Dear Bike Companies:

[missymaya]

I like the fact that there are colors out there! Yeah, I HATE pastels and "cutsee bugs" and such, I'm glad that bike companies are trying to change it up a bit. I looked on the Trek website the other night and noticed their paint job options on some of the bikes (both wsd and mens). I like that they provide an option (granted for some $$). For me, right now, I don't care if the bike is pastel purple with a seafoam green seat and pastel yellow bar wrap, if it rides like a charm and fits like a glove, damn I dont care (as I go to my pearl white with aqua marine green and fuscia pink accent bike with pink pedals and handle bar wrap; those crazy 80's colors ).
Anything is better than real rust!

[Meg McKilty]

While, true, my riding should speak for itself, I had a pink Huffy when I was 10. I have moved on to a grander color scheme since then.

I want darker colors, such as the ones I named in my letter, and if you want to decorate them with maroon Hibiscus flowers on a dark gray slate background, fine. I only ask they stop giving us only elementary colors. I have't carried around a Care Bear lunch box in years; don't make me look Sunshine Bear with my bike.

In the catalogs I have looked at with WSD cycles, I have found very few other color options, and in most, none others at all to choose from.

[DarcyInOregon]

Wow, but I love my pink WSD bike. Why would the color be "unserious?" I put in a lot of miles every week on this bike.

I never even thought about colors as being serious or unserious. I can care less what others think of the color of my bike. I like the pink bike because I am VISIBLE to motorists; I don't blend into the background. Where I live it rains a lot, and thus visibility is poor on many of my daily rides. Lots of cyclists in Oregon have been killed or injured by motorists, and I don't want to be one of them.

But this concept of a bike color being serious or not serious totally flabbergasts me. I just can't imagine why it would be important as to what total strangers might think of the color on your bike. It only matters what YOU think and what makes YOU happy - so get a bike in a color that makes you happy! And don't judge others for the color of their bike. That doesn't make sense.

Darcy

[Meg McKilty]

I feel as if that almost perpetuates their cause further- women need super feminine colors that could be seen at night without reflectors.

I enjoy darker colors, usually those considered more masculine. They are rarely represented in catalogs or on the internet sites, if at all. Sorry to say that having something that feels as good as it looks, I am all for it.

It's like wearing a business suit tailored to you in your favorite business color; it says volumes about your tastes and choices to others. You feel better when you are wearing this "power suit". It just so happens I don't want my suit in purple or teal, but it seems people are only making them in uber-femme colors. I am asking for equality in colors, here.

If pink or cosmic yellow makes you feel happy, then great. Pewter and Blue Steel colors happen to thrill me, but few WSD bikes come in those particular colors.

[Aggie_Ama]

My fabulous Cannondale came in two color schemes. Mine does not seem overly feminine (although it is GORGEOUS for carbon) but the other was black. That is as far from girly. I think the problem is not so much that pink and orange are offered, but that others are not.

I LOVE the Cannondale R1000 Dragonfly paint scheme and would have gotten that girly bike if it were aluminum. They just need to offer us more options. I love the girly bikes but as we have established- one color does not fit all!

I am pretty sure if you drop the boys they would take the tangerine seriously.

[mimitabby]

Meg, actually, bikes that can be seen at night without reflectors are a pretty good thing. I know you meant that in jest, but honestly, why not?
There's a guy near where I live that has a florescent yellow bike. And i know it's not because he likes daisies. it really shows up well as he's going down the road.

I do understand where you are coming from, the women's bike palette seems to be quite limited unless you go custom.

So you like the exact opposite colors that I like and we both were frustrated.
(So where did you find a WSD bike in orange?)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have been intrigued by the geometry of Terry bikes from time to time. But I've seen them in person, and tempting though the WSD fit issue might be, I wouldn't be caught DEAD riding a bike with those fluffy bunny colors and frou-frou flowery swirls or whatever they are on it. I'm not ten years old.

Never did like Barbies either.

[Meg McKilty]

I have been intrigued by the geometry of Terry bikes from time to time. But I've seen them in person, and tempting though the WSD fit issue might be, I wouldn't be caught DEAD riding a bike with those fluffy bunny colors and frou-frou flowery swirls or whatever they are on it. I'm not ten years old.

Never did like Barbies either.

My name is Meg McKilty, and I support this post.

[Meg McKilty]

(So where did you find a WSD bike in orange?)

In "Feel It Orange", baby.
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/06/C...el-7RWA3T.html

And who could forget the K2 jetstream with accompanying hibiscus flowers?
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl;jsession...e=shopping.com

[Kimmyt]

Haha

K2 luvs them some hibiscus flowers (haha... skiiers out there get it?). Personally I'm sick to death of the hibiscus. It is on every type of female-specific gear. Give me a daisy, a rose, a venus flytrap, SOMETHING else. it's one of the reason i've pretty much refused to even buy from their highly-acclaimed women's ski line.

Also, re: the orange cannondale, I wouldn't think of that as feminine coloring, just hideous (i actually kinda like it!). In a gloriously roadie-way. I could picture many of the guys I ride with going for that color scheme, but then I've always carried the opinion that the average male roadie has as good a taste in color as a colorblind 5-year-old.



K. <--- who has always been tempted with the idea of putting handlebar streamers on my purty teal and silver bike

[mary9761]

I understand what Meg is talking about. I absolutely fell in love with Pele (the Lava Red 2006 Trek Pilot 1.2 WSD that I wanted to get). When the 2007 WSD's came out they were Mineral Blue NOT my color. The color has somewhat grown on me and if I was to end up getting one this year, she's told me her name is Lady Ice, but it's just not the same as that Fiery Red! When the new catalog came out and I saw the color, I said to Jimmy, that's a ***** colored bike! (not that there's anything wrong with those who LIKE those pastel colors) I just wanted something BOLD and Pele was ready to burn up the road!

[mimitabby]

I understand what Meg is talking about. I absolutely fell in love with Pele (the Lava Red 2006 Trek Pilot 1.2 WSD that I wanted to get). When the 2007 WSD's came out they were Mineral Blue NOT my color. The color has somewhat grown on me and if I was to end up getting one this year, she's told me her name is Lady Ice, but it's just not the same as that Fiery Red! When the new catalog came out and I saw the color, I said to Jimmy, that's a ***** colored bike! (not that there's anything wrong with those who LIKE those pastel colors) I just wanted something BOLD and Pele was ready to burn up the road!

Perhaps as more of us vocal ladies are buying bikes, they will listen..

[northstar]

Last year when I bought my hybrid, the only one they had in my size was black. The salesguy assumed that I would want a different color, so he knocked some $ off the price. When I told him that color really didn't matter to me, he practically high fived me!

I think the only color I just couldn't go with would be pink (not that I haven't seen lots of hot looking pink bikes here...it just doesn't suit my personality).

[Deanna]

What it comes down to is marketing. A line of WSD bikes (or any new product) is a big investment for a company, market research and surveys of the target market probably led to the color choices. They're not going to invest a lot of money without doing at least some of this research. It's just not feasible to make bikes in every color somebody could possibly want, so they'll go with the color their studies show would be the most popular. My suggestion is to find a good frame painter and customize to your hearts content.

[Trek420]

Yep, decorate to your hearts content. Don't pick based on color, although it can be hard to ignore a bike in your favorite or or pick your least favorite color. Find the bike that rides and fits you best. Don't let marketing dictate the way it looks, have fun making it yours. .

Even valve caps come in custom colors so whether it's too pink or not pink enough or.....

Now here's a macho/macha bike, even the logo is tough

http://www.anvilbikes.com/gallery/de...hp?image_id=19