Bicycle Appeal

[Aggie_Ama]

My first bike fits well but has cheap components. It is pretty bland on the paint job. The current object of my obsession (and maybe what got you thinking) has much better components, a really sweet paint job, better everything. Probably the only thing I am not considering is the geometry. I am sorry to say I don't quite understand the geometry part fully. I do know that I like the way WSD fits me and so that is influencing the bikes I am looking at.

[Thorn]

I really want to reply to this thread, but I can't seem to come up with something that won't be pulled by the censors

I mean, fit, performance, and stiffness come to mind and that just sounds so...so...

But seriously, I've been lusting after a Seven ID8 now for a while. I have a nice bike right now. My bike works well, but it doesn't fit well (I'm 6' in height with an arm span of 5'6"). Sure, I've scanned the paint schemes, but it is the fit, combined with customizing its drive that makes me think about cashing in some savings and going for it. In the meantime, I just sit and drool over the Seven catalog

[aka_kim]

I think I find a bike, or bike part, lustworthy when it blends art, form and function - or maybe a better way of saying it, "an artful blend of form and function" .

That's why beautifully sculpted lugs (like Vanilla's), exquisite paint jobs (Colnago, Lynskey), Phil Wood hubs, Nitto handlebars and stems, etc, etc. are all so lustworthy to me - all are examples of craftsmanship and attention to detail that have turned ordinary things into art.

[sbctwin]

Because of my height limitations (which I can do very little about at this age ), I can only "lust" after bikes that will actually fit me, so my choices are very limited ...my road bike (a lightspeed bella) is a very pretty blue, but I tell you, I lust over the 2006 lightspeed bella with its lovely mauve/dusty rose paint

[caligurl]

i can't chose just one poll choice... cuz for me it's a combination....

color is definititely a HUGE thing with me.... but shape of the frame is a biggie, too! cuz i can like a color... but if the shap is icky... well, then... the bike is icky!

right now i'm LOVING the orbea diva (and i don't even like pink road bikes!) IMO i don't think there's a sexier bike out there than that diva! lol! but it's the color and shape of the frame that makes it so danged sexy!

now granted... in buying a bike.... components then become important, too.... but i can look at the diva with just about anything shown on her... and i'd still be a drooling mess!

fit is uber important in actually buying a bike.... but i can still drool without even knowing it she fits me or not!

and some colors are an absolute turn off for me.... (even the diva in other colors aren't as sexy to me as that pink....)

[bcipam]

I would never choose a bike based only on a paint job but if given choices between one bike and another - the paint job will sway me (I tend to gravitate towards blues and silvers or a combo of both like my Zurich, my Spec. hardtail and my new bike the Santa Cruz Superlight).

Back when I was looking at a Lemond Buenos Aires, a bike more in my price range, I saw the Zurich and fell in love with the paint scheme. Plus it had better components so I spent alittle more money to get the bike I liked; that appealed to me most.

In chosing a bike I always do alot of research. Everything factors in especially geometry (fit - it must fit), components, materials and yes the "look" of a bike.

[Deanna]

I'd have to say overall style (color, tubing, lugs) of the frame. Wheels and drive train can be switched out. If the frame looks like the builder put some love, passion and time into it, you can see it. I have a mass produced bike and I like it just fine and given what I can afford to spend, it's very nice. But a beautiful custom bike is dreamy.

[DebW]

I lust after bikes with traditional materials and looks (none of those funny-shaped carbon frames for me) but innovative and functional designs. A frame with drivetrain stiffness that also soaks up road shocks. A wheelbase tight enough for efficient climbing but long enough to carry a touring load. The frame will be light, but it won't be compromised in it's strength. A wheelset that's supple, lightweight, and strong (because I built it myself ) with a rim that has a perfect weld. Hubs and bottom bracket with the smoothest bearings on earth, not sealed bearings either, but ones I can lovingly grease and adjust into my dottering old age.

[I'm going to stop here before I get accused of writing porn.]