Why do many photos of Shimano BR-R650s show some tape attached to the calipers?

[Oxford_Guy]

Why do many photos of Shimano BR-R650 brakes show some tape attached to the calipers on bikes these are attached to? Is there some design fault the means something rubs on this area? Have seen this on lots of different bikes e.g.

[phantasmagoriana]

My BR-R451s came with tape there, and I think a set of Tektros did as well. I assume it's to protect the brakes in transit/before installation and most people just don't bother removing it - mine don't rub in normal use.

[Oxford_Guy]

My BR-R451s came with tape there, and I think a set of Tektros did as well. I assume it's to protect the brakes in transit/before installation and most people just don't bother removing it - mine don't rub in normal use.

LOL! Okay, that would explain it then, but why would so many people leave ugly sticky tape on their £1k+ bikes?!

[Brucey]

yup it is to protect the caliper arms from marking one another. Anytime the cable is detached the arms will open fully and the thing that stops them is that the arms hit one another.

cheers

[Samuel D]

LOL! Okay, that would explain it then, but why would so many people leave ugly sticky tape on their £1k+ bikes?!

Why do people do so many things they do? They don’t engage their brains and they have no instinctive taste to save them from their thoughtlessness.

The more important question is: what colour are BR-R650s? The answer is about what you imagine when you look at the photo above, not the milky appearance you imagine when you see Shimano’s product images.

[Oxford_Guy]

LOL! Okay, that would explain it then, but why would so many people leave ugly sticky tape on their £1k+ bikes?!

Why do people do so many things they do? They don’t engage their brains and they have no instinctive taste to save them from their thoughtlessness.

The more important question is: what colour are BR-R650s? The answer is about what you imagine when you look at the photo above, not the milky appearance you imagine when you see Shimano’s product images.

So they are proper shiny silver?

[T42]

In a year or two the adhesive will deteriorate into a nasty sticky mess.

[Oxford_Guy]

In a year or two the adhesive will deteriorate into a nasty sticky mess.

Yes, even a bit of rubber inner tube or similar would seem to be a better idea, and you'd only need it when changing cables, unless one snapped whilst riding