womens bike colours... do women really want pink?

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Originally Posted by MommyBird

Being the only female in a house with three men I need to get an occasional dose of femininity. (Husband & two teen sons) My default color for personal items is pink.

I am typing this on a pink covered MacBook. My phone is pink, I carry a pink pen in my purse, and the list keeps going.

I rarely wear pink and I do not decorate with pink. My home is on the masculine side. There is so little in my life that is ubber feminine that my own sister is surprised when I opt for pink and I have to remind her about the guys out numbering me and my need to stake a feminine claim when I can."

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It probably is safer for a bike manufacturer in terms of maximizing bike sales that a frame has pink accents instead of all over pink, unless done as a customized ordered bike.

Wow, Mommybird, the pink-hearted godmother/fairy. However it is understandable, given family composition. I don't have real interior design sense, but our living rm. loveseat is a deep purple-pink rich magenta colour. Set against sleek, black contemporary coffee table, etc. After all, see my avatar, that's my mixed media art work that I did with red, pink, purple and blue shades.

So pink in the right way, can add a slash of drama against black, deep purple, etc. A better way of expressing this is: I don't like pink roses since they aren't as visually dramatic as pink orchids or amrallyis. (I can't be against orchid.....it's my middle Chinese name in translation.)

And I agree with katieliz that pink needs an owner, colour-bearer who can wear /ride the colour with flair. Like our TE member, gnat, with her pink hair, pink-black skort jumper, etc. :) doing the Death Valley ride.

Ugh..Pink :mad: I don't do pink as it's too girly.

Give me a black bike.

My road bikes are both black/white/red combos but my mtn bike is black w/pink chris king hubs and headset... I do like a little pink on what is traditionally a more 'dirty' riding option... don't think I'd want a pink frame though :rolleyes:

NOPE! I did my pink phase (hot pink, at that) in the late '80s. I tricked-out my teal Trek 560 with pink tape, a funky pink & other colors lycra seat cover, pink toe clip straps, and myself with a hot pink Vetta helmet, shaped like a bowl. Hot pink was in. Now - I avoid it. Although I've been told a peachy-pink (or pinky-peach?) color suits me. Now a PEACH bike - that might be nice. Metal flake peach. So I guess I'm not completely anti-girly color.

I love color - just not pink-for-the-sake-of-being-pink. A pink paint accent is okay, if it fits with the rest of the bike. I certainly wouldn't pick a bike that was primarily pink or powder blue (although I'd go for the blue first). I'm turned off by the whole "pink is for women" thing, like "Here - this is the women's version. See - it's pink! Otherwise identical." I'd wear it before I'd ride it. I think I'd feel more kindly toward pink if it weren't seen as the universal "girl color". My DH had a huge (he's 6'-5") pink Diamondback road bike from 1992. By 2000 people were telling him how he must be very confident in his manhood. He had a hard time selling that thing!

I see my bike computer comes in pink now - clearly the "for the women" version. I like my white one. I did see one on someone's primarily grey, drab bike, which had just a touch of pink in it - it belonged there.

My bikes:
Road bike: Jamis Xenith Pro: Kind of an electric blue & white. GORGEOUS. Very vivid, and the paint scheme isn't "busy" like some seem to be now. I don't get some of the paint jobs lately.

MTB: Trek Fuel EX 9: Ugly anodized pewter color. I was looking at a beautiful vivid blue color EX 7 at the time, and I wanted THAT COLOR - just fell in love. However, this was a way nicer bike, a way better ride, and a closeout. I looked at the one I bought many times, lamenting the paint, and dreaming of the other one. Ultimately, it doesn't matter.

Touring bike: Trek 520: Black. It only came in black. You can accessorize that with anything at all. I don't think this bike is beautiful or anything, but I've got silver fenders, brushed aluminum cages, pump, etc on her. Went for the stealth look, and I think she looks sharp, but not heart-flutteringly so, like the roadie. Although the front panniers are yellow, for visibility.

I'll always associate pink with Team Telekom.

Ooh, this is nice: http://www.tearsforgears.com/2007/09...eam-bikes.html

I love feminine bikes, but the way I dress is sort of the anti-thesis of femininity (well, its sort of feminine, just a lot more on the rock n roll side), so what I love about colors like pink and blue are the contrast I get when I ride them. And they match my pink and blue hair. I do love it when things match my hair, lol!

I'm actually about to powdercoat my motobecane periwinkle with a pink fork and then add pink components and a pink single speed chain for detail. Note: it came as a single speed, it was free, and that would not be my first choice. However matching chains are pretty cute.:rolleyes:

I think the best looking bikes though are unusual custom color combinations, things that are hard to come by like neon details/components on a neutral frame, or vice versa. (I hate fixed gears, so dont get the wrong idea, lol!) I also really like the look of a contrasting fork on the frame and then matching components to that.

I just got a solid slate grey cannondale (kind of bright pastel grey, if you can imagine that) and I'm changing out all the components/housings to bright yellow. So it will be grey with neon yellow housings, pedals, brake hoods, sidewall tires, grip tape, etc... If I could put a yellow chain on it I would:p I ended up choosing yellow because it was the only non red/blue component color that I could find everything I needed in. The only other option was bright green. My original choice would have been neon pink components, but no can do on tires and pedals in my price range. And you don't even want to know how much they wanted for the rims, lol!

I think it's great to have a custom look. Blue and red are so easy to find, but as soon as you try to get unique colors like green, yellow, pink, purple, orange, etc.. It's almost impossible to get all matching parts and you have to do a lot of ordering and searching around, and it usually ends up costing more too.

I think if you could find a good source of unique matching component colors and did something creative with them your bikes would sell pretty well, because everyone wants a bike that they feel is their very own, and not just a generic factory issue.

Also I think minimalism on stickers/labels tends to make a bike look much less tacky...

just my personal opinions here,but to each their own by all means!

:cool:

Ivona with your personal fashion sense, what you choose for bike frame colour would look really funky and cool.

Not many of us can carry and match our personal fashion to complement a funky, unusual multi-coloured bike. But then I've barely met many TE'ers in person.:o:rolleyes:

I would take pink over man-colored bikes any day.

I would then add a lot of purple to it to cover up most of the pink.



Final reason why I prefer feminine colors on a bike is I feel like punks are less likely to steal it. Pro-bike thieves are another story.

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Originally Posted by cyclingtosydney

Hi!

Im a graphic designer an i am working on some graphics for some new womens bikes. (mountain bikes)

my question is what colour bike would you like!

do the majority of women go for feminine colours like pale blue?

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No pink for me.
Please don't create any pinkish WSD bike any more.
I don't like red either

Blue, Black & White are my favorite. It doesn't have to be pale blue. My road bike is dark blue (Fuji Finest RC, which is a WSD).

I'm with wildeny - no pink (or "powder" blue) for me either. White, black (with some contrast), chrome (shiny silver) & blue (dark, or bright aqua like the Ibis) are my favorites, too. I like reds, greens, yellow, & orange look nice on other people's bikes, just not mine. Muted earth tones are a definite no -- too depressing.

I can't stand pastel or any floral, swirled, or leaf-like designs on bikes!!! I can't believe there are still so many WSD that have them....I wouldn't spend money on a sweet ride with a paint job I hated. I own a black santa cruz blur xc and a cannondale synapse road bike which is also black. Black isn't necessarily my only colour of choice, however the colour schemes of 'mens' bikes are far more appealing to my eyes in general. :D

I have a pink road bike (Pinkinator) and love it! That being said, it doesn't mean that every female on the planet needs to have pink; I like it and really, isn't that all that matters? I have a white saddle and bar tape, pink tires, pink computer, pink seat bag, pink water bottle holders, pink water bottles, pink jerseys....why? When I'm riding, you can SEE ME! I also want those guys, who may laugh at my pinkness, to KNOW it's a girl passing them up that hill!!

I agree though, that no one would steal my bike - custom paint job, pink....hhmmm... Don't think so.

The pinkness goes to where I work - all guys who took to stealing pens, paper, pencils, music stands so I had none. Now I have pink pens, paper, pencils, file folders, music stand (that none of them TOUCH!), paper clips, etc. Works for me. They wouldn't be caught DEAD with any of the pink supplies!!

However, I believe that everyone should ride whatever color they choose. Don't diss me for liking pink as much as I do; I won't diss you for liking whatever you like. It's a part of what makes each of us unique.

BTW I'm not a "girly" girl (tomboy and proud), but I like pink. :)

Lorie

You have received many opinions on bike colors. I have not read them all.
My suggestion would to base bike color choices on fashion and design colors. Like a fall themed bike or a bling bike, black with shiny.

Or better yet, a single color bike. All chrome, all almond, all black, etc.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck.
Sarah

If I have learned anything on this site (and I have learned much), one of the takeaways is this:

Offer a choice of pink as well as one other non-girly color (black/white/red traditional seems to work well)

-- gnat! (will take pink)

NO PINK for me. I want RED, BLACK or white, thank you very much.

I love the diversity of answers here. Personally I do not ever want a pink bike. I had one as a child and begged my brother to paint it black – tomboy through and through. I want bold colors. Orange, crimson, cobalt blue, emerald green, plum. I love my Motobecane because its such a beautiful green with gold striping on the fenders.

That said, I think all bikes should come with a neutral choice like black or gray. And since there are a lot of women who love feminine colors, a pink or purple bike wouldn't be out of place.

I love a hot, sexy pink. Have a bike that's black with hot pink flames - not really girly, but fast! And, I have a Colnago with the Lampre pink/blue paint that I love. Colnago uses pink accents, and a few of mine have a touch of pink, or even magenta. Love it like that -- don't care as much for a totally pale pink bike.

But, give me purple and my knees get weak!

I am a HUGE fan of pink. All my jerseys are pink. Handlebars on bike are pink. Bottle cages used to be pink until I caved and got nicer ones that don't come in pink. Saddle used to be pink until I caved and found something I can actually tolerate. I'm sad that I'm losing some of my pink on my bike. However, I did inspired my club to order pink jerseys in addition to their blue and yellow ones. It's all about the pink ... in moderation, of course!

There used to be a phrase, "a good horse is never a bad color"...my bike is bright blood red and black and I love it. I didn't set out to buy any particular color of bike, that is just the one that fit best and felt best to me-color was totally of no importance in the choice. If it was blue (or green or pink or white), I'd still love it, even though blue isn't one of my favorite colors-I'd live with it.

LOVE PINK!

My GF HiFi Pro 29er is blue and we swapped out all the cables with the pink Jagwire cables in addition to the Purely Custom pink headset spacers along with a headset cap that is engraved with Streamers Make Me Fast. Yeah, my $$$ FS race bike has streamers as do all my other bikes. I'm kinda famous in these parts..... :D:D:D

Look at those streamers fly.


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Originally Posted by TrekJeni

LOVE PINK!

My GF HiFi Pro 29er is blue and we swapped out all the cables with the pink Jagwire cables in addition to the Purely Custom pink headset spacers along with a headset cap that is engraved with Streamers Make Me Fast. Yeah, my $$$ FS race bike has streamers as do all my other bikes. I'm kinda famous in these parts..... :D:D:D

Look at those streamers fly.


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Omg, I LOVE those flying streamers! :D They *r*o*c*k* !!!:cool:

For the OP, I used to be a neutral white/black/silver bici girl. Then my new Orbea ride is white with hot pink. I ordered it sight unseen. As soon as I saw the pink, I was a total convert lol. My Trek mtb is a stock seafoam green. I think when I geeked out a custom Trek paint job, they had a lace pink for a mtb. I just think that's hilarious. Pink is suppose to be so proper and girly... but put it in the mud, it's just too funny. Spoken by a true TomBoy whose pastel pink dresses were always mud covered.;)

I think pink accessories are cool. hot pink and pastel pinks on dark bikes is pretty sharp. I also think light blue accessories would be cool. That way, if you get bored, you can always change out your grips and cables, without having to paint your bike. A friend has a grey Nomad with pink cables, grips and seat. It looks sharp.

My bike is white with red grips.

Editing to add ... a good bike is never a bad color, and if it is, you can always re-paint it.

It's a matter of personal preference, some will like it some will not. I think manufacturers should give more color options to women's bikes (pink for those who like it, and standard colors for those who don't). My biggest complaint to bike companies is that they treat womens bikes as a second thought (e.g. no color options like the mens; inferior components compared to mens). Women like nice bikes too but the selection for top end bikes is very small compared to men. I had to custom build both my wife's bikes (mountain: Titus Racer X --- road: Look 585 Elle) so that she could have an equal or better quality bike than mine). I feel that providing equal quality of components on womens bikes that are found on mens bikes should be exercised more by companies......But that's just my opinion.

k

I would love to design paint schemes/graphics for bikes.

I would go with Jewel tones - dark reds, blues, greens, and yellows. Maybe with pinstripe detail in a lighter hue of the afformentioned colors. Or Vintage Green. Man, Cream color looks nice with brown accents. Lots of color choices. I would never buy a bike with Pink. I'm kind of a bike snob though.

What does being a bike snob have to do with not caring for pink on your bike?

I'd describe myself as a bike snob and have plenty of pink on my bikes - and those bikes get tons of jealous comments from guys who want them to ride themselves.

<--- I like that. :) My hubby has a carbon fiber (not painted, visible carbon threads) bike with pink brake cables and sort of rose handlebar tape. He's 6'2" and closing in on 250#s, so he can do pink and no one's gonna pick on him for it. ;)

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Originally Posted by SadieKate

What does being a bike snob have to do with not caring for pink on your bike?

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I've just been called a "bike snob" for espousing this opinion. I don't believe there is a dictionary definition for bike snob yet. :p

Pink is fine for some. As a woman, I can't abide it - on my bikes, on my clothes, shoes, etc. Makes shopping for anything hard...and I hate that. I know guys at Critical Mass who proudly ride pink mixtes originally made for women. I don't care what you ride baby, as long as you ride. :D

Pic of my new bike, with the coolest pink handlebar tape. Her name is Taffy, she lives at her "grandmother's house" and Lollipop her sister, who is hot red, lives with me in Bogota.

:o :eek: I found out yesterday that one of me coolio fave bike shops are able to get in a former demo Titus Racer X for me to try out...There's one...small...problem..

It's pink.

If it fits & it's the right price...i'm repainting it..black. NO freakin way am I riding a pink bike :rolleyes: :eek:

I don't have anything pink nor do I buy anything pink. Say no to pink.

Tribogota,

As a fan of pink, I must say I find your new bike quite beautiful! Quite jealous, indeed

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Originally Posted by crazycanuck

:o :eek: I found out yesterday that one of me coolio fave bike shops are able to get in a former demo Titus Racer X for me to try out...There's one...small...problem..

It's pink.

If it fits & it's the right price...i'm repainting it..black. NO freakin way am I riding a pink bike :rolleyes: :eek:

I don't have anything pink nor do I buy anything pink. Say no to pink.

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I spoke with a Specialized rep. at my LBS a couple of months ago and he said the biggest problem Specialized had was figuring out what colors women want. He grilled me on what I thought, which I laughed about later. He said most women write them and love the "white bike, white bar tape look" and if they paint a bike "black" that women write in and complain. Personally, black is bomb-track to me. Mix a little color in there in the tape or saddle for looks is nice too. I told him that the 08' (special) Ruby Comp. in dark green that was at my LBS was awesome, also the 09' in dark red. He said he was trying to gently nudge his bosses to that way of thinking. Who knows. We should all e-mail manufacturers to let em' know our preferences.

Again, we all ride and that is the important thing. It makes us all...connected, even though we really don't know each other. :D

I, personally, wouldnt want a pink bike...I love the way they look I just wouldnt want one. I would, however, want a bike with some bright neon colors on it...as others have said womens bikes dont have half the choices that mens do, but, I do like the look of white sleek bikes as well, its all preference of the person I guess

So there's someone else besides tribogota who has an overtly pink bike..

I wouldn't go as far as to buy or have a black bike unless it was used and a great discount.

Since am paying for it, I would want some colour. But pink is not my bike colour choice.

But as said earlier, I do wear some pink tops, certain solid shades hold well against very dark hair, regardless of woman's age. It's not necessarily a namby-pamby colour depending on the nature of top, etc. and how you wear it. ...which is best to wear the colour as if you don't even realize you're wearing pink. Even if it's at a construction site.

First, let me say that I really like that pink, black, & white bike shown above. I think it looks cool. I would get a pink bike if it looked like that.

However, I am not a big fan of pink, baby or powder blue, or other girly designs on my bike. When I first was looking to buy a bike I was looking at the drop down frame (girl's frame) and the one I test rode was baby blue. I asked the salesman if he had one that wasn't so "pretty." I like the color of my bike to be similar to a color I would get for my car. In fact, I have a blue car and now a blue bike. :) I really like blue.

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Originally Posted by TrekJeni

...along with a headset cap that is engraved with Streamers Make Me Fast...

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coolest. headset cap. ever. :D

So am I the only one here who doesn't care about the color if the price is right?

No, you're not alone. I really wanted an orange bike, but ended up with white because it was a deal (and the only frame by the maker I wanted in my size in the US). Once I saw it in person, I loved the white, but it wasn't my first choice.

@ Irulan,I agree! both my bikes colors were chosen for me by the bike maker (whatever he had left over that other people didn't want, thus the GREAT discount), what I really cared about was the group, components, etc, if you give me some great shimano dura ace, I don't care what the color is! First bike was UGLY orange, but it worked!

Me 2~~ is it categorizing females to even assume we care? It's okay if you do, of course!

Wait! Wait!

If the price is right for the Titus demo bike you bet i'm a getting it!!! I know it's pink but i'm sure I can repaint it :D

I normally try & stay away from pink stuff but in this case it might not be possible...