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Not my bike, this has been fitted to a new frame. Buyer was advised to give it a week to let it dry out
opinions?
How long ago was it done? I'd not be happy about that if I'd paid, or of i did it myself.
Especially on the top of the top tube when you can see it on the bike.
I did mine myself, I wouldn't have left bubbles like that on my bike.
It's probably already dry, so short of removing it with a hairdryer it's probably going to stay like that?
Seems fine to me.... But i'd buy it for the protection not for it being aesthetically perfect.
I've only ever done this to my own bike and that sort of finish is pretty hard to avoid. If this is the work of a bike shop its a bit messy. Not sure i would be happy if i paid good money for it but at the same time if i worked in a bike shop i would either refuse to do it or warn that the result is generally a messy looking bike.
Hard to say as crap photo, if those are tiny air bubbles not dust or other debris then yeah they may well disappear over time.
Shop supplied and fitted, not seen in the flesh yet, maybe tonight. The shop keep batting it back saying it will dry out. I'm not convinced as it will be dry now as its been more than 24hrs since it was fitted.
From what I can see, there are 5 air bubbles, 4 in a square shape, another lower down near the seat? I did my new Tyee a few weeks ago, second bike I've done now. I ended up with 1 air bubble that I found on a real close inspection. No, they don't disappear after time. I managed to get rid of my bubble my getting a pin and sliding into the edge of the bubble and giving a firm rub with a cloth towards the hole. No evidence of the hole and bubble gone!
For what its worth, if I'd paid to have that done professionally, I wouldn't be too chuffed.
if they're air bubbles then they probably will disappear over time as the vinyl is porous, but it'll be days/weeks not 24hrs. If it's actual water/liquid in there... not sure... but you really shouldn't get bubbles like that with wet application anyway.I’m not convinced as it will be dry now as its been more than 24hrs since it was fitted.
Unsure what comes in the install pack these days but back in 2015 it came with a wee squeegee type thing that once the tape was installed, you dragged along it to remove the excess water but also move any air bubbles to the edges and then remove them. Installation can be straight-forward if you have a lot of time and patience, I'd guess a bike shop is short on both so it isn't such a time-consuming job, so it might not be as carefully installed and then 'squeegee'd'...
However, I've seen quite a few bikes invisiframed since then done by individuals and by shops and some of the finishes do appear to be hit or miss in terms of amount of air bubbles that are left. The ones that look like there is no tape over the bike seem to be the ones done by individuals with plenty time and patience or by shops that seem to do a lot of them.
If I'd paid someone to do it I'd be unhappy but probably not unhappy enough to look to get it redone. If it was myself, I'd be annoyed that I didn't get it sorted and may try and fix it.
I’m with Weeksy on this. I’d also possibly get a hair drier and pin but would probably just ride it.
brand new bike? if so then not acceptable.
ridden bike. your lucky its that good
weeksy +1
The only thing I might be narked about is how much money I had spent on said 'professional' job...
I'd refuse to pay for that, tbh. Doing a crap job of it yourself is free, you're paying for it to be done right.
I’d not be happy with that if it’s on a new bike. It’s hardly rocket science putting it on, just takes patience & good prep.
Yup its a brand new bike. He paid £130 I'm guessing that includes the kit
As @honourablegeorge said above, I can do a crap job myself for free so wouldn't be happy paying to get it done badly.
If shops offer it as a service, they should give it the time it needs to do it properly.
Some of the quotes I got to have it done were £150 + the kit .... so I did it myself and it looks fairly crap.
But it's protecting the frame just the same as it would for the £150 installation cost, and that is really what I wanted it for.
I'd be complaining - as far as vinyl goes invisiframe is relatively easy to install.
Im guessing £130 would just be for the fitting (i was quoted £100 last time for fitting) the kit is around £80 last time i bought one and fitted it myself
As already said it takes time and patience to do it right, most shops say it takes a good few hours as to do it properly as you need to strip the bike down
If the bike has a matt finish to start with, you'll often see the above as the finish itself won't be that smooth.
Not good enough, matt or gloss finish there should not be that many huge air bubbles.
This is my own, done ages ago and my first attempt - I was disappointed I had 2 air bubbles on the entire frame....
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Meh! Looks fine to me. It’s a mountain bike. It’s not going to stay pretty for very long
Staying pretty is the sole reason behind invisiframe. If it fails on that, it's money wasted.
Meh! Looks fine to me. It’s a mountain bike. It’s not going to stay pretty for very long
TBF it doesn't really sound like you are in Invisiframe's target market .....
If I was that shop I’d have asked Invisiframe to send me a replacement for that part and then refit. £130 is a lot to pay for a poor quality job.
Also I wouldn’t be able to live with it like that so if the shop didn’t offer to do it for free I’d have to replace that part myself. Damage after a bit of use is one thing but when it’s new it’s new!
TBF it doesn’t really sound like you are in Invisiframe’s target market …..
Hahaha.
I might tolerate a couple of little bubbles on a less-conspicuous part of the frame, but on the top tube is a bit too visible.
TBF it doesn’t really sound like you are in Invisiframe’s target market …..
Fair comment but to be fair it doesn’t look that bad. Was it £130 for the install or kit and install. If the former I wouldn’t be happy, the latter then I wouldn’t complain. Then again I just protect the most vulnerable bits for about £30 Max.
As per weeksy, is your friend looking fir protection or preserving the aesthetic?
My rule of thumb is that if I could do it better than a 'pro' then it isn't good enough.
I could do (and have done) better than that. Although it did takes ages of course.
Been sent a couple more pics not using the potato cam. Its really poor
I did my own and it looks better than that, when I took it to the mechanic to build the bike up he pissed himself laughing at the poor quality job I’d done, so I wouldn’t be paying for that
Well that looks much worse than the top photo. Reckon I could do a better job and I’m a cack handed fool.
That looks worse than what I'd do...
That's absolutely bloody shocking, I wouldn't be paying for that. Had my Occam done by the shop when new and it took me a few seconds of looking to see the Invisiframe at all, it was essentially completely invisible and still is a year later.
#Edit: Quite aside from it looking terrible, in that state the dirt will get under it where it's peeling at the edges and it'll start peeling off in just a matter of weeks.
Ah, those pics look much worse.
I was originally going to say it didn't look too bad, but it looks awful in those pics.
I wouldn't be paying for that. Even the edges look crap.
Holy ******.
I would not be handing over a penny for that. The clue is in the name.... INVISIframe. Not HUGEGREATBIGBUBBLESVISIBLEFROMSPACEframe.
More bubbles than a mint aero!!! Did they just throw it at the frame and see what stuck?
Well now I know who not to use locally for this job ....
Did the work experiances apprentice do it?
Id be sending those pics to Invisiframe and asking if the shop is an approved installer!!
That's a tragic job.
I did my own first time, took about 4 hours. Was nowhere near that bad with just a few bits of dust and odd tiny bubble.
I'd be straight back to them
Yeah that’s truly awful 😂
Id be sending those pics to Invisiframe and asking if the shop is an approved installer!!
Just what I was thinking, if they honestly think that's in a good enough condition to leave the shop I'd be very worried. That needs ripping off and completely re doing.
Jackie at Nirvana cycles in Westcott does this..
She does an amazing job really invisible without a single bubble... but a frame can take ALL day to do properly.
So I'd be weary if someone does it for you at a cheap price..
I vow never to do it as it's a bastard job, but my effort was way better than those pics above
Totaly unacceptable. Tell them to re-do it properly or give you your money back.
I did my own on the same bike and matt finish and got a much better result. It was also my first ever attempt at doing it. I would not be happy paying for that!
Totaly unacceptable. Tell them to re-do it properly or give you your money back.
Thing is, what if he makes a shit job again? How many chances do you give
Id be sending those pics to Invisiframe and asking if the shop is an approved installer!!
They are not on the "list"
He emailed invisiframe asking their opinion, Lee called him to say it wasn't acceptable. I'll update once I get full story from him
I'd get the money back then take it an approved installer with proof of good work.
If only you knew a fireman who was good at these sorts of thing
Is be be genuinely embarrassed for that to leave the shop if I attempted to charge for that.
Looks like a rushed diy effort at best and I suspect most diy applied kits are better than that.
Yeah that's not good. I've done two. One that was a matte/gloss pack. Start to finish about 4 hours each. I'm not precious about my bikes but wanted a bit more protection for the paint.
Mine are only really obvious when there is dirt on the edge apart from that it's invisi
If only you knew a [s]fireman[/s] pensioner who was good at these sorts of thing
Or someone big in oil?
Invisiframe just makes me think of people who keep plastic covers on sofas, or leave the protective film on all their displays and aluminium surfaces. Original post looks like a rubbish job… but it takes an age to get right… and with all the time in the world, I’d never manage to do it without leaving bubbles. See also screen protectors on iPads and big phones. Needs a blower and a medical grade clean room.
That's shit. It's that sort of thing that gives all bike shops a bad name.
My RM's top tube is covered in scratches and chips from uplift days.
And it looks better than that Invisiframe job 😆
That's ****ing shite. I did better than that on my first Spitfire frame and I was drunk.
Yeah, I would not be happy with that either. Like others I went ahead and done it myself (was not invisiframe) and it was my first attempt also. I got a few bubbles but my effort looks slightly better than the first photos but a lot better than the last photo.
Needs a blower and a medical grade clean room.
And even then a stray pubic hair would somehow get in there. Always with the pubic hair.
If only you knew a fireman pensioner who was good at these sorts of thing
Has Mike retired too? I wasn't talking about you..... Wouldn't trust you to put a Peppa pig sticker on the fridge 😉
Has Mike retired too? I wasn’t talking about you….. Wouldn’t trust you to put a Peppa pig sticker on the fridge 😉
Some say he never started 😉 he's just a shift dodger now.
You trusted me up on your roof tho🤷♂️
You'd have to be a teenager to think that was acceptable. Whoever did that either wasn't allowed sufficient time, could not give two shits, or both. I'd never use them for anything again unless the boss was exceedingly contrite.
I did mine, it took a long time, and I won't say it's perfect, but the big bits are the easiest!
You trusted me up on your roof tho
were you fixing it with stickers......
Anyway what did the owner of the shop say ?
I take my comments back. Yep that's a shocking job.... and be very very careful removing it. Make sure the tape gets heated before being removed....or you'll pull your paint off. I did that on a custom frame a few years ago with a hugely expensive paint job. Cost me about £500 to get it fixed.
Invisiframe just makes me think of people who keep plastic covers on sofas, or leave the protective film on all their displays
In the past, I would have agreed, but I recently bought a used bike with it on and it is genuinely great. Almost invisible and seems more resistant to scuffs/scrapes than the paint. And if/when I come to sell I can take it off and it’ll look like new.
That job is hilariously bad though.
That second photo shows it’s an awful job. I’ve got limited patience but did a much better job than that with just a roll of 3M tape, a pair of scissors, tape measure, water spray, plastic card and a hair drier. It’s not invisible but only a few bubbles I can’t get out.
It’s certainly not going to dry out and fix itself on its own like the bike shop are saying 🤣
Not sure if it helps but when I invisiframed my bike i was in bit if a rush and there were a few odd bubbles. Took a couple of months but they have definitely subsided (some not perfectly)
My job was nowhere near as bad as that though!
or you’ll pull your paint off
Seen a few of those now.
more resistant to scuffs/scrapes than the paint
True. It’s ace on a kids bike as well… as long as someone else has paid for it and gone through the pain of fitting it and you’ve inherited it. It is useful, I was just joking. Don’t take it off though.
Yeah, I'd be taking it back and getting them to remove it and fix any damage in fixing it.
That's a terrible job.
Buuump!
Hey Invisiframers, just spent the day sweating and Invisiframing the Throttle.. Every bit went on fine EXCEPT the most visible one, the top tube - got some fairly big bubbles made themselves noticeable in a different light... tempted to leave em, but is there a way to get rid, squeegy doesn’t do it, just stretches the tape.
Remove it and go again, or will that make things worse?
thanks!
Tip from a youtube vid - popped em 😊
I think once the tape dries they are very hard to remove, far easier when wet but also a bit harder to spot as tape tends to have drops of water that look like bubbles and bubbles that look like drops of water...
I got a couple of bubbles in mine but got rid of em with a needle slid into the bubble from the side. They will probably have water in that you can press out. It was a while ago but I think I might have used a hair dryer to soften them while pressing down. Can hardly tell now.
Update: after contacting invisiframe to get their opinion on it they have sent another kit FOC to bike shop. Well done them I see no requirement for them to do this
Against my advice The bike is back at shop today for removal and refitting. Shop said they would refit FOC 😂 'kin right you will
Good on Invisiframe, and here's hoping they don't let the apprentice anywhere near the bike this time!!!
It's not great publicity for invisiframe really so not surprising they don't want a bike out there with 'that' job on it, all it'd take is a few people to see it, get published somewhere with no context and that's anything from a handful to 10's/100's of customers lost. After all, the whole point of the kits is that they ARE invisible.
Good on Invisiframe.
They've just done a brilliant job on eldest_oab's new Rocky Mountain. It was a new model to them so they fitted a kit for free in return for him posting the frame down for them to measure up and make a pattern from.
Top work and customer service.
That is shocking, really detracts from the finish of the bike, if the bike came to the shop like that for example with bubbles under some decals or marks on it surely they would reject it.
Never seen so many bubbles in one section of wrap.I might be unlucky to get one or two over a frame send I’m terribly kack handed.
Good news and fair play to invisiframe
Good outcome.
It wasn’t acceptable, Invisiframe is pretty easy to install properly, it just takes a little while to get it on well.
I've always got the impression that Lee & his team are real perfectionists about their work, and I've had great customer service myself, so this is no surprise.
EDIT: superceded.
I couldn't even attempt it. I'd be playing frMe Frisbee in 5 mins
Invisiframe is pretty easy to install properly
'Kin hell, I shoulda sent this genius my kit and frame. 😛 I reckon by about my 5th frame I could do it much quicker, but it still wouldn't be "easy".
Found you can become obsessed with finding and popping the tiny bubbles, so shoved it back in the garage. Done.
good result for the OP's mate anyway 😀
[edit]Exactly, jedi!