The race profile sticker for your bike

Why a profile on the bike

I came up with it while preparing my long gravel rides. A GPS unit shows the map, speed and time, but to know how far it is to the next feed stop or the next climb you have to switch screens, zoom and scroll. With the profile on top of the tube or stem, one glance down is enough: you know where you are, what's coming and when you can fill your bottles.

It's made for long rides and events where you pace yourself over hours: sportives, audaxes, gravel, ultras. On a two-hour loop from home it won't do much; on a 300 km it changes the way you ride.

Three sizes, one width

All three stickers are 25 mm wide, to fit on top of most top tubes and handlebars. That doesn't mean all of them: measure yours before you choose.

Size	Dimensions	Where it goes	Indicative price
Top tube	160 × 25 mm	On top of the top tube, lengthwise; you need a roughly flat top face about 25 mm wide.	€8.00
Handlebar	120 × 25 mm	On top of the handlebar, next to the stem, on the straight bare section (before the bar tape). Handy if a frame bag covers the top tube.	€8.00
Stem	75 × 25 mm	On top of the stem. Only the profile, the feed stops and the total distance are printed: no title, climbs or distance marks.	€6.00

Provisional prices, which may change before orders open. 20% off each copy from the third one. Tracked shipping €2.50 to France; shipping across the EU, with shipping costs shown before you confirm.

The sticker goes on the top face, not the side: that's where you read it with a glance down from the saddle. Before choosing, measure the width of the top of your top tube, handlebar or stem: the 25 mm strip must sit flat, without wrapping onto the rounded sides or over a weld. If you use a frame bag, check that it doesn't cover the spot.

Eight themes

In the workshop you pick a theme: Classic, Mountain, Plains, Coast, Forest, Scrubland, Night, Tarmac. Each one sets the background, a subtle scene drawn behind the profile (distant ridges, a sea horizon, a line of fir trees…) and the colours of the text and feed stops. The scenes are flat colours with no gradients, so they stay sharp in print, and the text keeps enough contrast to be read at a glance. You can then change the profile colour.

What gets printed

• The elevation profile of your route, worked out from your GPX file and scaled to the length of the sticker.
• A title and a subtitle of your choice (except on the stem size): the name of your ride, your goal, your bib number. No official event names or logos: that's the condition for me to print it.
• The distance and the elevation gain, in km and m or in miles and feet.
• Your feed stops with a short label, and your climbs or key points (except on the stem size).
• Fuelling reminders if you like: a dot every N kilometres.
• Regular distance marks along the profile, which you can turn off.
• The site address, very small, in a corner.

What you see in the workshop is the file that will be printed, down to the millimetre. Before printing, I'll send you that file to approve.

Planned material

The sticker will be printed on adhesive vinyl, then covered with a clear laminate to protect the ink from rubbing, rain and UV. I'll make each sticker myself: printing, laminating, then machine cutting.

I haven't started production yet. The final choice of vinyl and laminate depends on tests planned before orders open: how it holds up in rain and washing, and above all clean removal from a painted frame and a carbon frame. I'll post the results here.

Fitting and removal

The tips below are the ones usually given for vinyl stickers; I'll confirm or adjust them after my tests.

1. Clean the area to remove grease and dust, with a product that won't harm the paint, and let it dry completely.
2. Hold the sticker on top of the tube, lengthwise, without removing the backing, to find its position.
3. Peel the backing on one side, lay that side down, then smooth it towards the other end with a finger or a soft cloth to push out the air.
4. Avoid riding in the rain straight after fitting it, while the adhesive sets.

To remove it, peel it off slowly, pulling flat, almost parallel to the frame, rather than upwards. If the adhesive resists, warming it slightly softens it. Don't use a blade or harsh solvent on a carbon frame or delicate paint.

Pre-order without paying

The project is in its test phase: no order is made or paid for yet. You can set up your sticker in the workshop and pre-order it with your name and e-mail, without an address or payment. I'll get back to you at launch to confirm, with the file to approve. A pre-order doesn't commit you to anything.

No route to hand? The guide Exporter un fichier GPX depuis Strava, Komoot, Garmin et les autres (in French) explains where to find it. And if you just want an image of the profile for your roadbook, the free generator is made for that.