Let’s face it, whenever we get a new bike…we tend to wish we could keep it in the same condition as when we received it, for as long as possible. Perhaps for a few weeks we break out the polishing rags and spend countless hours perfecting the shine on the mudguards, side panels and tank.
We might invest in cleaning products from fancy boutiques or source out the most unusual concoctions in the spirited attempt to show all others that we are caring for our bike more than any other.
But then that fateful day arrives when you inadvertently drop a hard object onto you tank or let a jacket zip slide across your rear fender…the clouds soon darken, the earth cracks and you wish the world would swallow you whole.
You spent days, weeks or months protecting your ride like some infant child, but in an instant all of your hard work is undone. so after the dust settles and you have got your emotions in check…what do you do next?
Ah yes…scratch repairs! You embark on the lonely journey of trying to fix your wayward care and attention but mostly you only achieve minor damage limitation and your bike never really looks the same to you again.
It has become that soiled garment, a used toy…a half eaten leftover lasagne. You try to convince yourself it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things…but you know that’s not really true.
You’re now at the crossroads! Do you live with the knowledge that your bike will have that ‘lived in look’ forever more or do you try to have the bike returned, restored to its former glory by a professional whom you really should’ve sought out at the first mishap.
I find myself in a similar situation. I have had a few ‘errors’ over the last year or so. Now I am wondering about having my bike professionally detailed and the ceramic coated. But I’m also wondering whether just to leave it until such time I have it resprayed and thereafter have the tough coating put on it to protect it from my negligent mishaps.
Either way is expensive but undoubtedly worth it…is it not? But then I figure I don’t mind the odd bump or scrape either. I know I use my bike daily and all year around too. I am comfortable with it not being a show pony. Just like I am content not for my dog to be a dog show winner either.
I am no preened poodle, neither is my bike, so perhaps that’s the way it should be!
But I do wish it looked like it did when it first rolled out of the dealership.
What would you do?