Planning or thinking about buying a new bike? Well now’s the time! We just received a huge amount of 2019 bikes which are all on sale. All remaining 2019 in-store and special order models will have 15% taken off the regular price. Our closeout sale will apply to all brands that we offer.
We are very excited to add GT Bicycles to our line of products available at California Bike & Snowboard. Who's GT, "We are GT...From our Southern California beginnings in 1972 to today, we continue to remain true to our BMX and mountain bike heritage. GT mixes performance with serious fun to deliver good times everywhere our bikes are ridden. Because after all, Fun is Serious Business." GT's lineup includes: Mountain full-suspension, mountain hardtail, dirt-jumper, BMX, city, women, kids. Come on into the shop to check out GT and take them out on a test ride!
We're happy to announce that we've added Wahoo Fitness products to our line-up at California Bike & Snowboard. Catering to the training athlete in an array of products including bike trainers, bike computers, heart rate monitors, and cycling sensors.
INTRO:
What up everyone! So this story started when I was on YouTube watching videos about polishing up bicycle parts and by chance came upon a video showing off this shiny Cannondale road bike and I was really inspired, so I searched for more and found this random frame, as well as this old school Redline BMX. So, of course I was inspired to have my own and came up with this piece right here. Here’s another shot, showing the color contrast a little better. Anyways, I want to show ya’ll a visual story, taking you through the journey you can expect to go through if you choose to take on a project like this one. BEFORE THE NEW LOOK: So, it all starts with this bike right here, a 2013 Giant Escape RX1 Hybrid bike. As-is, it was a good working, good looking bike in great condition. I know some would ask, “why would you even think to do that to a bike with no problems, what so ever?” But it was just the perfect project bike for me to use. Oh and by the way, if you’re thinking of doing something like this to your own bike, I’m pretty sure your manufacture’s warranty, if it has one, is out the door. So, Just know that before you decide to move forward on face-lifting your bike. Oh, and another thing, this project took a lot of time. I think I spent a couple months of my free time on my days off from the shop and even worked on it a few days at the shop after business hours. THE WORK BEGINS: Before I can start removing the paint from the frame, I gotta take everything apart and strip everything down to the bare frame. I decided to mirror polish the wheels too, so had to take these wheels apart, removing the tires, spokes, and hubs. Remove the handlebars, fork, headset, brakes, seat post, derailleurs, crank arms, bottom bracket, cables. Everything comes off. REMOVING THE PAINT: Here you see me stripping the paint using Rustoleum Aircraft Remover to chemically take off the paint. It made a big mess and wasn’t as simple as I thought. Be sure to use protective gloves and don’t get that stuff on your skin, cuz it’ll painfully burn ya. The part that took the most time was the sanding. The paint on the welded points were really difficult and took extra effort. I started with 320 grit, then moved on to 400, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, and finally 2000. Finally after all that sanding, I was able to start polishing, using Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish. And at this point, I found all my hard work was starting to payoff. WHEEL BUILD: For the wheels, I pretty much went through the same sanding and polishing process that I did on the frame, then rebuilt them and customizing them with red spoke nipples. As for tires, I decided to go with these WTB Thickslicks, cuz I pretty much like the style and look they give. The size of these Thickslicks are 700x28, but I ended up having to go with a narrower 700x25 in the front to clear my new carbon road fork. OUTRO: Thanks for watching. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think or if you have any questions about this mirror polished bike project. Click the like button and Subscribe to our channel if you like what you see and be sure to check out California Bike & Snowboard on Instagram and follow our Facebook page. PEACE! We just recieved in a few various folding bike models by Sava Bikes. They are light weight and all have carbon material frames. They come in 3 wheel sizes: 14in, 16in, and 20in. Single speed or multi-speed with Shimano derailleurs. We even have a 14in electric pedal assist model. They're great for public transportation commuters, since they're easy to carry onto busses and BART trains around the SF Bay Area. You can even put them into compact car trunks. Check out a few pictures I took of the models we received. |