Bicycle Transformation

A Bike Works customer, Chris, recently purchased this vintage steel Barracuda mountain bike frame from our ebay shop:

  • A red, white, & blue bike frame on a black background
    BEFORE: The Barracuda photo from the online auction
  • A red, white, & blue bike frame on a table covered in plastic wrap
    BEFORE: The Barracuda in Chris’ workshop

Then he sanded it down, with the welds “bondo’d” to make them easier to sand/paint. It took 11 hours!

  • A bike frame with the paint sanded down to white

Then just a few coats of paint…

  • A black bike frame in a stand in the process of being painted
  • A frame in a stand getting a paint job - the top half is white, the lower half is black
  • A bike frame in a stand getting a blue paint job
  • A bike in a stand covered in cardboard and blue masking tape in the process of getting a fresh paint job

And a coat of glitter…

  • A blue and black bike frame with the initials MSB painted on the top and down tubes.

And it’s done! The colors were chosen by Chris’ granddaughter, Molly, who is now the proud owner of this gorgeous ride. The bike is setup as a 1×10 hybrid with a low gear range suitable for Seattle’s hills and big enough tires for light duty trail riding, but not full mountain biking.

A bike with dark blue handlebars and grips, a light blue and black frame, and blue pedals.
AFTER: Hard to see the glitter coat, but rest assured, this bike is sparkly and road-ready!

Interested in your own bicycle transformation project? Check out our twice monthly “as-is” bike sales every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month for inspiration!

Find the next as-is bike sale