They Said Tattooing a Bike Was Useless… But!

They said I was ruining perfection — that a high-end carbon time-trial bike should stay sleek, untouched. But this wasn’t vandalism. This was vision — their vision.

The owner came to me with a story: a personal connection to strength, transformation, and protection. On the left: koi fish, pushing upstream — a symbol of perseverance and rebirth.
On the right: fierce Foo dogs — ancient guardians of power and loyalty. Every line of ink was intentional. Every curve of carbon, respected. This bike isn’t just built for speed — it’s built from meaning.

They told me I was wasting my time…
Then they saw it fly.

If you’ve ever been told your ideas were too bold, too different — this one’s for you. 🚴🔥

➡️ Drop a comment and share your tattoo stories — what symbols speak your truth?
📩 And if you want more builds that blur the line between art and machine, hit that subscribe and turn on notifications. Let’s ride this road together.

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Save on electricity bills with your own JACKERY solar generator!
Get 5% off with my code: ETOE It can be used on top of the €899 promotional price, valid from June 17 to July 27 usinf the link to Jackery: https://bit.ly/4kUCcKY
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MATERIALS USED:

low tack masking film:
EU link: https://amzn.to/4ebFRl9
US link: https://amzn.to/4k21JRv

ink I use:
EU link: https://amzn.to/3HNpMpS
US link: https://amzn.to/3HQDfgD

affordable Airbrush:
EU link: https://amzn.to/460JKHG
US link: https://amzn.to/4jXLR2c

small compressor for airbrush:
EU link: https://amzn.to/4libImQ
US link: https://amzn.to/4evaLp7

water decal paper:
EU link: https://amzn.to/44nOZjn
US link: https://amzn.to/4nboe98

professional matte clear coat:
EU link: https://amzn.to/44hS6Zc
US link: https://amzn.to/3T0mmCE


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  / realmartingrey  
My european merch shop: https://martingrey.myspreadshop.de/
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If you like my videos and want to give support:
  / realmartingrey  

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disclaimer: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. You have no extra cost using these links. You help to support the channel and allows me to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for watching!

If you are interested in bike design, please visit also the website http://www.etoe.de/

designer: Martin Grey

▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

0:00 - unboxing the time trial bike
0:38 - media blasting the bike frame
1:08 - drawing Japanese tattoo art
3:54 - saving energy with Jackery solar power
5:07 - drawing digital art to create stencils
5:37 - cutting tattoo stencils with a vinyl cutter
6:16 - preparing the bike frame with carbon primer
7:29 - spraying the tattoo artwork on the bike
10:25 - application of bike decals
11:09 - more airbrush tattooing on the bike
13:07 - application of the UCI label and serial number
13:39 - clear coating and finishing the bike frame
14:13 - reveal of the tattoo bike
#TattooedBike #TimeTrialMachine #JapaneseTattooArt #KoiFish #FooDogs #CustomBikeBuild #CarbonBeauty #CyclingWithSoul #HomePower2000Ultra #JackerySolar #Balkonkraftwerk #StromSparen #PlugAndPlaySolar