Swim Bike Run
Slowtwitch.com
x
Advanced Search
Logo
Twitter Vimeo Facebook Youtube
Search

# How to Redecal a Bike Frame

Dan Empfield Mon Jul 20 2020

I’m using my OCOEE, err, my OBED as a prop for how to redecal a bike frame. The assumption is that it’s a top mount vinyl decal. When I was a bike maker we used to place very thin water-slide decals on the freshly painted bike and then clear coat over it. No changing those decals
More recently bike companies have moved to “top mount” decals like on this bike here.

American Bicycle Group – makers of Litespeed, Quintana Roo and (now called) OBED – use a top mount decal. For reasons that attach to the (in my opinion welcome) cultural moment in which we find ourselves, ABG chose to rename its carbon gravel and offroad brand. (Here's the story behind the name OBED). I started hanging parts onto an OCOEE frame and by the time I get the brakes bled it’ll be an OBED.
Because you may think this is a dicey operation I made a 3-minute video showing you what changing a decal looks like.

Highest above ABG has a decal placement guide. You don’t really need it, because you just put the new decals where the old decals were. Nevertheless, they give it to you and here’s the page with instructions, and the downloadable decal guide. Because ABG paints its own frames in Chattanooga, and makes its own decals in-house, it could presumably send you a new set of decals for any of your ABG bikes. I find this is especially handy for titanium bikes, like ABG's Litespeed brand, because the decals on my ti bikes take a special beating for some reason.
If you mess up, well, bummer. It’s just a decal. There’s more where these came from. But if you take any sort of care you should have no trouble. The whole thing’s a 30 minute job, whether this brand or any other. Call your bike brand’s customer service and order up a new set of decals.
The tools for this were a hair dryer (I used a heat gun, such as what you'd use for moldable cycling shoes). That's it. ABG recommends a credit card for smoothing out bubbles, but i found that unnecessary.
If you're an OCOEE owner, and you wish to become an OBED owner, ABG will send you a new decal set for your bike. If they don't contact you first, you'll use info@obedbikes.com.

Tweet