Tips Archive:

Hot Tip of the Month- April 2008: “Chips on Paint- New Bikes out of the box”

I sell a few bikes online and I do quite a few builds for commercial gyms and studios. Quite often I see chips in the paint when a new bike comes out of the box. Is this a warranty issue? It could be. It really depends on what you call a perfect bike. If I were buying a brand new Ferrari or Corvette; I would not take delivery if there were one single nick, ding, or scratch. However, with commercial fitness equipment you know these bikes are going to be hammered. I would advise a trip to a local hobby shop to match up the paint and get on with it. The big companies I sometime represent will usually be more than happy to throw you some freebies rather than take a bike back because of a small nick or ding. One other thing worth mentioning, on the Star Trac Spinner Pro and Elite, you can now buy those nifty little black plastic step though guards to cover up all the nicks and dings left by rider cleats when they are getting off and on their bikes.