The Dyedbro Gravel Bike Frame Protection Stickers is a collection of 12 stickers designed to protect the various parts of your gravel bike’s frame and fork. They’re available in numerous designs, from transparent to multi-coloured, and prevent scuffs, scratches and marks, as well as allowing you to customise your bike's looks.
The Dyedbro's dozen stickers include protection for your bike’s down tube, seatstays, chainstays, top tube and fork and three small round stickers for preventing cable or strap rub. This covers most of the key areas of your bike and the different designs should mean there should be something for pretty much all of us, whether you want to add a striking design or keep your bike looking exactly the same.
As for the stickers' main use – protection – they work very well. Since I fitted these my bike has suffered no scuffs or marking, and they've given me peace of mind that I'm much less likely to scratch the frame when I've been fitting bags.
I found it quite easy to fit the stickers, though for best results a heat gun or hairdryer is recommended. This does take a little bit of time, but a handy QR code on the box links to a video.
> How to winterproof your bike
The instructions say that it is possible to fit and remove stickers by leaving the frame and stickers in the sun. I put this to the test in the warmth of some lovely Welsh sunshine and while it did work, the fit wasn't quite as good, with a few bubbles appearing. But in spite of this the stickers stayed securely in place and even in the rain – Wales again – there was absolutely no peeling. To remove the stickers, you simply reverse the process, and again there's a video to demonstrate.
You do need to cut some of the stickers to size to correctly fit them to your frame, and they come with cut lines that you can follow. That said, after cutting I still found them a little too large, so had to improvise and cut-to-size freehand.
The only other issue I had was when I tried to fit the fork stickers. First, I had to make a slight cut to fit the stickers around the brake cable, which protrudes from the internal routing in the fork. I got this to work, but then when it came to trying to cut out holes to be able to use my cargo cage mounts, I gave up. This is obviously a niche issue but it would be good to see options for these in the future.
Value
At £40 these aren't cheap, though their striking designs do give them a premium feel. And there aren't that many gravel-specific frame wraps either, which I think goes some way to justifying the overall cost.
The Muc-Off frame protection kit features a similar range of stickers with options to wrap the whole bike. However, these are only sized for e-bikes or mountain bikes, which makes them far harder to fit to a gravel bike – and they'll also cost you a heavyweight £65.
Both are fitted in a similar way though the Muc-Off variant requires slightly less heat.
Alternatively, you could go for something such as Zefal's Skin Armor that Matt liked when he tested it a few years ago. It's a simple set of small stickers and strips that could work with a gravel bike frame.
Conclusion
Gravel-specific frame stickers that offer effective frame protection, which come in both bright and transparent designs.
Make and model: Dyedbro Gravel Bike Frame Protection stickers
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Dyedbro says: "Purposefully created for gravel, adventure, road and bikepacking riders.
We are sponsors of Grinduro and have ridden at various events over the years – this kit uses the Grinduro illustration in purple or black to give those party-to-ride ratio vibes on your bike.
Gives protection from velcro/luggage straps, cable rub and stone/rock damage.
Designed to protect frame top tube, down tube, forks, seatstays and chainstay with 12 pieces in total.
Fork protector sections are ideal for those who carry cargo on the fork.
3 additional round patches for cable protection or velcro strap protection.
Eliminate paint chips and scuffs to all protected areas."
I found it worked well and hard-wearing.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
The gravel kit includes 12 protectors
x1 Top tube protector
x2 Extra pieces for largger frames
x1 Down tube protector – gloss kits come with gloss down tube section, matt kits comes with matt down tube section
x1 Chainstay protector
x2 Seatstay protectors
x2 Fork protector
x3 Round patches
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
It is well made, tough, protects the frame well and the adhesive has remained, er, adhesive.
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
It performs well, keeping the frame safe and scuff free.
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
Since applying the stickers have stayed stuck, they haven't scuffed and they've provided great protection.
Rate the product for value:
6/10
It is a fair bit cheaper than Muc-Off's frame protector, which is the nearest equivalent product.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It performed well. It did as it was designed and kept the frame protected, the stickers staying in place no matter the conditions.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It's toughness and durability.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Having to cut holes in the material for mounting points.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It is a fair bit cheaper than the Muc-Off frame protection kit, though that's designed more for mountain bikes and e-bikes rather than gravel bikes.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
I think the Dyedbro stickers are a good and durable product, and with the options of mounting point cut-outs it would have scored more.
Age: 21 Height: 171cm Weight: 72kg
I usually ride: Windover Bostal My best bike is: Windover Bostal
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Semi pro
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, mtb, Gravel and ultra-endurance racing
i dunno. EPO is pretty cheap these days
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