Frame Care
Twmpa Cycles frames are resilient and hand-crafted, with very high quality finishes. To maximise the ownership experience and potential of your bicycle, we advise that you clean the frame regularly with a soft-fibre rag and bicycle-friendly detergent. It is best to support your Local Bike Shop and allow them to perform regular services.
Your Twmpa bicycle is designed to last a lifetime full of adventure with the proper care. Here we outline what you can do to help prolong the life of your frame.
General Care Tips:
Keeping the bike clean and free of dirty water and salt are important parts of regular maintenance. Dirt collects at joints and threads and holds salt and moisture, so leaving it in contact with the frame and working parts of your bicycle can lead to accelerated corrosion and premature wear/inefficiency of components. We recommend cleaning your bike thoroughly once a week at the very least if you are riding regularly, and even after every ride if you're riding through winter on salted roads.
On top of this, it is essential to strip the bike down to the frame annually, cleaning all areas that interface with other components and thoroughly regreasing during reassembly. Minor varnish chips should be touched in as soon as possible using a clear lacquer. Clear nail varnish is effective for this.
Aluminium seatposts are often prone to seizing in the carbon seat tube sleeve if not removed, cleaned and re-greased regularly. This should be done on a bi-annual basis.
Wood:
We finish our frames with the best quality coatings available. They are strong, waterproof, UV stable and able to flex with the frame. The coating is able to resist all but the hardest of impacts. The frame will not need to be refinished under normal usage conditions. If any owner wishes to refinish their frame for whatever reason, this can easily be done by contacting and returning your frame to us.
Wood is not prone to oxidation of any kind but degradation and discolouration of the wood will occur if water and dirt are able to penetrate the polyurethane finish. If the varnish is cracked as a result of an impact to the frame, it can be repaired by lightly abrading the area and using clear nail varnish lacquer. We recommend that you contact us, including a photo and description of the damage, and we will advise the best course of remedial action.
Carbon fibre:
Carbon fibre is not prone to oxidation of any kind, and your carbon fork should happily last the lifetime of the bike. The caveat to this is that carbon is more easily damaged by impacts than wood or metal. For this reason it is important to regularly check the fork and other carbon components for wear or hairline cracks, and this is especially important following accidents or impacts of any kind. It is also advisable to apply protection tape to mudguard contact areas such as beneath the fork crown or on areas contacted when using the Anything Mounts.
Frame Protection Tape:
It is a good idea to use a good frame protection tape on your frame or bicycle, especially in the areas where frame bags are mounted and where gravel and rock strikes are likely. We recommend applying the tape approx. 10 days after frame or bicycle purchase if possible, to ensure the varnish has fully cured.
Care must be taken on fitting and removal of tape and our finish warranty does not cover damage caused to the frame or fork through tape removal. Normally, frame protection tape and film are easily repositionable during application but will develop full bonding strength after around 8 hours. When removing tape it is a good idea to pull the tape away along the surface of the frame or fork tube, rather than directly off at 90 degrees to the surface.
We recommend 3M 8671HS Polyurethane Tape, also known as Heli Tape.