Parlee’s newest bikes, the Ouray and Taos, borrow the premium nude carbon finish offered on the Z-series custom bikes.
This is a big deal because, while it’s easy to get the top layers of carbon perfect, yielding a visual snack of symmetry and layers on one-off custom carbon bikes, it’s an entirely different story for “mass production”.
Virtually every other carbon frame that’s made on an assembly line, and even many custom bikes, are painted. As such, there’s no need to painstakingly align every single carbon ply into perfect geometric art.
But when the bike isn’t getting any paint, or even a clear coat, things have to happen differently. And that’s where I pick up with Tom at Parlee Cycles, so he can explain not just why they chose a nude finish, but also to explain exactly what that means…
TYLER: OK, Tom, what exactly is “nude” carbon?
TOM: Tyler, nude carbon is exactly what it sounds like. It’s carbon with no primer, filler or paint on top of it. It’s essentially how the frame or fork looks when we take it out of the mold after curing.
TYLER: It looks amazing, but I have to wonder, is it worth the effort? How much longer does it take to make a frame this way versus traditional mass manufacturing?
TOM: It takes more time, anywhere from 10-20% more time to do it our way, but you also need more skill, experience, and care to do it well. It’s riskier, because, if you mess up, there is no hiding it!!
We think it’s worth the time because we are committed to making the best carbon bikes and we take pride in showing our work. You see the care and craft of each person who made your bike, there’s something cool about that.
There’s nothing to hide here, the perfection is on full display. And we build our frames this way regardless of whether the customer wants to paint it or not.
TYLER: What are the tangible benefits? Beyond aesthetics, are there functional or performance advantages?
TOM: Beyond aesthetics, and the satisfaction of knowing you have a well-made frame, there are two advantages to nude carbon.
It’s typically 50-75g lighter than a painted bike, but the bigger advantage is cosmetic durability. Which sounds counterintuitive, but nude carbon does not chip, scratch, or fade the way paint can over a life of ownership.
If you travel with your bike or are hard on it (think typical gravel events) then you’ll appreciate how well the nude carbon holds up to real-world use.
TYLER: Doesn't paint protect the carbon? Don’t frames need a “hard candy shell” as a barrier against little rock strikes and stuff, especially for gravel?
TOM: Paint doesn’t provide any physical protection for the carbon. Paint only protects carbon from UV damage. We treat our nude frames with a UV protectant before we ship them to our dealers and the maintenance is as simple as it gets (more on that below).
The carbon in our frames is designed to repel small impacts from rocks and we use rubberized protection in key places on bikes like the Taos where you want real physical protection.
That said, paint can look amazing, and that’s reason enough - get paint if you like the looks! With a nude carbon frame, you can get custom paint that still shows the beautiful carbon work in our frames, too!
TYLER: What's the maintenance like?
TOM: Once a year, we recommend that you re-treat your frame with 303 Aerospace Protectant. It’s a spray-on product that is readily available and very easy to apply. It takes longer to clean your bike than it takes to apply a fresh coat of 303.
Five minutes, once a year, is all it needs. It’s really simple!
TYLER: People say titanium is a "lifetime" material, and some folks like to joke that “plastic” frames are just throwaways that only last a couple seasons. We all know high-quality carbon fiber bikes can last for many, many years, but how does this stack up to high-end metal frames?
TOM: We’re very biased about carbon. It’s simply the best material to make a bike from because it does not corrode or rust and it has the longest mechanical lifespan of any material.
We’ve been making nude carbon frames for almost 20 years and we expect that they will look good 20, 40 or 60 years from now. We love to make bikes that can last a lifetime of real use.
TYLER: What haven’t I asked that you want people to know about nude carbon?
TOM: The question we get the most about nude carbon is: Can I change the logos or graphics? The answer is yes, we can change the graphics on your nude finished Parlee.
The natural followup question is, can you do it yourself. The answer to that is, no. Or, at least, you wouldn’t want to try it, and here’s why:
Our graphics are very high-end - they’re super thin and custom made for us. They’re not your typical “decal”.
True, there’s no clear coat over them, but they are gently heat cured onto the frame to look better and be more durable than regular surface-mount graphics (aka “decals”).
Whether you just want to freshen up the look, or better match a new wheelset, bar tape, or team kit, It’s common for us to update the graphics on a client’s bike after they've had it for a few seasons. We have specialty equipment here in Beverly, Massachusetts, to do it, and it’s a fun way to update your Parlee. I have an older Z-Zero XD gravel bike and have changed the graphics 3 or 4 times over the years!
As author of Biking for Dummies, Tyler Benedict quite literally wrote the book on bicycles. He’s also the founder of Bikerumor.com and loves geeking out on cycling tech.
Tom Rodi is Parlee’s product manager and has been with the company since 2003. He’s a lifelong bike nerd.