New Bike- Which Color?

[bessa]

Hi, I'm a new rider and decided on selecting a mountain bike as my first bike for road and trails.

I tried out the gt agressor and liked it but was iffy about the color...when I asked about women's version we found the gt laguna bike to sound like essentially the same bike. I tried them both out and liked the rides. My problem is that the colors weren't my favorites. I'm trying to do this on the cheap for a first bike and stick with the under 300 dollar range and these work for that.

My question is does the guy's bike (gt agressor) in the blue and silver look too masculine? That was my concern with the colors on this bike. Here is what it looks like although colors are slightly dull shade in person :
http://www.gtbicycles.com/Aggressor

Here is the laguna, which appeared to be too flashy for my taste. It was lilac like purply color and silver:
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes...7_20000_400330

The gt laguna looks like they have it comes in green and silver (much better combo for my taste) so I can see if they can get that to the store for me. But, just in case they can't does anyone think I'm being ridiculous about the current colors available? They seem to be on extreme opposites: one appears to masculine and the other too barby for me.

Like to hear your opinions so I can hurry up and get a darn bike. It's been so much fun testing them out!

Thanks!

[KnottedYet]

Get the color you like best, and don't worry about what anyone else thinks.

If you don't like the color of your bike, it could come to annoy you.

[emily_in_nc]

I don't think the blue/silver looks too masculine; but then again, my mtb is basically all silver and not girly at all (it's a unisex frame in an XS size). I like the green/silver one the best, tho. Not fond of the lavender either. But like Knotted said, go with what YOU like. You want a bike that will make you smile. I recently took back a pink cruiser bike I bought, and a large part of it was that the color was just too flashy and girly for me. I bought a blue one instead, and it made all the difference in the world to me. It may seem silly, but color does matter!

[lph]

If you love the bike but don't love the colour - it can be re-painted. If you love the color but are iffy about the bike - not much you can do about it.

Yes, colour does matter! You do want a bike that will make you think "oo, purty!" when you go to ride it. Just don't buy a bike that doesn't fit you well enough because you're bedazzled by a fantabulous colour scheme.

Personally I think the blue and silver is quite feminine.

OT: my dh's main bike is chunky and matt black. He just bought a used bike for winter commuting. It's white with light blue hearts and swirly lettering that reads "Gekko Jewel" :-D You have to be a real man to ride something like that with panache.

[tzvia]

The importance of color, or look, will diminish if you don't like the way the bike fits or rides. I happen to like the blue and the green, but I noticed the green one has a lower top tube and will provide more stand-over clearance. So you should take another look at the stand-over, top tube and stem length on both. A quick ride may not expose fit issues that will crop up during a one hour ride.

You did not mention your height or if you have a long torso or arms. Bikes are built for 'averages'; men typically have shorter legs and a longer torso relative to the average woman of the same height. So a 'woman's' bike usually has a shorter top tube and stem, and as the typical woman is shorter than the typical man, a lower top tube.

Yes, color is important, but how comfortable it feels and 'fits' is important too. That being said, I think I like the green better than the blue .

[bessa]

hey all,

Thanks for the comments. Good to hear that the blue one doesn't seem all that masculine as i perceived it to be...I'll try for the green probably and if not the blue. Yah--I really don't like that rose combo for sure so that one is out. Blah! I'm so indecisive.

txvia, thanks for your additional advice regarding comfort. Yep- other than obvious does not fit issues I wasn't sure what to look for. I did try the men's in a small and women's in a medium and they both seemed alright although my butt seemed to sit off the seat a bit (going back that is---i think this relates to my torso length). I don't remember anything about crotch clearance though. I am 5'6'. I have short legs (31 inch inseam) and a long torso w/ long arms.

[Trek420]

Get the bike that fits you and always ask to be fit to the bike. Many adjustments can be made on any bike to dial in that perfect fit.

As for color there's sooooo much that can be done with accessories to "toughen up" a very girly girl bike or "soften" a tough bike or just get any look you like. Have fun. Water bottles and cages can compliment or tone up or down any color, under seat bags (TE has some awesome fun ones. Just "click to shop" above), saddles impact the look and of course the ride and fit .... have fun!

It's a design project you ride. And we'll be glad to enable the shopping.

This bike started out life as GT dark blue

[emily_in_nc]

I am 5'6'. I have short legs (31 inch inseam) and a long torso w/ long arms.

Based on that, I would probably not get a WSD bike. If the standover and reach are acceptable on the men's small, I'd go with that one. Most women's bikes are built with shorter top tubes for women's typically longer legs and shorter torso/arms (which is how I'm built).

[nikkoblu2]

OT: my dh's main bike is chunky and matt black. He just bought a used bike for winter commuting. It's white with light blue hearts and swirly lettering that reads "Gekko Jewel" :-D You have to be a real man to ride something like that with panache.

Very cool! Tell DH I'm impressed!

[Biciclista]

but I have a question: What IS a masculine color???
Little girls have definitely cornered the market on pink and magenta purple, but what colors are boy colors? (and who cares over the age of 12?)
when i was a little girl, ALL bikes for girls were blue... they just were. and boys got the red bikes. So I claim red, pink, orange, blue, green and yellow. All of the generation x and y girls can also claim white, silver (Titanium) and black... did i forget one? well, there's celeste (Bianchi color!!! )

I'm a painter and maybe that's why I am such a color freak.. but really, do pick a color you can live with...

[ikkin]

Get the bike that FITS the best. Frames can always be painted.

[tulip]

I am 5'6'. I have short legs (31 inch inseam) and a long torso w/ long arms.

I would not consider being 5'6" with a 31" inseam as having short legs! I am 5'6" with a 31" inseam and I have long legs--I constantly have to search for long-legged pants and such, and I'm very comfortable on my bike that is designed for a long-legged, short-torsoed person. So one of us is not right.

As has been said, get the bike that fits you. If it doesn't fit you, it really doesn't matter what color it is because you won't want to ride it and it will be relegated to the basement or garage.

[bessa]

hey everyone,

Thanks for all feedback and tips.

An update--I went back to the same store to check out the blue/silver bike again and ask about ordering other colors but the blue/silver bike in person does not appear the same shade as online- it still read masculine manly oh man to me. The colors shades actually appear nicer online.

At any rate, I ended up getting this bike in brown:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...quipmodel=Myka HT Sport Disc

Fit as most of you have stressed was dead on an issue. I tried both the hardrock and the myka in the same size (17 inch) and the hardrock fit better. Given the the helpful information you ladies provided me regarding fit & wsd/non-wsd bikes , I ended up nagging that something didn't feel right. They were able to swap out the stem for a longer one, which made a difference. I still think I may need to push the seat back just a little. Haven't really had much time to ride it yet. Next step is to work on getting all the accesssories that go along w/buying my first bike!