Weight Weenies

Hi all.

I know it doesn't make me faster, but here's easy dilemma I have. I got two bikes, Allez and Sworks Tarmac. Ole is very bling (X1 limited edition), other is murdered out. Allez came with matte aerobar, and now I got same aerobar for tarmac but in gloss (Says Sworks, but I'm not 100% excited about it.)

Would you put gloss bar on Allez and matte bar on Tarmac, or vise versa? I got a mixed feelings, and need help lol.

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I have matte bars on both my shiny bikes. Doesn't bother me either way though. Thats the only finish avalable so thats why i went that route.

IMO Gloss bar on Allez... Nice bikes

Use 3M 02601 "Ultrafine" sponge on the glossy bar, wipe it down, you'll have a matte bar in about 30 seconds of time. An equivalent is 4000 grit sandpaper, but the sponge is better because it will even out the non-uniform pressure you create when you use your hands.

All matte is vs glossy is the appearance of the outer surface of the clearcoat. That's it. Break it down and you're matte. You can even keep those logos if you really want to (even though the brand is *NOT* paying you to advertise for them)

...and once you learn this basic principle you really won't give a f' if a part you're buying is glossy or matte. You can adjust your self.

So it doesn’t matter if you buy glossy or mate, you can adjust it yourself to your preference... as long as your preference is matte?

No, you can make a matte coat back to glossy through spraying with 2K then buffing it (not waxing it, but using a compound to buff it to a shine). We're not talking about the paint, but the clear on top of the paint. There are plenty of videos on the internet that can teach you how to polish a clearcoat after you spray it (and it cures)

You can also just take that part you made to matte and buff it to glossy.

You need to understand the principles of the material you are working with. When you understand what makes something matte vs. what makes the same thing glossy (it's the same material, the same chemicals in the same type of coat that is being applied) you'll also have a better understanding of how things actually work.

Which is why I wrote:

"...and once you learn this basic principle you really won't give a f' if a part you're buying is glossy or matte. You can adjust your self."

I wrote 'your self' and not 'yourself' intentionally.

Would you do it on a helmet? The glossy one (Kask valegro) is 20EUR cheaper but I want matte.


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The 2601 sponge takes away only the very, very top layer of your clearcoat - it'll be fine for a helmet, just go lightly on it.
There isn't too much clearcoat applied to helmets, the coating is very thin and typically much thinner than you may find on a component such as handlebars or a frame.

You need some detail or the bike will look boring. I'm pretty sensitive to aesthetics and I'd have no problem with the gloss. You're going to have some gloss on the wheels, stem spacers, shifters, bar tape, computer, etc. I also wouldn't want to touch a dry textured surface. The textured surface might be more aero though.

REGICYCLE wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:12 am

IMO Gloss bar on Allez... Nice bikes

That's what I ended with.
I'm not sure if I need two bikes, one is more then enough. Main question is, which one to keep.

prendrefeu wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:21 pm

Use 3M 02601 "Ultrafine" sponge on the glossy bar, wipe it down, you'll have a matte bar in about 30 seconds of time. An equivalent is 4000 grit sandpaper, but the sponge is better because it will even out the non-uniform pressure you create when you use your hands.

Oh no, that wasn't about how to make matte from Glossy or vise versa, but that's a good to know too.
I just wanted to confirm my plan

jfranci3 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 13, 2018 4:21 pm

You need some detail or the bike will look boring. I'm pretty sensitive to aesthetics and I'd have no problem with the gloss. You're going to have some gloss on the wheels, stem spacers, shifters, bar tape, computer, etc. I also wouldn't want to touch a dry textured surface. The textured surface might be more aero though.

Yeah, I know. I got a topic, about how to add colors to murdered bike, so it will look tastefully and not too boring. Btw: wheels will be matte (Roval CL64 on Allez are. CLX40 disc will likely be replaces with something wider, but still.). Stem spacer is... you're right: matte carbon. Not much gloss on this bike, but I quite like it. I decided to get purple/oil stuff later, and swap it if I want to: bartape/plugs/stem cap/shifter cables.

Matte bar on glossy bike are OK IMHO. Glossy bars on matte bike not really.

But do what you like!

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