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Just wondering whether other folks get put off buying a particular bike model on account of it only being available in cr*p colours? Or have gone ahead but got it resprayed from new? Bike manufacturers are missing a trick by not always offering black as an option..!
Totally. Always get them sprayed if I'm not keen on the factory paint scheme.
Orbea have this sussed with their MyO option, pick any combinations you want, no extra charge !
Can’t tell if there’s sarcasm there but assuming not 😉 what about voiding the warranty with an immediate respray..?
Being shallow, bike aesthetics to be are important to me full stop, colour included (also see matching brand tyres, tyre logos aligned with valves, no overuse of anodised parts, matching suspension, matching finishing kit etc)
If it was a bargain I'd buy it and ride it, whilst constantly reminding people how much of a bargain it was.
Full price, shit colours could put me off. But shit colours are personal and subjective.
Yup. See the On One Space Chicken Freeranger. Gopping colour, stupid name, horrible branding. Yours for £1500.
NOpe
I have my preferences but its along way from being a deal breaker. Its a tool to take me to places. Its going to be muddy. What it does is far more important that the colour it is
Most modern bikes are gopping anyway.
It's usually in the mix, sometimes as a deciding factor against but more often something traded off against the bikes more substantive features and price.
Sneaky buggers, bike manufacturers.
My first full sus was the next model up from bottom of the range because I preferred the colour scheme. I didn’t need the enhanced kit. It just looked so much better.
A current example would be the Giant Revolt range. The bottom model is a strange murky green colour and the next up, a sort of pebble grey. I’d buy the pebble grey every time. Of course this probably says a lot about me, but I reckon others would be similarly swayed.
Pretty close to the top of my list if I’m honest, but I hate all shades of grey, including black and white 😀
It's sort of important. A bike we like the look of will likely encourage us to ride it more. Having said that, I'm not a fan of blacks and greys but my Cube fatbike was such a bargain that I chose to overlook the colour scheme and buy it anyway.
what about voiding the warranty with an immediate respray..?
Some manufacturers will allow you to use certain painters and not void warranties.
I spent a fortune trying to avoid a poo brown Scott Foil bike. Ended up buying the premium edition frameset and building it up from parts. Looks as good as an XXL road bike can get.


what about voiding the warranty with an immediate respray..?
It wouldn't get that far as I wouldn't buy a bike I didn't like the look of, and that very much includes the colour, which of course is part of the complete aesthetic. That is to say I wouldn't buy a brand new bike I didn't like the colour of. A used bike is a project and if I like the look of the frame, I'll consider changing the colour as part of the build.
Some people are more visual-led, some more led by numbers, angles, geometry etc. That's not to say I don't consider geometry and performance, but it's not what gets me fired up about bikes.
I'm bad for falling for bikes I just like the look of and I have to admit, I barely look at the 'numbers' at all beyond whether a bike is ballpark my size. In fact, whenever the talk starts going to geometry, advantages and disadvantages of this or that angle or chainstay length never mind God forbid shock-kinematics and leverage ratios etc, I seem to just glaze over 😂
The only time that colour gets trumped is when it's a real bargain. Example being my Production Privee Oka. The original 'classic' grey and black was too subdued for the frames intention. I loved the look of the tubing though and knew I could sort the colour easily.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/7238/28056531851_6a9b23163e_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/7238/28056531851_6a9b23163e_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/JKg4rM ]IMG_20160706_182037487-01[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/79912681@N06/ ]blackteaonesugar[/url], on Flickr
I rode it for a while like that but it had to change. Go big or go home... 😀
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/4767/39966045662_0b07be22a9_4k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/4767/39966045662_0b07be22a9_4k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/23TEqYN ]POka. Shutcastle. January 2018[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/79912681@N06/ ]blackteaonesugar[/url], on Flickr
Absolutely massive factor for me.

Basically, it's an aesthetic exercise. My Chromag Surface (pictured) has always made my heart sing. I've never had a bad day on it. That's got a lot to do with the fact that it is a beautiful, beautiful bicycle that brings joy to all who behold it.
I have a strong suspicion that my lack of love for my Cotic FlareMAX has something to do with it being grey... 😀
The least important factor in buying a bike for me. Although recently i was slightly put off the black G-160 because, well, it's a bit dull. But i didn't care whether i got the blue, orange or greeny one...
Certain brands have colour that are likely the reason we have serial bike swappers.
Case one if that new tallboy wasn’t thunder bringing purple or pissyellow
I might have been interested. Matt black it’d be built and ready to ride
I must confess that part of the reason I bought this bike was that I already had grips, pedals, clothes, shoes and helmet to match. And it reminds me of my mum's old Ford Fiesta...
Just ignore the yellow water bottle please.
Looks as good as an XXL road bike can get.
Holy headtubes Batman!
Looks as good as an XXL road bike can get
That brown looks class!
Blue.. is ok.
Yeah, big fan of black here. Some other colours look naff in photos, but in the flesh they look great. So I like to see em and touch em before deciding.
Not too bothered about colour - I do have an irrational dislike of the now common, little brace between top tube and seat tube that I can’t quite learn to deal with. Not a stopper - but an aesthetic factor that counts against for me, (only rules out about 80% of bikes I otherwise like)! 🙂
Kayak23, you wanna buy a brand new Spesh Enduro frame? Large and in pink!
I'm just not able to live with it so it's going straight into the paint shop.
How a bike looks is very important to me and I sweat the details and ensure an immaculate build.
Once built they get a kicking.
I was testing a Pivot a few years back, it was blue and I'd have never have bought it in that colour. I absolutely loved riding it, I'd just look at it and drop what I was doing and kit up. So in the end the bike won me over and I ended up thinking it was a corker.
Similar situation to my favourite ex.... might have to have a think about myself, shallow git. Still not riding a pink bike, simply not good enough.
I do have an irrational dislike of the now common, little brace between top tube and seat tube
Quite useful as a carrying handle though.
Kayak23, you wanna buy a brand new Spesh Enduro frame? Large and in pink!
Not riding a pink bike, simply not good enough.
I'm ok thanks. One pink bike is enough, but luckily I'm like, totally rad on it. 😉
Tbh I’ve never thought I was bothered about colours, but then I realised something like 8 or 9 of my last bikes have been predominantly black or blue...🤔
Next one is sunset yellow 😀
It's a consideration. Even at price points currently considered mid-range, it's still a big chunk of change to spend on something you don't like the colour of.
My current bike is basically matt-black with fluro-green/yellow decals. Wouldn't have been my first choice, but totally fine in light of the discount I got on it.
Quite liking the current tend for subtle, muted colours like that Guinness-foam option on the new Hightower. That said, I also didn't mind the big, bold colours we saw in the previous couple of years - they are essentially big, daft toys after all.
Ideally every bike in my collection would be Black, 2 bottle cage mounting locations, and BSA 68/73mm BB.
Silver is just about acceptable. No bottle mount and no BSA BB or a gopping colourscheme is the quickest way to get the bike crossed off my list.
A popular mfr on here would have had 4 sales to me rather than 2 by now. Still waiting for a black option before committing to N+1. And more than happy with 26er MTB and v-brake CX bike until that option appears. There's no rush. 26 inch is still round enough to ride.
I'm a fan of solid single colours on bikes, as long as it's not vomit green I'd be ok.
Similar situation to my favourite ex….
She was the wrong colour?
I've just bought a Solaris from the classifieds. In Black...which is pleasant. But it is not the mercury that I had my heart set on..... could be back in the classifieds if I can't shake this feeling!
I prefer dull colour schemes, my ideal colour of choice would be the BTR raw/ bronze look, or silver/ greys. Contradicting this view though Big Dummy’s Chromag looks stunning!
Definitely,I put off buying a Roubaix for a year because I could not bear to part with all that money for a black bike.Splashed out when the hyper green/yellow came out.
This Christmas took one look at the Cadbury creme egg on one freeranger and bought it instantly.
Years ago my then thirteen year old had a pinarello rokh in a glorious white/red/black combo.Drawing into a supermarket car park my son looked up at a Specialized s works tarmac in matt black with grey decals on a car roof rack and said “who the f###k would pay £4500 for something which looks like that” Sums it up really
A further thought, I'm thoroughly aroused by the look of that candy apple red Lyrik alongside certain colour schemes.
As an aside, I'm enjoying the vogue for Farrow and Ball colour schemes: take a look at the new YT range: Titan Silver, Ghostship Green, Dune Grey, Twotone Blue, Black magic, Chapeaux Shitzu*, Jabberwocky jerk fish*, Liberian sunrise* and Gregarious gunmetal*
*In the pipeline
There is probably an interesting study to be done on what your choice of bike colour says about you. I'm with the son of @devonboy in not being able to understand why people spend so much money on bikes that look so dull, but maybe that says more about me than about them.
I’m not fussed about colour schemes.....as he rides a limited edition Gulf colours bike.....😁
A colour I don’t like will put me off.
It’s its shiney however... 😜
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Nukeproof alloy mega frames have a habit of going from gorgeous to no thanks, my fingers are crossed for 2021 version. I hate the green and the grey.
I’m enjoying the vogue for Farrow and Ball colour schemes
Haha. Next season it'll be Laura Ashley patterns.
Colours and excessive branding will put me off a frame/bike.
Can't stand the lurid colours on some frames, looks cheap.
Black or raw for me.👍
Colourway before Geometray.
Colour is defo a deciding factor for me, but I can be won over.... the Norco Optic C2 that I own, I hated the colour of, but once it started getting rave reviews I took a closer look, realised it was the bike for me and then accepted the colour.
Plus I think its nicer in the flesh than in photos... like a pistachio green. I did look at the C3 model, which is black and grey, but the spec wasn't what I perceive I needed, so went with the C2.
Grown to love it now, as it rides so well.
But I am a fan of the frame doing the talking with regards to colour, then all components etc being as low key as possible.
It is interesting tho that there is this perception that if you ride a bright/lairy/garish coloured bike that to pull it off you need to possess some serious bike skills.... rather than it just being an extension of your personality/because you like the colour/because it was a bargain etc.
I quite like a subtle or class look to a frame, but can be tempted by a bright one if it suits the design.
With a subtle coloured frame, I like to provide a component accent, but again, it must be small.
I tend to do Hubs or bolts, but never both and never hub, headset, seatclamp, bolts, rotors, cranks chainrings together or any combination of.
Open question - Has anyone actually been excited about buying one of the current crop of brown and beige frames?
When I was working at a bike shop I wanted a new road bike. The Ultegra kitted bike was white/blue and the 105 one was white/red.
I swapped the groupsets around so I could have the Ultegra one in red.
Anodized components can look OK on black/silver or naked frames. Easy to go overboard with it though.

chakaping
Subscriber
Open question – Has anyone actually been excited about buying one of the current crop of brown and beige frames?
I did quite like that Scott Foil 10 Disc in the previous page in its bronzy/brown, but then, I bought a BMW Z4M in what other would consider "poo brown" (Sepang Bronze)