Not Betamax

So Blackbirb, my XC hardtail, came from the Kestrel factory equipped with a relatively thin, clear chainstay protector.

The chainstay protector protects the chainstay (who'd have thunk it) from being slapped by the chain when running over rough terrain. The tape was at least doing an ok job of keeping the chainstay itself from getting chewed up, but it was not doing much to keep the noise down and it was starting to look a bit worse for wear.

Thankfully those chips are in the tape, not the carbon.

The solution to this situation is simple: upgrade the chainstay protection. Thankfully there's a number of products on the market for doing just that, and one of the top rated ones is called the Velocity Hucking System, which by pure coincidence can be shortened to "VHS".

Pure coincidence.

Thankfully there is chainstay protection tape in there, not the other kind of tape.

The application process couldn't be much simpler. You just measure out the length you need, trim it down, nip the corners to prevent it from peeling up, and stick it down. After removing the old tape and cleaning and degreasing the chainstay, of course.

Lucky for me I have a black bike.

And with the wheel back in place, things are looking good.

This should keep things nice and quiet and quite well protected.