Dear Bike Companies:

[sarahkonamojo]

Well, whatever, I ride red and black bikes. I'd go for a sage and silver bike...

I don't mind being marketed to, but I want quality! It bugs me when I see the choices in bigger size bikes that I can't find in my size. Like NICE components. It is getting better every year. I have money that I want to spend on things other than color, but if I like the color, all the better.

sarah

[mimitabby]

If I were a bike designer, I would be beside myself reading this thread. It's like herding cats.
I wouldn't want to make the decision to make a powder blue bikes for ladies...with a hibiscus.. blam!

[spokewench]

I've never been a fan of girly colors in bikes or clothing, but that's my personal preference.

The irony is that I have never owned a women specific bike, but my last bike that I bought (my TCR Giant (Men's frame)) is black with LOTS OF PINK! So, at least, we know the boys have to suffer too with colors they may not like.

I bought the bike cause it was exactly what I wanted and it was last year's model (in pink) so I got a deal. I'd take the deal any day to the color that i wanted, so Now, I own a pink bike! Horrors!

[xeney]

Am I the only person who finds this conversation kind of disheartening? I hate flourescent yellow, but I wouldn't describe that color in the sort of disparaging terms I'm seeing here. The stereotypically feminine colors are being equated in this thread, by women, with youth, frivolity, a lack of seriousness ... who says? Isn't that the spin that stupid sexists put on the color pink? Why do you have to buy into it? Can't you just not like the color?

I love my pink bike and my pink and gray mountain bike, but this attitude is one of the reasons that I am really dreading the baby clothes we are going to receive now that people know we're expecting a daughter ... pink is such a loaded color, and I think that is just such a shame. There is nothing wrong with pink, but it carries all this baggage: not only is it practically mandatory for little girls, regardless of whatever their actual tastes might turn out to be, if anybody who is not a little girl decides they like pink, they are somehow being girly (in the perjorative sense, if we're talking about a guy), frivolous, or silly.

It's just a color. Don't ride it if you hate it, but you don't have to disparage everyone who does like it while you're at it.

[jobob]

Well, a few years back, someone posted to the Rivendell email list that they had a used custom Rivendell road bike for sale, with the fancy lugs and the cool cloisonee headbadge. The frame color was advertised as "champagne pink". Some photos were posted and yep, it sure looked pink.

Some of the guys on the list chucked over a pink Riv but I thought this was a great chance to own an honest-to-goodness Rivendell at a great price so I responded to the ad right away. (Oh, and for what it's worth, the previous owner was a man. I never met him because he had passed away and a friend was selling it on behalf of the former owner's family)

I'm not a pink person but I figured, at the price they were asking, I if I didn't like the color I could have the frame repainted and still be ahead of the game.

Well, the frame turned out in real life to be a lovely dusty rose / mauve rather than a real pink, and I really liked it and it remains that color to this very day. And it's an absolutely wonderful bike.

If it weren't pink, I bet someone would have snapped it up before I ever saw the email. So, yay for pink !

[SadieKate]

Guess which bike all the male mechanics at my shop like?



My husband loved it when he was walking along Silver Creek (a particularly hard to fish far and fine stream) looking for me and someone asked him "is she the one in the pink hat catching all the fish?"

I love pink. Wear/ride/flaunt the colors you love and the heck with others.

[pooks]

I'd love a great orange or yellow or burnt orange.

What I really want, though, is a bike all glittery and red like Dorothy's ruby slippers.

(I agree with Xeney -- it's just COLOR, skip the baggage.

OTOH, I agree that I get annoyed when I see that Jamis Quest in a lovely copper that I love, and then see that if I need the WSD it's a color that only a Bianchi-lover could love.

(Have I insulted enough people? Do I need to keep going? Or just -- GO?)

Anyway, I think the "insult" is when the two bikes are supposedly the same, except for the WSD part, and you see they chose a color that they think women would more likely want -- and it's not a color YOU care for, and then you're insulted that they think YOU would want such an insipid color, and how disrespectful, they sure didn't do that to the guys!

"YOU" meaning "ME" when I checked out that Jamis Quest, of course.

[SadieKate]

Pooks, it is far too early in your test riding career to be getting your undies in a bundle over color. Go test ride a ton of bikes! Feel the ride, feel the fit, caress those hoods under your handles, tickle the brake levers. Worry about the color last. Not everybody needs a WSD and every company has a different take on "WSD". Go friggin' ride! Have I said it enough?

[divingbiker]

What I really want, though, is a bike all glittery and red like Dorothy's ruby slippers.

I have a ruby slippers bike! This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a deep glittery red, just as you described. Personally, I don't think bikes should be any color but red, but then I don't rule the world.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Am I the only person who finds this conversation kind of disheartening? I hate flourescent yellow, but I wouldn't describe that color in the sort of disparaging terms I'm seeing here. The stereotypically feminine colors are being equated in this thread, by women, with youth, frivolity, a lack of seriousness ... who says? Isn't that the spin that stupid sexists put on the color pink? Why do you have to buy into it? Can't you just not like the color?

I love my pink bike and my pink and gray mountain bike, but this attitude is one of the reasons that I am really dreading the baby clothes we are going to receive now that people know we're expecting a daughter ... pink is such a loaded color, and I think that is just such a shame. There is nothing wrong with pink, but it carries all this baggage: not only is it practically mandatory for little girls, regardless of whatever their actual tastes might turn out to be, if anybody who is not a little girl decides they like pink, they are somehow being girly (in the perjorative sense, if we're talking about a guy), frivolous, or silly.

It's just a color. Don't ride it if you hate it, but you don't have to disparage everyone who does like it while you're at it.

We really dislike the fact that "most" bikes made for women are painted these same "loaded" colors that you yourself describe as being "practically mandatory" for little girls. You're right- sadly, those colors ARE practically mandatory for little girls! Should we all go along with them being mandatory for women as well? Society forces those colors onto every girl baby all the way through high school. Go into any JC Penney, Target, or WalMart girls dept...if your eyes can handle the sea of pale pink, shocking pink, and lavender.
We don't ask that "feminine colored" bikes be eliminated...simply give us a couple of the same color choices that non-women get as well- red instead of just pink or lavender, forest green, a strong blue instead of just baby blue, black or charcoal instead of just white. All we want is a choice.
I am not intending to attack any particular person- I dislike the colors that are being pushed at me just because I'm a woman. (and who gets to say what "feminine colors" ARE, anyway?-another interesting question for discussion)
I've bought cars for myself that were blue, red, black, maroon, and white. I never saw a new pink, baby blue, or lavender car for sale when I was car shopping. I wonder why they do this with bikes and not cars? If there were certain cars that only fit women, would they be only in "feminine" colors? VW beetles come in a great variety of colors, from cream to black to red to lime to baby blue. Women's clothes tend to come in all colors.
All interesting things to ponder...
But yes we are annoyed and frustrated by the very limited color choices decided for us based on woefully dated marketing.

I hear what you are saying, and I don't disagree with everything you said. But if I say that I don't want a pink or baby blue or lavender bike because it's too little girly or reminds me of Barbie or whatever, I don't think that's a terrible thing to say here. Everyone likes different colors for different reasons. I won't get upset if you say you don't want a fluorescent yellow bike because the color makes you hurl and looks "cheap".
I remember when I was in 1st grade...I had a big 64 box of Crayola crayons. I picked out the color that I hated the most...it was mustard. I remember thinkning that mustard color would make anyone just throw UP. I threw it away. Ironically, a few years ago I decided that my very favorite color in the world was.......mustard. Now I like even more colors than that. -And I just LOVE my pink tulips in the garden!

And sometimes- I like movies that are SO bad they cross over into GOOD. And sometimes I admire bikes that are SO ugly they become things of bizarre beauty...and they can be any color to qualify for that!

Pooks...if you get stuck buying a "girly looking" WSD bike, maybe you can make a frilly lacey rain cover for it out of one of those bundled knickers of yours.

[northstar]

Love it! That would be quite the combination!

I was in a guitar shop the other day with my brother...they had two or three Hello Kitty guitars hanging on the wall. I'd love to see a little girl out rock some tough guy on one of those...

It's just inspiring to see a strong woman on a bike that suits her, physically and personality-wise.