Dear Bike Companies:

[SouthernBelle]

Meg hasn't been back cause she's been at my house practicing on her new clipless pedals.

[divingbiker]

And divingbiker -- is that glittery? It's a gorgeous red.

Oh, yes, it's glittery, just like Dorothy's slippers. And much less orangey than in the picture.

[mary9761]

Too bad there's not a "mooning" emoticon, SadieKate.

Just use your imagination.

OO

How about THIS one???
Or maybe THIS one??
Sorry I couldn't resist!

[pooks]

Mary, those cracks crack me up.

[mary9761]

Ar, ar, ar... cracks cracking you up mooning

As for Orange, it's not WSD, but I fell in love with this bike when I first saw IT, it's actually a strong duo tone

[Meg McKilty]

It's all fine and good for people to enjoy girly colored rides. However! It seems everyone is honing in on pink and orange.

I do not care if you ride in pink or orange or any other "girl-esque" colorings, but I wish for something a little more, how could I put this... business professional.

I like dark, hazy colors, like a Sunset Burnt Orange, or Deep Red, Metallic Pewter, or Steel. Why don't womens bikes come in these? I am all for supporting the making of WSD cycles, but please please come in more choices for those of us not wanting Sea Urchin Purple hues or Butterfly Blue (i am making these names up, though I highly doubt they don't exsist on some WSD bike already).

/laugh already, people.

[colby]

My first "gear bike" was this awesome blue metallic color, like a royal blue (very similar to the blue in the base of the flames in that picture). I can still see the color, and remember touching up the paint whenever there was a scratch.

My first (current) road bike is green, which I don't mind, but it's a little pastely for my tastes. It also has the requisite flowers on it, which I could do without. Needless to say, my dad has the mens/unisex version of the same components, and it's not pastel green with flowers -- it's actually ORANGE. This year's model of the same bike is yellow. Still pretty neutral, but still with flowers.

As I said with my snowboard boots (that have pink on them), I'm "man enough" to take it.

[xeney]

I guess I'm not understanding the complaint, really. It's hard to find a bike that fits, that has the components you want, that rides well. My husband's road bike is not the color he'd have chosen had he gone custom, and neither is mine. The women's specific bikes I've test-ridden were dark red, dark purple, medium yellow, and black with pink flames. The WSD bike I lust after is deep red. (There is a pink titanium bike I like a whole lot, but part of the reason I like it is that it's so unusual looking.)

I guess I just haven't seen this sea of pastels, or at least I haven't noticed that men have a whole lot more choice except that they have more bikes to choose from in the first place. And really, that's what I'd rather see, a wider range of fits and sizes, in lots of colors.

But I do agree about the Terry bikes; I think they are really hideous. But that's not about color so much as it is about the busy patterns that look like grandma's curtains to me.

[teigyr]

Lots of orange

I have a glaringly orange bike. I am not so much a fan of orange nor am I a fan of festive, which my bike is. It's an Orbea Marmolada. I got this bike not because it looks like the remnants of a smashed pinata but because it is an awesome bike. The bike has personality and I guess I see it like I'd see a person; it is what it is and I love what it is. The bike gets more attention than what I'd like because I'm not the flashy sort but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

That being said...I like simplicity! And I love Celeste! My Bianchi...now THAT is a bike I got due to the color

Dunno. I can see why people don't want to be stereotyped by gender (my bike isn't WSD though) but ride what suits you structurally. And I think the bike color thing goes WAY beyond bike colors because women are expected to like certain things from when we were little on up. I can see being riled - I have my own issues like when people say "lady" instead of woman. Makes me want to go all violent and stuff!

Have got to say though I LOVED that glittery red!!!! Pretty. Very pretty.

[mimitabby]

Lots of orange

I have a glaringly orange bike. I am not so much a fan of orange nor am I a fan of festive, which my bike is. It's an Orbea Marmolada. I got this bike not because it looks like the remnants of a smashed pinata but because it is an awesome bike.
.

Your bike doesn't look like a smashed pinata, it looks more like a Hawaii Postcard

no really, I like it. it's orange.

[Veronica]

So send your bike off to Joe Bell and get it painted.

V.

[jobob]

Yep, that's precisely what I would have done, had I not liked the color of my Riv.

She's actually due for a paint job, and I might even keep her the same color...

[Veronica]

I have my own issues like when people say "lady" instead of woman. Makes me want to go all violent and stuff!

You'd hate being a student in my class then. I don't call my student boys and girls when I want their attention. They are ladies and gentlemen.

V.

[Velobambina]

So send your bike off to Joe Bell and get it painted.

V.

Amen (from the proud owner and frequent rider of two fast pink Lunas)

[GLC1968]

Can I just say that everyones PERCEPTION of what colors are girly kills me?

Move to North Carolina and try to tell ANYONE that light blue is a girly color...you'll get your block knocked off in half a heartbeat. Carolina Blue is 'girly'?...ha, ha, ha, I don't think so.

Funny thing is, I bought my goregous, rides like a dream, fits like a glove Terry Isis in spite of the color. I liked the swirl pattern and the silver colors of the new bikes, but I didn't particularly like the light blue on the previous years model. But, I knew better than to pass up the deal on a titanium bike that would actually fit me. I get MORE compliments on that bike...both for its components/features as for it's colors. And so far, every single person who has lusted after my bike...has been a guy. Seriously, I've had more guys ask "Does Terry make that bike in a size big enough for me?".


So the moral of my story? Go ahead and complain about not seeing the colors YOU want on the bikes you like. But please, stop perpetuating stupid stereo-types. Honestly...not buying a bike becasue the color doesn't suit you is a pretty 'girly' thing to do...is it not?