Early 90s trek antelop 800 work in progress

[titaniumriders]

Destroyed countless mountain bikes in my younger days jumping way to high. rode bmx for the past 7 years or so . getting tired of so much pedaling , Got this early 90s trek antelope 800 originally black with blue letters i striped it dremeled it and got some expensive metallic spray paint and a clear coat on it hanging from coat hangers in the garage. Pictures don't do it justice at all so pleased with the result. Looking forward to more upgrades; shock seat post, rock shock front shocks, new brake levers and cantilever brakes and looking for help with picking upgrade shifters and possible shimano deore 2010 rear derailer .

The blue bike is a full custom built bmx based on a sparkle blue macneil heaton frame +animal bars+ stems +odyssey short throw levers + low profile racing chromed spider webbed sprocket+ haro wide seat + big sun rims+ much more

[KC-Steve]

Well done "riders." Before you repaint a bike though, I would ask myself, "do I want to keep the bike forever, or is it possible I might want to sell it in the future?"

Then the next question might be, "if I restore it for higher possible resale value, should I stay with the original color and paint scheme?"

The reason to ask yourself these questions is because not everyone shares the same opinion of color, style, or scheme. So then it becomes a question of how easy would it be to sell your new paint job to someone else. A quality paint job SHOULD increase the bike's resale value, if done properly. On the other hand, an unusual or bad paint job COULD actually lower the value of the bike, if you can sell it at all.

And finally, using a Dremel tool on a bike's frame might actually weaken the integrity of the frame. Even if it doesn't though, a prospective buyer of the bike might perceive that the frame is weakened, then not buy it. In all honesty, sellers often say things that buyers do not believe no matter what, so it is always best to be up-front about your offerings. To give you the benefit of the doubt, you didn't elaborate how you "dremeled" it and I'm not asking, but it is important to keep the things I mentioned in mind when painting. Just my opinion.

Steve

[titaniumriders]

@ KC-Steve

YEah i appreciate all that input man thank you.
I honestly just did it cause i got the bike for free, those bikes in flawless condition only go for like a hundred bucks, i wasnt planning on selling it if i do my friend will buy it. I just like to dress things up a bit. Im only 20 and i have very little tools. I used an 80 grit flapwheel on the main parts of the frame and small enamel grinding stones for the beveled effects. I have a light touch ive been doing woodworking for years so i know a little bit about refinishing things. All in all it wasnt supposed to be anything mind blowing just dress it up a little to my taste, besides i still have another of the same bike in stock condition, but hey i just wanted a decent sturdy frame to put a bit nicer parts on i just put on a 2010 shimano deore lx m570 rapid fire left shifter and short throw brake lever, i inted to replace the other and both derailers with the same, so if anyone would like to buy it id think that a smooth drive train would be more of an attraction then the paint on a 17 or so year old bike. IF all else fails ill put in an 80 cc motor and raise hell

[titaniumriders]

[attachment=1747]PS the paint job looks like crap in these pictures so i could see you thinking it looks cheap but it looks much nicer in real life, ill post a few more to maybe give you a better idea . early 90s trek antelope 800

[RobAR]

Wow man! Your bike looks like a red lava-lamp, man! Far Out!
To be honest, I wasn't going to comment on the first set of pics. After seeing more pics, though, and reading the 'whys and hows', it has grown on me. I think you did a fine job there, riders! I'd ride that. Just so Steve can't. :-P

[titaniumriders]

@'RobAR'
Thanks man like i said it was basically experimental i figured any new paint would be better then faded black from when it was conceived. If i knew the effect would come out as good as it did i would have done it more drastic. I never thought of it like lava but thats a good way to look at it .Glad it does something for you

[titaniumriders]

AND ps KC-Steve
I mean no disrespect but for someone who seems to be so worried about doing things properly it would seem logical to at least have a profile picture that displays some sort of proper posture for welding. Theres no need to be up tight dont we ride bikes for freedom ?

[KC-Steve]

Good for you if it is just a fun bike. I was just offering some helpful advice to you and others who might read this and make the future mistake of destroying a good bike. If you don't like my advice then just ignore it. If you reread my last post I think you'll find that I didn't pass any judgments on your accomplishment other than starting it by saying "well done."

Since you mention my welding "posture," the avatar shows me welding my welding table so I can have a "proper posture," and in all honesty there is no such thing except maybe in high school industrial arts classes. None of us begins life perfectly, but at least I had a vision of where I was going.

Steve

[titaniumriders]

ha alright man then were on the same page . I was sort of waiting for some enthusiast of those bikes to harp on me but somehow i don't think theres a large market for an old basic model trek , maybe i'm wrong i always see them for cheap so i didn't think id be defacing anything irreplaceable, i could be horribly wrong. I appreciate your thoughts sorry for being a dick