Having a new bike repainted.. Bad idea?

[The Road Crew]

Looking at a new bike, possibly a Specialized Diverge, but the colours it comes in are awful.

Is buying a 5k bike and then having it repainted madness?

[the_g_ster]

No, there's a place in Chichester that does amazing bike painting called Fat Creations.

Or, Send to Etoe, on youtube, stunning work.

[JulianHJ]

My 2021 Diverge Carbon Comp is already fairly marked, as I went for the Matt black option that seems to be very prone to it. When it starts to annoy me I’ll be giving Fat Creations a call. GCN have done a video with them in the last year or so and their work looks awesome. I’m wondering whether I can get an old TVR colour (Halcyon Atlantis) for a reasonable sum.

[ALawson]

FatCreations on Instagram, wow, their work is unbelievable. Plenty of other painters as well to use.

[FishAndChips]

What kind of cost are we taking for a frame respray?

[ALawson]

FishAndChips said:

What kind of cost are we taking for a frame respray?

I think a plain respray is probably £500 alway up to £2k.

[aVdub]

FishAndChips said:

What kind of cost are we taking for a frame respray?

I forget the quote I had for my Specialized FSR, but it was around the £80 mark for it to be powder coated.

That was a local one to me, with plenty other powder coaters around that would more than likely do it for a reasonable price.

[LukeSi]

The one thing that would put me off is voiding the frame warranty. Could it be worth getting it wrapped instead? And then at least if you ever break the frame you can just pull the wrap off.

[anonymous-user]

I worked with a guy whose son, I think, is this guy.

https://www.ooeycustompaint.com

The quality of workmanship on his bike was insane. If it wasn’t his son, I’d still recommend them based on what I saw. Looks like they are “Specialised approved” too.

Not sure I see the point personally, it will be £600+ for a full strip and re-spray on a carbon frame and you’re either riding it or it’s out of sight. If it was metal I’d say use Argos in Bristol but for a carbon frame that could get written off through a fall or accident, it seems a bit risky.

[option click]

I've had frames done by Etoe and Ooey in the past.
Both do fantastic work, but Etoe's customer skills leave a lot to be desired.

[moonigan]

LukeSi said:

The one thing that would put me off is voiding the frame warranty. Could it be worth getting it wrapped instead? And then at least if you ever break the frame you can just pull the wrap off.

This is a good point. Specialized warranty their frames for life.

[PulsatingStar]

moonigan said:

This is a good point. Specialized warranty their frames for life.

There are some painters that are Specialized approved, in which case you can retain the warranty

[Dannbodge]

PulsatingStar said:

There are some painters that are Specialized approved, in which case you can retain the warranty

This.
Get it done by an approved painter and the warranty will stay intact

[Louis Balfour]

The Road Crew said:

Looking at a new bike, possibly a Specialized Diverge, but the colours it comes in are awful.

Is buying a 5k bike and then having it repainted madness?

These people have done Specialized's repaints for years.

http://www.apibikes.com/

They repainted a brand new one for me many years ago and the finish was as good or better (and as tough) and the original.

[Gareth79]

Louis Balfour said:

http://www.apibikes.com/

I was going to say the price list is insanely cheap, and then saw it's 22 years old

[Futureologist]

pablo said:

I worked with a guy whose son, I think, is this guy.

https://www.ooeycustompaint.com

The quality of workmanship on his bike was insane. If it wasn’t his son, I’d still recommend them based on what I saw. Looks like they are “Specialised approved” too.

Not sure I see the point personally, it will be £600+ for a full strip and re-spray on a carbon frame and you’re either riding it or it’s out of sight. If it was metal I’d say use Argos in Bristol but for a carbon frame that could get written off through a fall or accident, it seems a bit risky.

Stuart at Ooey refinished a Canyon Aeroad CF SLX for me last summer.
The quality of his work is insane and anyone who chooses him to paint their bike won’t be disappointed.

When I went to his premises he was hand painting an unregistered 488 Pista side shields for a main dealer.
That was enough for me to trust him painting my frame.