Support Symbols or Stickers for your bike?

[Nokomis]

I've seen symbols on Lance's bike or gear (currently available at Nike 10//2 collection) and as seen below (http://blogs.active.com/trautwig/uploaded_images/lanceWHEEL-715765.jpg). You can get a very high level description on how/why at this (http://blogs.active.com/trautwig/) article. I haven't found again the descriptions per each symbol, but it's the idea that I like.

Tshirts are good - but I won't always be wearing the same jersey when I ride. But when I ride, I'll always be on my bike. :p I was wondering if we could come up with some simple yet meaningful symbols - using the example below - to decorate our bike. I hate bumper stickers, but I do think that something simple that I can place on my frame would be a layer of customization that would be meaningful.

Perhaps a Team Estrogen logo?
A series to represent goals achieved - Metric, Century, Double, etc.
A special symbol to show ongoing support, such as one dedicated to fearless riding and strength in numbers.

Does something like this already exist? If not - is it something that would have enough support to look into?
http://blogs.active.com/trautwig/uploaded_images/lanceWHEEL-715765.jpg

[mimitabby]

wow, that's pretty cool. Curious to know what they all mean.
In our neck of the woods there is a group of people that have little yellow plastic ties on their bikes that say RAMROD.. It is very coveted and the only way to get one is to complete the ride around mount Rainier in one day; 165 miles and about 10,000 feet of altitude climb.

Us lightweights can just watch I guess.

I like little dayglow stickers they are reflective..

[Trek420]

Nooooooo stickers on the bike. I'm happy to wear the AV jersey, t-shirt, AV arm skins, stickers on the helmet, pins on the backpack or camelback.....

Nothing on the bike :cool:

[cusepack]

Here's a link with some more info on Lance's icons . . .

http://www.nike.com/wearyellow/main.html

I really like the idea of the icons. Right now, at Niketown.com, you can purchase tees with some of Lance's icons on them . . . there are actually 8 tees and each tee tells a different story, with the icons either on the sleeve or on the front.

As far as icon stickers for the bike, I think it's a great idea. I wouldn't cover my bike in stickers, but a few that "tell a story" would be unique as well as inspirational. If small like Lance's (for the bike), they could also be enlarged for say, your car, your bike case, etc.

[Lise]

Ummm....how does he do that with his wheel? What's the material? Wouldn't you get kind of blown around with something that catches the wind on the wheel? :confused:

[snapdragen]

That's a disc wheel - used in time trials.

[latelatebloomer]

Nothing on the bike, but on the front of my planner I have a vintage-looking Giant sticker of a little kid saluting, with words "It's my duty to ride!"

(on the inside, I have printed and glued some of the more inspirational writings from you fine wimmen.)

[KnottedYet]

I have a shiney new Human Rights Campaign sticker and an Ibex logo in purple just waiting to be put on my fender.

I'm with Trek, no stickers on the bike herself. I like her nekkid.... at least for now.

[Trek420]

Lise "Wouldn't you get kind of blown around with something that catches the wind on the wheel?"

oh yeah, but when we are all on pro teams riding roads free of traffic with gorgeous (or handsome) hotties on motorcycles clearing the route in front of us .... who cares if it drifts a little.

I'm thinking powder coat on the commuter in future with maybe one small icon. They take all the logos off. But I could never decide on one image, which is why I'll never have a tatt either :p

[Lise]

Ah, disc wheel (nodding head as if I knew what I was talking about).

I love that Giant sticker, latelate! Where did you get it? My duty to ride, indeed! Yes it is! :D

I'm half in/half out of the stickers on bike decision. On the Larkspur, I've got race numbers and a "Triathlete" sticker. On the Bianchi--nothing! Don't touch my bike! No stickers! :eek: :p

[Trekhawk]

No stickers on my bikes either but if I was going to get one I think this is a cool idea
www.bikenames.com

Some wonderful lady here at TE posted this link before but unfortunately I cant remember who.

[Lise]

Thanks for that link, Trekhawk! That looks really cool. I might actually get one. I call my bike the Green Hornet. I'd rather put that name on her than my own.

[Trekhawk]

Thanks for that link, Trekhawk! That looks really cool. I might actually get one. I call my bike the Green Hornet. I'd rather put that name on her than my own.

OOhh I think that would look fab. Im with you I wouldnt put my own name (mines a little too boring) but your bikes name is a great idea. Please post a shot if you decide to get it.:)

[pyxichick]

My BF keeps telling me to find a cool sticker to put on my top tube to cover the dent. The only problem is that it's in a really dumb-looking spot, right in the middle of the graphic, so a sticker just stuck on there would look kind of silly. However, if I found the right thing, I might go for it...

I've always wondered why more bikes don't have stickers. It's fun to personalize! There's one that I've seen that I like that's made just for bikes that says "One f*cking speed."

[7rider]

<rant warning> Personally, I don't understand the whole "10//2" thing. Yeah, it's a big date for Lance and all, and it's great that he's done so well. But, sheesh....it's not like a big date for me...so why would I wear something so Lance-centric. I checked out that weblink that explained the graphics on the wheel...."Lance this...Lance that." Good grief. Do I really care that you could only stomach apple fritters, Lance?? And why on earth would you want to memorialize that with a sticker on your wheel??

That said....
This place provides custom hardware for your bike:
http://www.purelycustom.com/bicycle_products.html
I've never used them, I wanted to order a "Hare racing" headset cap for my bike (I like bunnies), but the no longer make a 1" cover, as all are 1.125" (my frame is a '99 and has the older headset). They look like they have fun stuff. Anyone used them?
Also....for those with unpainted ti frames....a Sharpie can be used to custom graffiti your frame, and it cleans off easily with rubbing alcohol. So I've been told and witnessed at any rate....
Regina

[KnottedYet]

Hey, I could leave my tri number sticker on my bike. I've seen folks do that. (ummm, I kinda thought it was tacky... but now that I might be getting one next week I'm starting to think it could be cool)

Depends on how cool the number is.

Pyxi- How about one of those little band-aid stickers they sell in motorcycle shops? You could put that on your top-tube dent. Some have phrases on them, too.

(I had a bandaid sticker that said "Stupid Hurts" across it, and loved it! Stuck it to my car.)

[Lise]

<This place provides custom hardware for your bike:
http://www.purelycustom.com/bicycle_products.html

Oh man....now I want custom valve covers and cage screws! Seriously! At $2.49 each...cheap toys! And the name sticker is ~ $6! Maybe I'll get them all for myself as a reward for finishing the Pleasant Prairie tri. :D

[Bad JuJu]

I used to have this enameled badge on the head tube of my Terry Symmetry.
Pain in the Lane (http://wmspear.com/item.php?cat=23&item=293)
It's probably still there, but the bike is somewhere at the bottom of a bay, thanks to Hurricane Ivan. *sniff*

[Geonz]

Well, I have a couple of stickers on my commuter - "bicycling is not a crime," and a Mammals (band) "Trad is Rad" sticker covering up the ding on the top tube. I often think of slogans but haven't figured out the logistics to make somethign visible that isn't a major wind block.
The abandoned bike on the rack here has a "Bicycling a quiet statement Against Oil Wars" plastic sign dangling from the top tube.
I've thought of a few - but there's a whole mess of 'em at http://viki.gedris.org/index.php/Slogans_For_Bike_Shirts
I have also bought the paint... a year ago... to add bovinity to my now all-black Schwinn one-speed with the big baskets in the back, so that it's an utter mockery of fancy ones like the photo... with "vaca con cuernos" as the "custom" name, which my Colombian student tells me is what they call those all-purpose "milk cows with horns" where he's from. http://www.teamamericasdairyland.com/Features/photos/gallery04/Nature%20Valley/images/cow%20bike.jpg

[velogirl]

http://www.headbadges.com/id74.html

Custom headbadges.....yum!

[Bikingmomof3]

Okay, if I do not ask, I will never know-where does a headbadge go?

[latelatebloomer]

Lise, the "duty to ride" sticker was a li'l present from my LBS. So ask next time you're at a shop that sells Giant. It'd be cool if they had a girl saying same, but...it might be pink. LLB doesn't do pink.

The Syracuse Cultural Workers catalog sells a T-shirt (& possibly stickers and cards) that I desire - white w/a yellow caution sign w/ bike on back. Sez "We're not blocking traffic. We ARE traffic."

[Tri Girl]

Since my bike is a boy bike (well, the gender and the color- dark blue), I have put some flower decals on it, just to girly it up a bit. When I finish my IM, I'm going to put a 140.6 sticker on it (the distance of an IM). That might be it, but who knows? I like to personalize my ride, and since it's unlikely I'll get rid of him, he'll be my very own creation. I never put bumper stickers on my car, but on my bike, that's a different story.

I like the link to all the bike jewelry. Cool!

[Trek420]

latelatebloomer "The Syracuse Cultural Workers catalog sells a T-shirt (& possibly stickers and cards) that I desire - white w/a yellow caution sign w/ bike on back. Sez "We're not blocking traffic. We ARE traffic.""

I have that shirt! :D

[Lise]

When I finish my IM, I'm going to put a 140.6 sticker on it (the distance of an IM). Yeah, I think that's appropriate! :D

[SadieKate]

Geonz, that Waterford is abandoned? It's one of the Team Dairyland bikes! I want one. Petunia wants one. Who doesn't want a bike with an udderly pink bottom bracket. Can I come collect it for the city? A little cleanup work?

[SadieKate]

http://www.headbadges.com/id74.html

Custom headbadges.....yum!I should never have opened this thread. Think of an AV badge on the seat tube right under the top tube.

Thanks a whole bunch. Where's the golden goose?

[velogirl]

Okay, if I do not ask, I will never know-where does a headbadge go?

On the headtube -- that's the tube on the front of the bike that connects the top tube and the down tube.

Headbadges used to be art. We've got a box of beautiful ones at the bike shop where I work that were removed from retired bikes. Now most are made of plastic or aluminum. Rivendell still has pretty headbadges as do some custom builders.

[Tri Girl]

latelatebloomer "The Syracuse Cultural Workers catalog sells a T-shirt (& possibly stickers and cards) that I desire - white w/a yellow caution sign w/ bike on back. Sez "We're not blocking traffic. We ARE traffic.""

I have that shirt! :D


I want that shirt- in multiples so I can wear it on my daily commute!

[Trek420]

Tri Girl "I want that shirt- in multiples so I can wear it on my daily commute!"

then you have to get a sister like mine :D It was a b'day present. They have a website but I did not see it there :mad:

SK, that's a beeyoooteefull bike, I guess on a Watterford instead of "on your left" you'd say "moooooooooo-ve over" ;-)

[possum]

Geonz, that Waterford is abandoned? It's one of the Team Dairyland bikes! I want one. Petunia wants one. Who doesn't want a bike with an udderly pink bottom bracket. Can I come collect it for the city? A little cleanup work?

There are a few team bikes for sale still! That one, the old one, is too small for me or it would be MINE, and the new ones (which are Cannondale) have beautiful farm landscapes pained on them. go here:
http://www.teamamericasdairyland.com/

[SadieKate]

47 is too small, but I emailed someone who might be interested. Too bad they changed to Cannondale. Nothing against Cannondale but not the drool factor of a Waterford.

[crazybikinchic]

in reply to the rant earlier, the smallest things can mean a lot when you are facing a terminal disease. My husband had renal failure (transplanted in 2004), one thing that he has kept was a piece of rope that was tied to the front door. He had to wrap his hand in the rope in order to be able to open the door. He got stuck in the bathroom a few times because he was not strong enough to turn the knob and open it. Not that he goes and pushes it one other people, but it is a reminder of what he went through and what to be thankful for.

[Kitsune06]

support/etc stickers...
Miss Cakes has the following stickers (in the order of political correctness:
Namaste
Independant Art: By and For the People
(R)evolution (on the chainstay, so it's by a wheel. Clever, I know):rolleyes:
High Priestess Piercing: Honor, Pain, Tradition
If you can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em.
It's only kinky the first time.
V**itarian
...
and a silver Grateful Dead sticker I put on the head tube, and made permanent via liberal use of clearcoat.

The base color of that model was sky blue, but at the time, I didn't feel it was "Grr!" enough to match my mood, so I painted her flat black. This year, I took out a dremel and etched tiger stripes in in such a way that they look sketched. I taped off all the brand naming and lettering, so they're untouched through all my shenanigans, all shiny and bright, so the bike actually looks surprisingly stock in color... just... 'Grr!'
*sigh* Yeah, Deb, I just need to get a pic of her.

[KnottedYet]

Now that I almost have a new (to me) bike, I might need to get her a pretty-pretty as a welcome present.

Those head badges are my-t-fine...

[Tuckervill]

My husband had renal failure (transplanted in 2004), one thing that he has kept was a piece of rope that was tied to the front door.

I went through some postpartum depression with my last child (he's almost 13 now). I was working at home at the time, and also suffering from herniated disks in my back. One morning my then-baby toddled into my office while I was working and set a chunky little Playmobil knight on my keyboard. The knight had his hand raised as if to throw a spear. I ignored it for the most part, but after a few weeks of (barely) getting up at 4 a.m. to do my work before the baby woke up, while I was in pain both physical and mental, the kind of pain that destroys relationships...that little knight appeared to be raising his hand in defiance. He became my symbol of my eventual defiance of the diseases I was fighting, the pain I was suffering, the emotional turmoil in inflicted on myself and my family.

I don't think I could have gotten through without that tiny little plastic raised fist, pointing the way and encouraging me to do the same. Even now when I think of it I think of a groan welling up from inside of me so deep--the kind you make when you are lifting the heaviest thing and the lifting will save a life--so deep inside, careening out from the exertion so strongly, that no one will mistake it for what it is. Defiance of odds that lead to victory.

I understand all about pieces of rope. I lost track of my little knight in plastic armor long ago--but I still have what he represents, right here. :: pounding chest::

Karen

[Jenerator]

Aside from the obligatory brand decals, my bike has the following stickers:

Jeff Christensen
Greg Boss
Donald Young

These are the names of the three law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in Colorado in 2005. I put them on before embarking on the Police Unity Tour (http://www.policeunitytour.com/) in May. They were good conversation starters before, during and after the ride. They gave me a chance to tell the stories of these officers beyond their local communities. I'll take them off soon. Unfortunately, there is no short supply of new names to add. :(