Danhedonia

Hi -

I am an infrequent visitor here, so please forgive if this is covered in another post (I looked and didn't find any). I have recently acquired a nice bike that previously belonged to a well-known person in cycling. In fact, his name is on a sticker on the frame. It appears to have been used (briefly) in competition and I think the sticker was a kind of a competitor ID for a team car?

My question is what is the protocol for removing / not-removing this sticker?

I have experience in the higher realms of music gear, and there are certain things you're really not supposed to alter. But I'm not a hardcore cyclist and just don't know if peeling that off is sacrilege or what. If it is, I won't do it out of respect.

Any insight welcome.

ramzilla

It's a piece of equipment used for exercise or racing or whatever. It belongs to you now. Do whatever you want. Choose happiness. In my personal experience, I've successfully removed old stickers by heating them up with a hair dryer. After heating, they peel right off. Be good. Have fun.

cecu

never heard of a protocol for/against removing stickers...
I say, your bike, your rules..

BookFinder 

Agreed.

Brocephus

Unless it's really obnoxious, it sounds like something that may be unique and interesting to have on the bike. You might should reconsider.
But if you just gotta yank it, depending on what it's made of, you can also try acetone, and even WD40, if it's kind of a paper-based sticker.

phughes

Unless he is looking for the bike, or unless it is really ugly, keep it on if you like. If it doesn't mean anything to you, or speak to you in any way, remove it. If you keep it, and if the sticker doesn't look like it will hold up, you can clear coat it.

TakingMyTime

The name isn't Murray... is it?

Kedosto

Add “stolen from” in a matching font. Comments are guaranteed.

It sounds like you’re unsure about any impact on value. I would suggest if you have any intention of holding and selling in the future that you work on documenting provenance. If you remove the sticker you’ll diminish your ability to claim collector or even novelty value. It’ll just be another used bike.


-Kedosto

livedarklions

Hope he doesn't get all huffy about it.

anon06

Yes. I also was thinking something similar. If a famous cyclist owned the bike and it was being sold with the name sticker still on it, it sounds as though it might've been meant to be a collector's item (if it's authentic and not a fake sticker someone made, to make it seem valuable).

You can remove it, if you'd like, but then, as others mentioned, it'd just look like an ordinary bike and probably wouldn't be considered worth as much (if you were intending to sell it).

Markdc

Hi,
you can use heat to remove the sticker.

Sy Reene

So, maybe the appropriate question the OP should be asking, is 'how to remove the sticker intact, so that in the future I could put it back again if I so desired?'

livedarklions

Does anyone collect this sort of thing? Honest question, I don't know.

I'd leave it on, you can always take it off later.

JonathanGennick 

This ^^^. The sticker is potentially an interesting conversation piece.

WizardOfBoz

If the sticker doesn't say "Egan Bernal - INEOS", you're probably safe to remove it without financial penalty.

sdmc530

better than getting all raleighed up about the whole deal

_ForceD_

How "well-known"? TdF winner? World champion? I agree with the suggestion above that it might be of value to some collector. If the person is that notable I suppose you could obtain proof-positive verification from his team that it was in fact his bike, used in competition, and there might be someone out there who'd pay top $$ for it (if you're willing to part with the bike).

Dan

2cam16

Ttiwwop

bakerjw

I had to look that one up online.

FiftySix

If the sticker is on top of the paint, I peel it off.

Under a clear coat? Well I'm leaving that alone unless I'm repainting the bike.

But then I've never bought anything from anyone famous or cool or have I bought anything that's been in an event that is famous or cool.

TakingMyTime

Why don't you just make this really easy on all us and tell us what kind of bike it is and what the name is? Pictures would be even better.

sdmc530

because this thread is really going no place.....OP knows that from the get go

no motor?

You don't want to do that if it's a load bearing sticker.

downhillmaster

If the frame is carbon fiber, removing any stickers can cause it to fail so I would advise against it.
The adhesive glue from the stickers bonds to the carbon which in turn changes the properties of the plastic fibers.
Hope this helps

livedarklions

Hey, give me my bike back!

I'm well-known, by me.