I purchased the Garel from eBay thinking it was a Lerun skatebike, the previous owner had made some alterations to the front and replaced the original truck with a newer and poorly fitting skateboard truck. The skateboard wheels were dry and cracked with one coming off on the first try riding it, the rear wheel didn’t sit correctly under the frame and the spokes were bent and needed attention. (See part 1)

I took the skateboard truck off and switched it with a Continental skateboard truck that I purchased from eBay mounted on an old Penny board. The hole spacing for the truck to be mounted to the Garel is the same as the Lerun and Max, for finding a replacement I would recommend old Penny boards made by companies like Variflex, Skuda and Super Star if you are on a budget as they can be picked up quite cheaply, alternatively higher end models by companies like Vulcan and ACS-430 also appear to have the correct spacing but always double check with the vendor before you buy it. With the Conti fitted I installed two Deville Whitewalls 70mm / 78A and would highly recommend them to anyone. My attention then turned to the rear wheel whereby I took it to a local bike shop where they managed to true the rim, the next change was to the tyre and switching from an old and degraded one and to a newer whitewall I had taken from elsewhere. I put some washers in place on the rear axle and managed to line up the wheel to be under the frame which in turn would improve the stability. I then switched the quick release seat-post clamp to a fixed one to improve the lines of the design and eliminate the risk of someone pinching the seat if it was locked up outside a shop.

Riding the Garel after these modifications it was clear how the changes vastly improved the riding experience, it is stable and smooth rolling and a pleasure to ride!

Lastly I changed the colour to Chromacoat Peacock (available through Kustom Canz suppliers) as the original green had chipped and rubbed off in various places (I did buy a can of a very similar green before I started just in case it didn’t work out and I wanted back the way it was). There are lots of colours to pick from and I wanted something that would appear as a different colour from different angles and Kustom Canz do a kit of 3 cans consisting of base coat, main colour and the top clearcoat, alternatively you can just go for the main colour if you wish. I removed the truck, rear wheel, chain and seat-post clamp but left the crank arms, pedals and bottom bracket on (it is a Cottered crank and I didn’t want to risk damaging it trying to remove it) and masking taped them to be ready for spraying. I then removed the Garel sticker from the frame and sanded down the frame to ensure it was smooth before applying primer. The primer went on without issue and I checked to see if there were any sections that needed attention before adding a base coat. I gave the primer a light sanding with some 2000 grit paper and a clean down before applying a black base coat in order to help the main colour stand out. I then gave it another quick sanding with 2000 grit again and then went on with the Peacock colour, which like most spraying is better done in multiple lighter coats rather than 2 thick ones. Make sure you are spraying in a very well ventilated area and use a mask as this has a very powerful odour and harmful chemicals, even outdoors wear a mask for it! Once the main colour was dry I applied multiple coats of a clear finish to protect it, once that was dry I reattached the wheels and chain (I had sprayed the seat-post separately).

The Garel rides great and looks even better and is a far cry from how it was when I originally received it, I might change the colour again at some point and go for another variation but I’ll keep it like this over summer as the sun highlights how vibrant it is.