Effective 3/15/05 we will not be selling frame or fork decals outright to anyone. The reasoning is twofold.

Reason 1 -- quality control. There is nothing worse than seeing a bike that has the decals wrongly placed or poorly applied. Don't feel bad. Unless you spent a lot of time training here at the factory on decal application it is not an easy task.

That said, when decals are placed on the frame correctly the bikes look genuine, factory and clean. When the decals are improperly placed it can really degrade the overall look of the bike and make it appear as though it is a cheap knock off.

Which leads us to reason 2 -- Counterfeiting and trademark infringement. With the many bikes that are bought and sold on Ebay or Craigs List everyday there is the growing risk for fraud or counterfeiting. We have encountered this first hand in the past year.

Kelly is a registered trademark, which is known worldwide as a high-end frame manufacturer, where the average cost per frame is $1000 (give or take). For the last 20 years we have worked hard to build a strong brand name and quality product. As the guy who's name is on each and every bike, I can tell you that it's a real bummer to see one of my bikes defaced or poorly cared for - but it's even more of a bummer when I see a cheap $99 bike with my decals on it that some fool on Ebay is trying to pass off as one of mine.

Luckily for everyone, people do email their query's about such suspicious items.

The way I figure is - I offer a pretty good frame re-finishing service, were a person sends their frame in, I strip and re-powder coat it one of my 25 fabulous production colors which costs anywhere from $150 to $250.

What a person who sends in one of my bikes gets after the bike is powder coated for no extra charge is: a factory prep (head tube, seat tube, BB and dropout faces) new decals, and all new hardware.

We then box and ship it to wherever you are anywhere in the world. The actual process takes about two weeks and shipping UPS Ground anywhere in the continental US costs $25.

Not too bad of a deal to make sure your much loved Kelly gets the attention and care it needs that only the factory can provide. Lets face it - nobody knows our bikes better than we do.

The bottom line here is that we are protecting our interests and the interests of the many loyal and satisfied Kelly customers who have supported us through the years by protecting our trademark from the thoughtless and disrespectful few who will pirate, deface or degrade our good name. If that bike you're thinking about buying doesn't bear the Kelly logo or doesn't look like the genuine article it is probably best to check it out.

If you are one of the few sticking my decals on something other than one of my bikes - think twice. Counterfeiting and trademark infringement is a federal offense that the US Department of Patents and Trademarks and the US Marshall do not take lightly.

Building and selling bikes is how we make our living. It's how we pay the rent --it's how we feed our children - it's how we will some day send our kids to college. If poor quality control and counterfeiters drive down the value of our products then how will we make a living?

As of now we are the only place in the world that you can get your Kelly refinished and re-decaled. Until I find another company who is capable of adhering to my quality standards that's the way it will remain.