Frame protection methods compared... Scientifically

“Why would I spend the money on RideWrap when I can get this other stuff at a hardware store?”
- Internet Commenter n+1
All too often we come across these comments, and on some gloomy mornings we think to ourselves, “Wait, maybe they're right?”
So we decided to put it to a highly scientific comparison test. The idea is simple, two riders will face off against each other. One of them will go with the ‘DIY’ method and the other using RideWrap Tailored Protection™ and we will examine the merits of each method.
Some might say “there’s a lot of variables at hand” or “that's not fair”. Well, we thought you might. A couple factors that we brought to the playing field. Firstly, each rider is working with the same frame, a Specialized Stumpjumper. This will allow us to examine the same curve complexities with the two methods. Secondly, each frame is dirty before they start to a roughly even degree. Thirdly, we are giving a double leg up to the ‘DIY’ method by putting our top installer from our HQ on the task against an unskilled competitor; he’s done thousands of frames, has mad squeegee skills, and has seen what high coverage pieces look like many a time.
During and afterwards we are looking to compare a sleuth of characteristics of the two methods including:
Cost, Stress, Time, Install Quality, Excess Waste, Coverage and Design
To keep the competition fun and honest, we invited Into The Gnar coach Yoann Barelli to host and help our contestants along the way. Yoann has a handful of install experience, as you may have seen from his recent video where he takes on RideWrap for the first time at home, and a boatload of personality that made this experiment an absolute blast!
Check out the video to see how Toren and Will fare, and read on below for a deep-dive into the results.