Proper bicycle accessorizing

When I had my Surly built my lbs mentioned that maybe I would like to have the stem and seatpost by the same manufacturer. He couldn't find a silver Ritchey so I went with a silver Thomson stem. When we had our TE garage sale, I traded for a shorter black Thomson stem. Silver seatpost, black stem, definitely not a match. Is there some unwritten bicycle "bling" law that states my seatpost can't be silver if my stem is black? Very easy to switch my seatpost to a black one. They are all over the place. It was several years before I found out that it wasn't cool to keep the reflectors on your wheels.

You know, if this is my biggest problem in life...:rolleyes:

Claudia - There is no specific rule regarding matching components on your bike. It is definitely up to the individual. If this is a road bike, I know our road customers are terribly more picky than mountain customers. Everything for roadies has to match. I've always been intentionally mismatched on my bikes. Every bike I've put together for myself, has the face plate on the stem upside down - this drives my mechanics crazy. It also bothers true roadies at which point I just laugh.

I still have the reflectors on my wheels!:rolleyes:

One of my bikes is a vision of matching loveliness. The other harmonizes. The third doesn't even have RIMS or TIRES that match. The fourth and fifth are the way they came from the factory, so they are all matchy. (one still has the dork-disc)

Even my degree of matching doesn't match...

I like the idea of driving others nuts. And the upside down face plate? Very funny. I've actually done that a time or two myself. I'm just going to say it was intentional from now on. Oh, and I always leave the dork disk on. I think they look sort of cool on those older bikes. Guess that makes me super dork!

I guess I'm just more curious than anything. I'm always reading on here how this or that isn't cool and I'm always thinking "Hey! I didn't know that!". Then when Dan made a point about the matching stem and seatpost, and then I read somewhere that someone tried to match the brand of handlebars and stem, I realized I was probably committing Surly fashion faux pas all over the place.

I guess it's really personal :)
You do not have to match anything, but some people like to have everything matching - and I have always been one of them. Usually I pick components to match with each other and with the color of the frame.
But really, it is for pure aesthetic reasons - for sure it's not necessary, and you can happily ride with silver stem and black seatpost and vice-versa ;)

With the personality of Surly, I've got the feeling there is no such thing as a Surly fashion faux-pas!

We're good to go! :D

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

With the personality of Surly, I've got the feeling there is no such thing as a Surly fashion faux-pas!

We're good to go! :D

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Good point! Surly certainly has attitude.

I ordered a Surly Girly t-shirt (through my beloved LBS) so I can proudly proclaim my Surly attitude!

(it's a really nice shirt, and the Surly logo is understated and tasteful. I get lots of compliments on it from folks who have no idea it's a brand of bike.)

I have spoke reflectors AND a dork disk! I win! :cool:

Normally, I'm a very matchy-matchy person (I spent several minutes in the bike shop deciding what color bottle cage I wanted--oy vey), but I dunno, black stem and silver seat post sounds cool looking, to me!

I vote that you post a picture. I'll take any excuse to see pictures of TE members' bikes. :p

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Originally Posted by badgercat

I vote that you post a picture. I'll take any excuse to see pictures of TE members' bikes. :p

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Oh, yeah!

I have a tendency to be a little matchy-matchy with my bikes. You should see the quickly growing pile of black, red and white bike stuff in my closet just waiting to be assembled into a bike. :rolleyes:

On the other hand, while my commuter bike is pretty color coordinated, it's also still rolling around with dork disc, wheel reflectors, and front and rear reflectors. :D

Okay, here's a pic. I'm always happy to show her off.:D

Dork disk??? :confused:

Is that the plastic frisbee looking thing that's behind the gears on the rear derailler?

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Originally Posted by uforgot

It was several years before I found out that it wasn't cool to keep the reflectors on your wheels.

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It's NOT?!!:eek:

And I only just removed my pie plate (or "dork disk" -- nice alliteration there) after it somehow broke and was rattling when I rode. Makes me a dork too, I guess...

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Originally Posted by uforgot

Okay, here's a pic.

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Ooooooo!!! My eyes....my EYES!!!! :eek::eek:

Just kidding! ;):D

Looks fine. You've got the silver spacer on the stem.....tell folks that's your transition point for blending the whole "look" together.
:cool:

(That said...I'd probably look to match the handlebar tape to that saddle....but that's just me!)

p.s. That is an itty-bitty rear rack. What can you put on that thing?

My Surly blows a wolf-whistle at your Surly. ;)

I need to take a current picture of mine, she has lovely red Spokees (from TE) and matching red bottle cages now. She's the most matching-est of my bikes.

I am not qualified to weigh in on this, because my front and back wheels on my road bike don't even match. I really don't get all the matchy-matchiness business, but then I'm fashion-challenged in every way possible.

Oo00oh man, you should'na posted that pic :eek: My latest object of bike lust is a Cross-Check. Maybe even with a Brooks. But also with fenders. Unfortunately, my lust will remain unsatisfied until I finish paying down the vet bills on my credit card... :(



I love my cats, I love my cats, I WANT THAT BIKE, I love my cats, really, I love my cats...

Oh, and I think you match just fine. The bottle cages and silver trim on the bike coordinate very nicely with your silver seat post.

Though I do agree with Regina. Brown bar tape would look great with your brown Brooks.

I agree that brown bar tape would match the Brooks beautifully, and I think that your gorgeous bike would look even better with a shiny black seatpost. It would pick up the black fork and stem and you'd have all black lines with the silver bits just as touches here and there. I like large amounts of the "main" colour :rolleyes:

I am having this problem on my Soma. The chrome lugs make me want to have everything silver, but my husband is grumpy about the fact that (a) I already have a set of perfectly functional black bars, and (b) he bought me a Ritchey adjustable stem in black before we found another one by a different manufacturer in silver, and (c) none of the silvers will exactly match, anyway.

But since I've determined that I can't use a Brooks saddle anyway, I've also decided that I don't really care about any of this. My saddle is black, I'll probably get a black seatpost, I don't care. The bike is still pretty.

My spacers are red, incidentally, because he couldn't find silver ones locally. They match the frame color, and are probably a little goofy, but I prefer to think of them as "whimsical."

I really had a hard time finding silver stems and seatposts. Especially with quality threadless stems. There really isn't a lot of choice of sizes in that color and manufacturers like Ritchey who used to make silver, make them all in black now. Lots of black out there, so of course I prefer silver!

I think the silver seatpost looks great with the Brooks saddle - kind of the more classic look when all seatposts were silver and everyone had Brooks saddles. If I wanted to match, I would look for a silver stem. Then there is having to look for silver chainrings, etc., and on.. and on.. Very neat-looking bike!!

Thomson has a nice selection of silver stems - same sizes they carry in Black.

I think she's lovely the way she is!

I need to take an updated picture when I get home, but here's my Surly. She now has pink bottle cages:) Silver stem, spacers and seatpost + a Brooks (now a B17, instead of the B17S here).

CA

You wanna be surly? Take this stem: from Dirty Dog.

http://www.dirtydogmtb.com/reaperstem/reaperbar.jpg

Heh - after reading this, I had to go find photos of my bike. I never noticed that my stem and seat post matched on my road bike. It just turned out that way when I got it fitted!

My commuter is not matching. I don't even have two matching tires on that bike! My stem is black and my seat post is silver like my frame. Plus, having such short legs, very little of my seat post even shows...so it's hardly obvious. Considering this is what mine looks like, I think yours looks just fine the way it is! ;)

http://www.tranquilitysystems.com/ga...4-IMG_0618.JPG

I think they're all pretty:) But, I've rarely met a bike I didn't find so:)

CA

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

Heh - after reading this, I had to go find photos of my bike. I never noticed that my stem and seat post matched on my road bike. It just turned out that way when I got it fitted!

My commuter is not matching. I don't even have two matching tires on that bike! My stem is black and my seat post is silver like my frame. Plus, having such short legs, very little of my seat post even shows...so it's hardly obvious. Considering this is what mine looks like, I think yours looks just fine the way it is! ;)

http://www.tranquilitysystems.com/ga...4-IMG_0618.JPG

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Are your wheels two different sizes or is that just an illusion?

My seat post comes out a bit more than yours, but I've found it's annoying to find bags that don't end up rubbing on the tire.

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Originally Posted by oxysback

Are your wheels two different sizes or is that just an illusion?

My seat post comes out a bit more than yours, but I've found it's annoying to find bags that don't end up rubbing on the tire.

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I had the same problem with bags. On my bike you'll see Mark's rack from Rivendell. It still had some issues with size, so I took it to a welder and had some adjustments made. I couldn't fit the bagman support on with my seat, and when it was on, the bag hung through. This rack is now perfect for my Acorn Saddlebag.

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Originally Posted by uforgot

I had the same problem with bags. On my bike you'll see Mark's rack from Rivendell. It still had some issues with size, so I took it to a welder and had some adjustments made. I couldn't fit the bagman support on with my seat, and when it was on, the bag hung through. This rack is now perfect for my Acorn Saddlebag.

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That's a great solution. I have a medium Acorn bag. It rubs on the tire a bit, and to top it off, I got it before I got my Brooks B67, so I have zip ties hooking it to the saddle from the d-rings on the bag. It fits really awkward around the springs, too. I've ordered Keven's Bag from Rivendell in hopes that if it doesn't fit on the back, I can always use it for a handlebar bag.

I love the silver seat tube on your Surly, by the way. :D

Thanks! I hope the Keven's bag works. I have the large Acorn bag, and I almost got the Carradice zipped roll. I just don't like that white leather on the black bags. It's dimensions are very close to the Barley and Acorn, but it's round so I thought maybe it would stay off of the wheels better. Let us know how your bag works. Better yet, post a pic. I've taken a look or two at it on the Rivendell site and thought it might be a good solution also.

Ellen - yes, they are two different sizes. The front is a 24", the rear is a standard 700c. This is why I don't have matching tires - gatorskins don't come in 24x1! I don't like the look of it, but I figure it probably makes my bike less likely to be stolen. ;)

I don't have problems with bags, but I also don't carry much in a saddlebag. I either use the trunk you see there, a pannier, or my handlebar bag. The tiny little wedge carries my extra tubes (yes, I have to carry 2), a multi-tool, a patch kit and a tire lever. All that stuff stays there all the time so that I never have to worry that I have it with me. The rest of the bags shift around as necessary depending on my needs.

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

Ellen - yes, they are two different sizes. The front is a 24", the rear is a standard 700c. This is why I don't have matching tires - gatorskins don't come in 24x1! I don't like the look of it, but I figure it probably makes my bike less likely to be stolen. ;)

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Which brings me to my next question...why are they different sizes? What's the advantage?

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

I need to take an updated picture when I get home, but here's my Surly. She now has pink bottle cages:) Silver stem, spacers and seatpost + a Brooks (now a B17, instead of the B17S here).
CA

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The matching pink looks cute - you need a custom pink Brooks ;)

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Originally Posted by oxysback

Which brings me to my next question...why are they different sizes? What's the advantage?

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Mainly so that the bike can have a shorter top tube without compromising design in other areas (like a steeper seat tube angle or greater fork rake). Most of Terry's bikes below a size 19" have two different sized wheels. My 19" Terry road bike has two 650c wheels for the same reasons.

When I'm on the bike, I don't notice it at all. I just think it makes the bike a little 'odd' looking. So far, my only two issues with it are 1) I want to buy lighter wheels and they are exceedingly hard to find and 2) it's difficult to find fenders that work (I'm currently using race blades). It is definitely a huge conversation starter...kind of like my Mini was when I first got it. ;)

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Originally Posted by xeney

I am having this problem on my Soma. The chrome lugs make me want to have everything silver, but my husband is grumpy about the fact that (a) I already have a set of perfectly functional black bars, and (b) he bought me a Ritchey adjustable stem in black before we found another one by a different manufacturer in silver, and (c) none of the silvers will exactly match, anyway.

But since I've determined that I can't use a Brooks saddle anyway, I've also decided that I don't really care about any of this. My saddle is black, I'll probably get a black seatpost, I don't care. The bike is still pretty.

My spacers are red, incidentally, because he couldn't find silver ones locally. They match the frame color, and are probably a little goofy, but I prefer to think of them as "whimsical."

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Well, after this description we really want pictures! We can think of this thread as our TE bicycle fashion show!
:D