I just picked up a mountain bike at the local pawn shop and its a beauty. All aluminum with Shimano stx-rc componants. Here's the "but" -it's a Liahona. "A what?" This is a bike that is made for morman elders to use on their missions, not available at all in bike stores. Being that I don't want to get jumped by mormans everytime I ride due to suspicion that it is stolen, what is the best way to remove the decals without destroying the paint finish?

I've found the best way to remove decals is to heat it up first. Use a hair dryer. Hold it about an inch away from one edge of the decal. Let it get pretty hot, then peel away at a corner. When you get a corner up, start pulling the decal off while heating it up. When you pull it, don't pull it at a 90 degree angle. Pull it at almost a 180 angle. That's like you're dragging the removed part over the part still attached. Work slowly, heat it up good, then it should come off pretty well. To remove the outline of the decal, use a little WD-40. It will remove the sticky goop crap that was left behind too. Won't even know it was there.

stimpy... dont even think of getting on your bike and coming to talk to me

jk

lighter fluid works best... on glass... but it might be ok on aluminum.

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hoop

Citrus degreaser works good to get the sticky stuff off, plus it has that nice pleasent odor.. hehe.

I work at a bike shop, and I've never heard of Liahona... What's the frame quality like? Good welds, etc? And what would a mormon need an aluminum frame bike equipped with stx-rc for? heh

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Mike -- Golden Valley, MN
Black 86.5 GT 5 Spd, 147,000 miles and counting!

[This message has been edited by Standard (edited 07-03-2000).]

Well, as far as I can tell, everything on it is high quality including the frame. I found a little article on the web, but no full-on website (I guess marketing energies go in a different direction for these folks). Frame is made in Taiwan, so it is probably a Giant. Has all the mounts- rack, pump, bottle cage etc.
All for $240. So did I get a good deal?

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Sounds like a fair deal to me. I work two different jobs(both part time, one makes the money, one is for fun). The fun job is working at the bike shop.

For an aluminum frame bike, we start at $370. $370 aluminum bike is good quality, but not as rigid as a more expensive double-butted mountain frame($550+).

Little fact: stx-rc is no longer in production. Was last in production several years ago. Some models still come equipped with it, since companies have so much backstock. Many shops still have stx(and rc) parts in back(we have a few left), but are disapearing. If parts break(most people catch a log on the rear der) you will either have to go higher up in Shimano's line-up(LX, XT, XTR)or lower(Alivio, SIS, etc).

Good call on the Giant frame. For those not in the know, Giant frames are used by many companies. Some companies use their own(Specialized, Cannondale, to name a couple), but many use Giant frames.

Yep, sounds like a good deal stimpy! I just got a better one, tho... bought me a Kona U` Hu for 200 bucks! The bike shop I worked at closed it's doors today, so there's been alot of deal-making going on... and I needed a play bike so I could stop riding my Indedpedent Fabrication around.. and the Kona fit me perfect.. couldn't beat the price, either!