Dominae

I started an earlier thread about my restoration of a Trek 560 that I bought in college right before I graduated. Part of the history of this bike to which I assign much of its sentimental value was that it was purchased from a bike shop in Oxford, Ohio called the Bike Center. The Bike Center itself is now defunct and there is a new bike shop in town operating under a new name.

What would make my "re-do" of this bike complete is if I could get a Bike Center decal to put on the seat tube like the one that appeared on my original bike. I understand this this request borders on insane but does anyone in the Cincinnati, Ohio area have an old frame from the Bike Center that still has the original sticker on it that they would be willing to part with it? I see that there is a thread in C&V that shows pictures of bike shop decals on older frames and there was a photo of a Raleigh with the Bike Center decal but that photo was so old I doubt the poster is even around anymore.

I would be willing to pay for a Bike Center decal if anyone would be willing to remove it from their frame and send it to me. I know this is crazy but thought I would at least ask the question so I can at least say that I tried!

squirtdad

or maybe just get a good picture and get a reproduction?

Dominae

Yes that would be great. Do you know anyone who could make a reproduction from a photo? This is a much more likely option than peeling a 40 year old decal off a frame. Thanks for the suggestion!

So I will amend my request: Would anyone be able to take a photo of their Bike Center decal and email it to me?

Spaghetti Legs 

My guess is that will be the best route to go. Probably worth it to try messaging the member in that old post though. I have a wheel set from a defunct company that requires a proprietary spoke wrench. I was searching a different forum and found a post of someone with the same wheel set. The guy hadn't been active on the site for 4-5 years but he answered my message, sent me the spoke wrench and told me to keep it for the next guy!

madpogue 

^^^^ +1; there's zero hope of a shop decal coming off in one re-usable piece.

Your challenge, with a photo, will be to "de-project" the image of it wrapped around a frame tube, so it appears as a flat image. There's probably a photo editing utility or app out there that does that. And I think there's a thread here on C&V on how to make your own decal from an image file.

SurferRosa

Velocals (I think).

bamboobike4

+1
Best way is to take a photo, have someone who knows how to use MS Publisher or PrintArtist, or best, Adobe, to re-create it, send the file to JR at VeloCals; he'll email back an image and you can go from there, tweak it, get it produced, use it, and end this run-on sentence.

Dylansbob 

Back when I lived in Dayton, I know I had a bike from there. But that was a long time ago..... Mmmm, I may have to fix a can of Skyline chili tonight....

bamboobike4

Maybe contact: nomadmax His neck of the woods.

gugie 

You can find people that will make decals from artwork online. Heck, you can buy laser printer decal paper and print your own. All you need is artwork.

Here's a thread to search through. Maybe you'll get lucky and find someone there that has it.

It's really hard to use a picture of a decal wrapped around a tube and reproduce it. Best to use a heat gun and peel it off carefully, scan it, and redo it with some off the shelf software. I did just that with a Hahns Ohrt decal:

Old one on the bike:

Original

Repro

One of my kids is good with graphic design software and did most of the work on it. Special thanks to @AZORCH for doing the final touches and nailing the original color.

Dominae

Very impressive! The shop decal I’m looking for is very simple. It’s black graphics on white background with an image of guy riding a penny farthing and the words “ Bike Center” and “Oxford, Ohio.”

semroc

Check out YouTube. Bike Center, Oxford Ohio original location 2003. They show the sign out front real good at the end. Hope this helps.

Moe Zhoost

Maybe contact the owner, Marty Creech. There is a small chance that he may have some old stickers stashed away. You may have to buy a house, though.

Dominae

Yeah…I’ve already thought of that and tried to connect with him on LinkedIn but so far no luck. I am a little concerned he would think I’m a crazy person though. This may be a last resort if I get desperate!

Chuck M 

Not if they came off this easily, which they typically don't. I didn't take this Fay's sticker off. It volunteered to come off on its own. Right now I keep it from getting lost by sticking it in a book I have in my den. Some day I will scan it and make some more because I have another bike that has the slight remnants of another one that fell off.

AeroGut

Two suggestions-
1. Change the title of this thread to include “Bike Center Oxford, Ohio” so people from that area are more likely to look at it
2. If you’re still in the area, stop by MoBo bike co-op in Cincinnati and browse through their used bike shed. They usually have a few hundred bikes in there and there might be one from the bike center. Since you know what the decal looks like, you can probably skim through pretty quickly

Dominae

1. Done, however it didn’t change the title of the thread on the main C&V page?

2. I no longer live in Ohio but I sent them a email. Not sure if they have time to respond to such a ridiculous inquiry.

Chuck M 

I don't think it falls in the regular scheme of what the facilitator's thread was started for, but if you asked there, perhaps someone close by would be willing to check the place for you. Just a suggestion.

repechage

good work, but placement on the downtube?
we only did that on juvenile bikes.
most often on the seat tube near the bottom bracket. Must have been a Bob Job.

gugie 

Having worked at a few bike shops BITD, I'm well aware of the standard position for a shop decal. I put it there on purpose, it's too nice to hide down near the BB IMO. French bike manufacturers (and Jack Taylor) were known to put their Reynolds sticker near the bottom lug, for example.

This sticker took up the "standard" position (same bike):



I've been accused of acting juvenile before, however. Just a Gugie job, I guess, but what do I know.

repechage

good work, but placement on the downtube?
we only did that on juvenile bikes.
most often on the seat tube near the bottom bracket. Must have been a Bob Job.

gugie 

I'm sticking with my original reply.

Steel1

+1 on Velocals.
Tommy Anderson does great work there, working off of photos. Its not super cheap, but there is a lot of labor and effort to create, so I was quite satisfied.

repechage

We had some customers demand a smaller shop sticker, they did make one, not bad but the light yellow Hans Ohrt was too transparent, that was just text on a clear mylar strip.

Bob Job referred to a shop employee who prided himself at how fast he could assemble a bike, problem was nothing greased, nothing adjusted or oiled.

gugie 

Shop stickers down near the BB are hidden from view. I liked the Hans Ohrt sticker so much I wanted to put it somewhere it could be seen, I think it really adds to the repop. I get lots of compliments on it. I've already sinned by adding non-OEM bottle bosses, powder coating it instead of repainting, and populating the bits with a french drivetrain that was never done before, but I made effort to make it period correct.

I kinda figured what Bob Job meant from the context.