[Review] Protect Your Bike with Ride Wrap

If you follow us on social media, you’ll know how big of a project this was for us. And honestly, we questioned if it was worth it. Holy smokes if there was ever something we were so glad we took the time to do and push through, Ride Wrap was it. We both got Ride Wrap kits for our new Yeti SB130s and when you spend a significant amount of money on mountain bikes, Ride Wrap will help protect it. We will never get another new bike and not install Ride Wrap immediately. 

There is a lot to cover about Ride Wrap, but they do such an incredible job on their website explaining everything and answering a ton of FAQs so we’re going to push you there for all the technicalities. Not only are we impressed by the product that Ride Wrap makes, but their customer service is incredible and the thoroughness of their website ensures that you will order exactly what you need and want. 

What makes Ride Wrap so special is that they’re using a proprietary protection film that is specialized to your specific make, model, and size of bike. Ride Wrap’s protection film is specifically designed for bicycles and it’s made up of 3 different layers. I’m going to explain this in the most basic form, but I highly recommend you head here to read more about the layers of the protection film. The top layer of the film helps shed mud and stains and includes self-healing properties. Essentially, with heat, swirls and light scratches will disappear. The second layer is where durability comes into play. Ride Wrap defines this layer as the “core” and is an impact and abrasion-resistant thermoplastic urethane (TPU) structure. This is what is giving your bike protection when you impact something. Lastly, the “foundation” layer is the adhesive structure. Not only does this layer keep your Ride Wrap in place, but it also keeps your edges in place. 

A few key benefits of Ride Wrap’s protection film are as follows:

• Thicker for good protection (9 mils total) but not impossible to install
• Stain resistant
• Easier to clean thanks to the water and mud-shedding capabilities
• Can’t even notice the added protection (especially thanks to the matte and gloss finish options)
• Won’t crack or yellow (and they stand behind this with a 10-year warranty)

Ride Wrap offers three levels of protection, as well as accessories tailored to your needs. For our bikes, we went as protected as we could possibly get. They’ve dubbed this Tailored Protection, which covers 95% of your bike’s frame and fork. The next option is Covered Protection which protects “high wear and vulnerable” areas of your bike. Covered Protection offers 60% coverage. Lastly, you can opt for the Essential Protection which is designed to protect basic wear points. This coverage is only 30%. It’s nice that Ride Wrap offers different levels of protection, but knowing our skill levels, we wanted the most possible protection. You can also opt for chain stay armor or just shuttle armor, or you can buy individual pieces if you’re just looking to protect a certain area of your bike. The options are pretty endless, but one thing is for sure – we will never not have Ride Wrap on our bikes again! 

As far as the install goes, I think they mention it takes around 6 hours or so for the Tailored Protection. Really any time we’re doing anything, especially when it comes to mountain bikes or motorcycles, we typically double the recommended amount of time and expect that. We spent about 18 hours total installing these kits on both of our bikes. We are both pretty particular and wanted everything perfect. If you have the option to have a professional at Ride Wrap install this for you, we would say go for it, it’s worth every penny. However, if you want to take it on yourself, just expect it to take some time and don’t get frustrated. They send everything you need for a successful install, the directions are super clear, and once you start getting the hang of it, it does get a little bit easier. I think we were only frustrated because it took us so much more time than we thought. Once again though, extremely worth it! Just the peace of mind alone is worth it when you’re hearing rocks pop up into your frame. 

If you’re buying a new bike these days you’re likely spending anywhere from $3000-$12,000 (maybe even more??) so the small cost of Ride Wrap ($180 for the Tailored Protection & Fork Protection) is absolutely worth it to protect your investment. If we have minor run-ins with something like rocks or branches, we don’t have to worry about frame damage. If you have a major run-in with the ground, the damage will be less than if you were to be riding without Ride Wrap. If you have any questions, be sure to leave them below and we’ll get back to you. Definitely head to Ride Wrap’s Website as well as they have a ton of information there. 

*We received this gear for free in exchange for a review, however, it’s important to know that all thoughts are our own.