So I took my bike in for a tuneup recently, and the LBS put one of their shop stickers on the lower part of the downtube, covering up one of the decals ("Handmade in Italy") on the bike. (There's another sticker from the shop where the bike came from on the bottom of the seat tube.)

I got the new sticker off, but now there's some goo leftover on the decal and downtube that might attract road grime. I'm reluctant to use googone, since it's on top of and next to a decal, though I guess it's no big deal if I lose the decal. Any other suggestions?

Is this standard practice? This is the first time I've used this shop, and other shops haven't put any stickers on my bikes before. When they sell a new bike, sure, but for a tuneup?

(This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine -- I can't stand those ads/plates/stickers they put on the back of cars, either. A license plate holder, ok, but don't put anything on the car itself, please.)

Don't know, none of my bikes has ever seen a bike shop....:)

pretty standard if you buy the bike from them, but not very standard if they are just working on your bike. At best an annoying practice. Would you allow someone to put a bumper sticker on your car just because you had them work on it? I wouldn't.

yeah, I guess that would obviate the problem, wouldn't it? I should really brush up on my Zinn and give it a shot. I've just been reluctant to mess with much, especially derailleurs, for fear I'll screw something up. Chain lube, cleaning, tire changes, etc. I can deal with.

That's pretty lame. I use paint thinner to remove stickers and all the goo. It won't damage anything.

If the sticker you want to keep is under the clearcoat, you can use goo gone without fear. If it is above the clearcoat, use a little bit on a rag and carefully wipe away from the sticker towards the edge, so you don't push any under it. It's pretty strong stuff, so you don't need too much. I would stay away from paint thinner either way, its a bit too strong in my opinion.

I would take it back to the bike shop and have them remove it, and tell them that they're responsible for any damage that's caused by the removal.

Putting a sticker on your bike is advertising. If they want to advertise with you, they need to pay you. That sh*t is out of line.

If it's just a little goo left you could also use just a little WD-40 on a rag. I used to use that on my car after I removed decals. Afterwards just give it a wash to get the oil residue off.

I hate that crap. Bike shops do it all the time. What is really an irritating practice is if you've ever had a bike repainted. Painters will stick their company logo on your bike without even asking. And since they've painted it, its always under the clearcoat where you can't remove it!

How distasteful. I'd complain to the manager and inform him you will never enter his shop again. No handmade Italian bike deserves such treatment. I can understand (but I still don't like) the practice of putting a sticker on a new bike sitting on the sales floor... but on a bike that they worked on? That is nuts.

I dealt with this issue recently with a car dealer. My car doesn't have a sticker, and I insisted they did NOT put a sticker on my wife's new car. You would have thought I'd insulted the salesman's mother. Half the car stickers I see, even on luxury cars, are mounted crooked, or in awkward locations.

One shop "Bike Barn" (it even has a terrible name) is famous for this stunt. I broke a chain one morning and this shop is on the way to work; about 4 miles so I dropped the bike there and walked to work. They stickered the bike as well as fixing the chain.

At 2 shops, the guys joke about it, "Do you want a sticker with that?"

My regular shop gave me a steerer cap with their logo; they asked and I thought it was cool and accepted.

Damn shame; it's a horrible shop, known by anyone serious to avoid. But, he's our only GT, Giant and Marin dealer. Stays in business somehow, but not from anyone I know.

The stickers that the dealers apply prior to purchase are useful in one regard; I have managed to return several "recovered" bikes to their owners by calling the bike shop and having them look up the purchaser.

Most good dealers keep some kind of records, though one local shop files them alphabetically under the owner's name. Not much use if you have the bike and a serial number....

Bike theft is an ongoing problem at the university here, even though we offer free registration, and a top-end kryptonite lock for 20 bucks. (refundable too!) Amazing how many high-end bikes you see locked up with a 5-dollar cable.

I had a car dealer remove my "I'd rather be riding my Colnago" license plate bracket and replace it with one of their own. Like I wouldn't notice?? Like I didn't pay for the bracket in the first place?? I happened to see it before I paid my service bill. I insisted that the bracket be placed back onto my car or they wouldn't get paid. Yup..it was like I insulted the guy's saintly grandmother...."er...I don't think there was a bracket on there" Yep, there was. Liar. "er...I'll have Sneedley look for it but no guarantees..." Yep, Sneedley will find it or you don't get paid a**hole. I was holding up a whole line of soon-to-be unhappy customers. They found the bracket. Funny thing: the guy behind me wanted his dealership bracket removed too. I've never been back.

No, my LBS doesnt' put stickers on my bike. That would really piss me off.

I had a car dealer remove my "I'd rather be riding my Colnago" license plate bracket and replace it with one of their own. Like I wouldn't notice?? Like I didn't pay for the bracket in the first place?? I happened to see it before I paid my service bill. I insisted that the bracket be placed back onto my car or they wouldn't get paid. Yup..it was like I insulted the guy's saintly grandmother...."er...I don't think there was a bracket on there" Yep, there was. Liar. "er...I'll have Sneedley look for it but no guarantees..." Yep, Sneedley will find it or you don't get paid a**hole. I was holding up a whole line of soon-to-be unhappy customers. They found the bracket. Funny thing: the guy behind me wanted his dealership bracket removed too. I've never been back.

No, my LBS doesnt' put stickers on my bike. That would really piss me off.

I have "I'd rather be riding my Colnago" license plate frames on my Ford P/U. I've never seen another one..

To the original poster, I have very small LBS stickers on both of my bikes. They are located on the bottom of the seat tube, hard to see that they are there. But I think any LBS who puts a sticker on your bike just because they work on it is,well, sticky....

The stickers that the dealers apply prior to purchase are useful in one regard; I have managed to return several "recovered" bikes to their owners by calling the bike shop and having them look up the purchaser.

Most good dealers keep some kind of records, though one local shop files them alphabetically under the owner's name. Not much use if you have the bike and a serial number....

Bike theft is an ongoing problem at the university here, even though we offer free registration, and a top-end kryptonite lock for 20 bucks. (refundable too!) Amazing how many high-end bikes you see locked up with a 5-dollar cable.


uh no. they are not useful in any way at all unless you are a bike shop owner wanting some free advertising space.

Glad to hear I'm not alone in finding this practice odd (and unpleasant).

I'll try some of the techniques mentioned here to get the goo off, or maybe I'll stop by the shop if it's convenient. I don't want to put up a stink (I've heard good things about the shop -- including on this site -- and my wife is friends with the owner's wife), but I certainly will make it clear if they work on my bike again to keep their filthy stickers off my Bianchi ;-)

That's cold that they removed license plate holders and then tried to give you the runaround when you asked for them to be put back on!

uh no. they are not useful in any way at all unless you are a bike shop owner wanting some free advertising space.


Boy I love blanket statements like that.......

The shop I work at gives free minor adjustments on any bike we sell provided it has the shop sticker on it. That way we know we sold it. We don't have a big gaudy sticker, it's about 2"x2" and usually placed somewhere unobtrusive such as a chainstay. I guess if getting free service is not at all useful in any way, you should tell that to our customers who love the idea.

The funny thing about this is that I am extremely fanatical about clean bikes. My own and those I work on in the shop. I am constantly getting yelled at by the shop's owner for taking 30 minutes to clean a bike that I only spent 5 minutes doing a minor wheel true for free on. But I firmly believe that clean bikes are happy bikes and I also think any shop should always give a customer's bike back to them in better condition than they gave it to me. Usually a quick wipe down and cleaning of road grime is a very easy way to put a large smile on a customer's face.

And for me, that is why I do it. Even for silly cynics like Ricky2. j/k Ricky

Russ


Oh yeah, and I have never put a sticker on a repair bike... that's just wrong.

I also offer free service on bikes I sell with my small shop sticker on the bottom of the downtube. People seem to like it. If you want me to remove it I will and I'll probably still give you that free service and I'll probably still give you that break on your next big purchase too. It's not worth arguing about.

One thing I've learned working in, managing and owning a bike shop is that the prick who "doesn't need to bring his bike to the lbs and wouldn't anyway since they're just a bunch of bozos" is'nt really wanted in my shop. 99% of my customers are wonderful people who are not only my customers but also my friends. That other one per cent though can often make you think about bagging groceries for a living. Match mail order? often I can. Paying cash, don't need a reciept so don't charge me tax. C'mon, some bodys got to pay it, you knock down my margin than expect another 6-10% discount on top of all the other sweeteners? O.K. I chose to own a bike shop and just get by but sometimes I'm insulted by the guy with the 50 thousand dollar car who wants the roof rack at cost because he's a "good" customer ( his best buddy bought his bike the next town over because he didn't want to wait a week to get his color choice, his wife buys all his shorts from Performance and he "got a great deal on it on ebay" but it's the wrong size "can I exchange it?"

Sorry for the rant but I get tired of reading about all the bike shops that screw you guys, how 'bout proping the good guys then everybody will go to them and the lousy shops will close.

Sorry for the rant but I get tired of reading about all the bike shops that screw you guys, how 'bout proping the good guys then everybody will go to them and the lousy shops will close.

Amen!

College Park Bikes, College Park, MD
Great service, great wrenches, excellent selection and stock, fair prices. The staff all ride and some race -- they KNOW bikes. Active in the community too. Lifetime tuneups on any bike you buy there. CPB is what all shops should aspire to.

No stickers tho. ;)