Road and mountain bikes have derailleur and brake cables. And these various cables shorten the arc of the handle bars, so the bars can't swing around; smack your top tube; leave a dent, and make you really sad. If you are new to fixed gear riding, you may scratch your top tube from locking up you bike, and that might be fine with you. You might be a messy cat. But not even the messiest of cats wants knowingly to destroy most of the resale value of a track frame by wrecking the paint on purpose and denting the top tube.
So, if you ride a fixed gear bike, one suggestion is to perform a variation of one of these actions: (1) Wrap some scraps of bar tape, cloth tape, or black electrical tape around the top tube right where the bars will make a dent if they make contact, and you can lean the bike on this taped part when you lock it to avoid scratching the paint; (2) Sew your own frame pad; (3) Buy a pricey, minimal, Japanese-made Kashimax Five Gold rubber track frame top tube protector; (4) Have a custom frame pad company make you the frame pad of your skidding and style-filled dreams.
At the shop, we sell the Kashimax top tube protectors, Reload frame pads, and Bici Concept frame pads. The other day, rider Casey came in with an Ugly Pad, which I noticed, since I hadn't seen the Tat fabric pattern before. Frame pads are not super expensive, and make great holiday gifts, but I would recommend giving a friend or family member a gift certificate or accompanying them to the bike shop. It is really hard to know what pattern or color someone is going to like. I am constantly amazed by the color or pattern I think someone will like and the color or pattern they actually buy. You may not want to give an urban rider the equivalent of a Santa decorating the Christmas tree winter sweater. They may not let their bike wear it. Suggestion: Unless you are psychic, ask or give a gift certificate.
In the following photos, Nic demonstrates the perfectly fine and inexpensive black tape option. Next is the minimal but expensive Kashimax option, and lastly are some frame pad photos lifted from the Reload, Bici Concept, and Ugly Pad sites.
