Make your pride and joy look like new again

Fresh stickers and a bit of TLC could have your bike looking like new — this video guides you through fixing scratches and applying decals.

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Replacing the stickers or decals on a frame (or suspension fork) instantly freshens the look of a bike and is also cheap. Decal kits cost around £20 for a set and are available from most manufacturers that don’t apply a clear coat over their decals.

Fitting new stickers and decals to a mountain bike can be well worth the effort. Due to the nature of our sport, our bikes pick up a fair few scuffs and scratches over the course of their life.

There’s nothing wrong with the odd battle scar, but there comes a time when you might wish to give your bike some love and a bit of a makeover — either because your mate has got a shiny new bike and you’ve come over all envious, or else because you want to sell the old nag to upgrade to the latest wheel size.

This approach has several benefits — it gives a bit of flexibility, as you can remove graphics you don’t like and give the paint a proper buff up using paint-restorers. It saves weight, creates a better-value frame, and is better for the environment. You can easily fit custom decals, too.

Custom decals are available from slikgraphics.com or you can try your luck with a whole host of suppliers on eBay. Re-sprayers such as argoscycles.com can perform a full respray plus all-new graphics for as little as £135.