Dear Bike Companies:

Well, a few years back, someone posted to the Rivendell email list that they had a used custom Rivendell road bike for sale, with the fancy lugs and the cool cloisonee headbadge. The frame color was advertised as "champagne pink". Some photos were posted and yep, it sure looked pink.

Some of the guys on the list chucked over a pink Riv but I thought this was a great chance to own an honest-to-goodness Rivendell at a great price so I responded to the ad right away. (Oh, and for what it's worth, the previous owner was a man. I never met him because he had passed away and a friend was selling it on behalf of the former owner's family)

I'm not a pink person but I figured, at the price they were asking, I if I didn't like the color I could have the frame repainted and still be ahead of the game.

Well, the frame turned out in real life to be a lovely dusty rose / mauve rather than a real pink, and I really liked it and it remains that color to this very day. And it's an absolutely wonderful bike. :cool:

If it weren't pink, I bet someone would have snapped it up before I ever saw the email. So, yay for pink !

Guess which bike all the male mechanics at my shop like?

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...cilla1_fix.jpg

My husband loved it when he was walking along Silver Creek (a particularly hard to fish far and fine stream) looking for me and someone asked him "is she the one in the pink hat catching all the fish?"

I love pink. Wear/ride/flaunt the colors you love and the heck with others.

I'd love a great orange or yellow or burnt orange.

What I really want, though, is a bike all glittery and red like Dorothy's ruby slippers.

(I agree with Xeney -- it's just COLOR, skip the baggage.

OTOH, I agree that I get annoyed when I see that Jamis Quest in a lovely copper that I love, and then see that if I need the WSD it's a color that only a Bianchi-lover could love.

(Have I insulted enough people? Do I need to keep going? Or just -- GO?)

Anyway, I think the "insult" is when the two bikes are supposedly the same, except for the WSD part, and you see they chose a color that they think women would more likely want -- and it's not a color YOU care for, and then you're insulted that they think YOU would want such an insipid color, and how disrespectful, they sure didn't do that to the guys!

"YOU" meaning "ME" when I checked out that Jamis Quest, of course.

Pooks, it is far too early in your test riding career to be getting your undies in a bundle over color. Go test ride a ton of bikes! Feel the ride, feel the fit, caress those hoods under your handles, tickle the brake levers. Worry about the color last. Not everybody needs a WSD and every company has a different take on "WSD". Go friggin' ride! Have I said it enough? :D

SadieKate, you totally underestimate the size of my frillies. I have enough fabric to get twisted over color, over type bike, over geometry, over availability of matching jerseys!

Just sign me --

Twisted Knickers in Dallas

Oh gawd. This project is going to take forever, isn't it? :p

Oh, and love that bike! (By the way there are so many shades of pink. I've seen some pink bikes that I thought looked hot and some that I wouldn't ever want. I tend to love strong colors, jewel tones.)

And I'm amazed nobody has made that Ruby Slipper Bike.

Too bad there's not a "mooning" emoticon, SadieKate.

Just use your imagination.

OO

;)

Pooks buy a bike that fits you and that you like the ride of. Don't worry about the color - As I posted above, that is what I did and I have a pink and carbon bike. Not my fave but it is what it is. Too bad people are not supposed to have an opinion on this forum!

spoke

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Originally Posted by pooks

And I'm amazed nobody has made that Ruby Slipper Bike.

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Don't you be moonin' me, missy. Ask and ye shall receive.

Run, don't walk to your nearest Gunnar dealer. These are wonderful bikes made by Waterford. Miss Yellow just got a Roadie. Take a look at the website. They do this nifty thing with colors of the month, year and so on. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and check out May's color: Sunset Red over Fine Gold.

http://www.gunnarbikes.com/

Close enough? I think you'd be very happy with one of the Gunnar models. So pull your shorts back up. It's blinding.:p

I'm sure I'll buy a bike that fits, perhaps THE bike that fits.

But while the world is my oyster, I can dream, right?

(Ruby Slippers.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SadieKate

Take a look at the website. They do this nifty thing with colors of the month, year and so on. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and check out May's color: Sunset Red over Fine Gold.

http://www.gunnarbikes.com/

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I'm verklempt!

My bike is Orange and all the guys drool over it. Seriously, the guys all think my bike is cool. Since I am new to all of this, I'm still not really sure why.
I have had two guys ask if I am selling it anytime soon. One guy just wanted to buy my rims. One guy who says he has been riding a bike for 50 years stood by my bike outside the CO-OP just to see who would come out and claim the bike. The bike has been whistled at and flirted with!!;)
Seriously, I never get this type of attention when I am not with the bike.
Orange is a serious color!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pooks

What I really want, though, is a bike all glittery and red like Dorothy's ruby slippers.

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I have a ruby slippers bike! This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a deep glittery red, just as you described. Personally, I don't think bikes should be any color but red, but then I don't rule the world.

Nicole, I love your bike, and the color!

And divingbiker -- is that glittery? It's a gorgeous red.

My uncle rides a bubblegum pink Turner bike...he thinks it's cool!

But he works for Turner and it was a dented frame so I think he got it for free.

He is a very masculine guy too, by the way.

I am loving this conversation said the gal who didn't want a Riv because of the color. I'd love to see JObob's bike though

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Originally Posted by xeney

Am I the only person who finds this conversation kind of disheartening? I hate flourescent yellow, but I wouldn't describe that color in the sort of disparaging terms I'm seeing here. The stereotypically feminine colors are being equated in this thread, by women, with youth, frivolity, a lack of seriousness ... who says? Isn't that the spin that stupid sexists put on the color pink? Why do you have to buy into it? Can't you just not like the color?

I love my pink bike and my pink and gray mountain bike, but this attitude is one of the reasons that I am really dreading the baby clothes we are going to receive now that people know we're expecting a daughter ... pink is such a loaded color, and I think that is just such a shame. There is nothing wrong with pink, but it carries all this baggage: not only is it practically mandatory for little girls, regardless of whatever their actual tastes might turn out to be, if anybody who is not a little girl decides they like pink, they are somehow being girly (in the perjorative sense, if we're talking about a guy), frivolous, or silly.

It's just a color. Don't ride it if you hate it, but you don't have to disparage everyone who does like it while you're at it.

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We really dislike the fact that "most" bikes made for women are painted these same "loaded" colors that you yourself describe as being "practically mandatory" for little girls. You're right- sadly, those colors ARE practically mandatory for little girls! Should we all go along with them being mandatory for women as well? Society forces those colors onto every girl baby all the way through high school. Go into any JC Penney, Target, or WalMart girls dept...if your eyes can handle the sea of pale pink, shocking pink, and lavender.
We don't ask that "feminine colored" bikes be eliminated...simply give us a couple of the same color choices that non-women get as well- red instead of just pink or lavender, forest green, a strong blue instead of just baby blue, black or charcoal instead of just white. All we want is a choice.
I am not intending to attack any particular person- I dislike the colors that are being pushed at me just because I'm a woman. (and who gets to say what "feminine colors" ARE, anyway?-another interesting question for discussion)
I've bought cars for myself that were blue, red, black, maroon, and white. I never saw a new pink, baby blue, or lavender car for sale when I was car shopping. I wonder why they do this with bikes and not cars? If there were certain cars that only fit women, would they be only in "feminine" colors? VW beetles come in a great variety of colors, from cream to black to red to lime to baby blue. Women's clothes tend to come in all colors.
All interesting things to ponder...
But yes we are annoyed and frustrated by the very limited color choices decided for us based on woefully dated marketing.

I hear what you are saying, and I don't disagree with everything you said. But if I say that I don't want a pink or baby blue or lavender bike because it's too little girly or reminds me of Barbie or whatever, I don't think that's a terrible thing to say here. Everyone likes different colors for different reasons. I won't get upset if you say you don't want a fluorescent yellow bike because the color makes you hurl and looks "cheap". :)
I remember when I was in 1st grade...I had a big 64 box of Crayola crayons. I picked out the color that I hated the most...it was mustard. I remember thinkning that mustard color would make anyone just throw UP. I threw it away. Ironically, a few years ago I decided that my very favorite color in the world was.......mustard. Now I like even more colors than that. -And I just LOVE my pink tulips in the garden! ;)

And sometimes- I like movies that are SO bad they cross over into GOOD. And sometimes I admire bikes that are SO ugly they become things of bizarre beauty...and they can be any color to qualify for that!

Pooks...if you get stuck buying a "girly looking" WSD bike, maybe you can make a frilly lacey rain cover for it out of one of those bundled knickers of yours. :D

This is all about self-expression for some of us. Just like some people would not be caught dead wearing, say, a red dress, or even a dress period :D
some people don't feel right about being on a blue bike, an orange bike, a black bike, etc, etc, etc.

To me, if I'm going to pay more than $1000.00 for a bike, it's got to say BUY ME LOVE ME RIDE ME GAZE LOVINGLY AT ME. And for me, if that was a black bike with silver/grey trim, it would say to me, turn away, how boring.


I think Pooks is coming from this same direction. (and Pooks, that's part of why I went custom!)

Yeah, it's like if you buy a dress that fits you REALLY WELL and is really comfy, etc....but in a color you just dislike- well heck you are not going to be wearing that dress too often- you just won't feel good in it. A bike is like that for me, but way more so because it's so much more expensive! Colors are very important to me- they affect my mood every day.

Meg hasn't been back cause she's been at my house practicing on her new clipless pedals. :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pooks

And divingbiker -- is that glittery? It's a gorgeous red.

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Oh, yes, it's glittery, just like Dorothy's slippers. And much less orangey than in the picture.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pooks

Too bad there's not a "mooning" emoticon, SadieKate.

Just use your imagination.

OO

;)

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How about THIS one??? http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...lies/Booty.gif
Or maybe THIS one?? http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ilies/moon.gif
Sorry I couldn't resist! :D

Mary, those cracks crack me up.

Ar, ar, ar... cracks cracking you up mooning :D ;) :p

As for Orange, it's not WSD, but I fell in love with this bike when I first saw IT, it's actually a strong duo tone

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...1000_flare.jpg

It's all fine and good for people to enjoy girly colored rides. However! It seems everyone is honing in on pink and orange.

I do not care if you ride in pink or orange or any other "girl-esque" colorings, but I wish for something a little more, how could I put this... business professional.

I like dark, hazy colors, like a Sunset Burnt Orange, or Deep Red, Metallic Pewter, or Steel. Why don't womens bikes come in these? I am all for supporting the making of WSD cycles, but please please come in more choices for those of us not wanting Sea Urchin Purple hues or Butterfly Blue (i am making these names up, though I highly doubt they don't exsist on some WSD bike already).

/laugh already, people.

My first "gear bike" was this awesome blue metallic color, like a royal blue (very similar to the blue in the base of the flames in that picture). I can still see the color, and remember touching up the paint whenever there was a scratch.

My first (current) road bike is green, which I don't mind, but it's a little pastely for my tastes. It also has the requisite flowers on it, which I could do without. Needless to say, my dad has the mens/unisex version of the same components, and it's not pastel green with flowers -- it's actually ORANGE. :) This year's model of the same bike is yellow. Still pretty neutral, but still with flowers.

As I said with my snowboard boots (that have pink on them), I'm "man enough" to take it. ;)

I guess I'm not understanding the complaint, really. It's hard to find a bike that fits, that has the components you want, that rides well. My husband's road bike is not the color he'd have chosen had he gone custom, and neither is mine. The women's specific bikes I've test-ridden were dark red, dark purple, medium yellow, and black with pink flames. The WSD bike I lust after is deep red. (There is a pink titanium bike I like a whole lot, but part of the reason I like it is that it's so unusual looking.)

I guess I just haven't seen this sea of pastels, or at least I haven't noticed that men have a whole lot more choice except that they have more bikes to choose from in the first place. And really, that's what I'd rather see, a wider range of fits and sizes, in lots of colors.

But I do agree about the Terry bikes; I think they are really hideous. But that's not about color so much as it is about the busy patterns that look like grandma's curtains to me.

Lots of orange :D

I have a glaringly orange bike. I am not so much a fan of orange nor am I a fan of festive, which my bike is. It's an Orbea Marmolada. I got this bike not because it looks like the remnants of a smashed pinata but because it is an awesome bike. The bike has personality and I guess I see it like I'd see a person; it is what it is and I love what it is. The bike gets more attention than what I'd like because I'm not the flashy sort but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

That being said...I like simplicity! And I love Celeste! My Bianchi...now THAT is a bike I got due to the color :)

Dunno. I can see why people don't want to be stereotyped by gender (my bike isn't WSD though) but ride what suits you structurally. And I think the bike color thing goes WAY beyond bike colors because women are expected to like certain things from when we were little on up. I can see being riled - I have my own issues like when people say "lady" instead of woman. Makes me want to go all violent and stuff!

Have got to say though I LOVED that glittery red!!!! Pretty. Very pretty.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by teigyr

Lots of orange :D

I have a glaringly orange bike. I am not so much a fan of orange nor am I a fan of festive, which my bike is. It's an Orbea Marmolada. I got this bike not because it looks like the remnants of a smashed pinata but because it is an awesome bike.
.

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Your bike doesn't look like a smashed pinata, it looks more like a Hawaii Postcard :D :D :D

no really, I like it. it's orange. :D :D :D :D

So send your bike off to Joe Bell and get it painted.

V.

Yep, that's precisely what I would have done, had I not liked the color of my Riv.

She's actually due for a paint job, and I might even keep her the same color...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by teigyr

I have my own issues like when people say "lady" instead of woman. Makes me want to go all violent and stuff!

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You'd hate being a student in my class then. I don't call my student boys and girls when I want their attention. They are ladies and gentlemen.

V.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Veronica

So send your bike off to Joe Bell and get it painted.

V.

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Amen (from the proud owner and frequent rider of two fast pink Lunas)

Can I just say that everyones PERCEPTION of what colors are girly kills me?

Move to North Carolina and try to tell ANYONE that light blue is a girly color...you'll get your block knocked off in half a heartbeat. Carolina Blue is 'girly'?...ha, ha, ha, I don't think so.

Funny thing is, I bought my goregous, rides like a dream, fits like a glove Terry Isis in spite of the color. I liked the swirl pattern and the silver colors of the new bikes, but I didn't particularly like the light blue on the previous years model. But, I knew better than to pass up the deal on a titanium bike that would actually fit me. I get MORE compliments on that bike...both for its components/features as for it's colors. And so far, every single person who has lusted after my bike...has been a guy. Seriously, I've had more guys ask "Does Terry make that bike in a size big enough for me?".


So the moral of my story? Go ahead and complain about not seeing the colors YOU want on the bikes you like. But please, stop perpetuating stupid stereo-types. Honestly...not buying a bike becasue the color doesn't suit you is a pretty 'girly' thing to do...is it not? :p

Ok..I have to agree with Meg.

The next bike I purchase will NOT be PINK or any other wierd colour. I just want a bike that fits and isn't a blech clour. Black will do me just fine thanks.
If i had a lot of $$$ it's possible i'd have Jonsey at Riders Choice here in Perth build me a road bike in simple colours.

I will not ride a green or purple bike. I will not eat green eggs and ham. Sam I am..Oh wait..this isn't a Dr Seuss book..

I don't like flashy colours when it comes to clothes, bikes, cars & hair. Just let me have my black or blue or red items thanks.

C

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

But please, stop perpetuating stupid stereo-types. Honestly...not buying a bike becasue the color doesn't suit you is a pretty 'girly' thing to do...is it not? :p

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No, guys do it all the time. And NOT buying something you don't like if the marketers decide to give you color choices you detest is not 'girly', it's assertive! :)

I never even considered color when bike shopping (and i have bought 3 road bikes in 6 years). My road bike is black carbon, my mtb is dark brown, and my commuter (previously my husband's mtb) is bright yellow. All I care about is fit. I definitely would NOT buy anything with swirls, flowers, designs on it. I like things plain; modern furniture, no "gee gaws," or frills. I do wear clothing in bright colors both on and off the bike, but I find black to be comforting!
And by the way, i had a serious Barbie addiction up until age 9 or so, but I also had a full set of "Army gear," i.e. a tent, canteen, fake weapons, boots when I was about 5 or 6. I used to march around the neighborhood with a trail of boys behind me screaming, "Come on, march, we're the army!" Then I would make them jump over snow banks.
Oh God, now i know why my son joined the Marines...

I don't see orange as girly at all.

Right now orange is a hot color. It's on cars, bikes, interiors, etc. But I have never in my life considered orange a "girly" color. Pastels and pink tend to be the girly colors, mainly shades of pink and purple, though.

I want a bike with personality. I want a car with personality. I like things that are a little different.

If I saw a deep Welch's grape jelly purple bike, I'd love it. But if that was the primary color that Trek was using this year and all the bikes were that color, probably not.

I'm difficult that way.

I don't know, I think the main color most guys absolutely avoid when buying a bike -- and I mean a bike where everything else is perfect, fit, price, everything -- is pink. Or anything else that's stereotyped as "girly." Which sort of gets us back where we were ... nobody wants to be associated with anything deemed "girly," because of course "girly" really means weak and lame and second-rate.