polish out but you then end up with a shiny bit. You can de-shine with those magic eraser type things.
My winter bike was matt black when new (2012), it's now sort of an eggshell finish if you know what I mean.
My Deng Fu is matt, it's not too bad, seems to 'hold' dirt more - where a quick wipe with a cloth would clean gloss lacquer mine seems to hold onto it.
I like the finish though.
I've a twenty month old Spesh Stumpy in matt black.
It looks more like it's twenty years old.
I'm thinking of polishing the paintwork to a gloss finish and then spraying a gloss varnish, thus keeping the original paintwork and not invalidating the warranty.
I have two matt black bikes and one matt orange, they only look clean when they're wet.