Dear Bike Companies:

[pooks]

I heard about a local high school football team whose coach wanted them to play soccer in the off season to stay in/get into shape. Big burly guys, most of whom had never set foot on a soccer field and weren't very good.

They called themselves the Rosebuds, wore pink jerseys with red rosebuds on them, and nobody dared laugh at them (though I'm sure everybody laughed with them).

Um. And I'm sure they all rode bikes.

(Sorry for the drift.)

[Ciao]

Meg, I am SO with you on this! It's my number 1 pet peeve.... in fact it's more than a pet peeve... I'm completely frustrated. It's not that I don't like the color pink used in moderation... but COME ON MANUFACTURERS! You are selling to WOMEN not to girls.

Just got back from a GrandFondo this weekend... In the vendor booths, ALL the products for women were pink. Clothes, bikes, you name it, they had pink. (Ok, I take that back, one manufacture, Gore, had adult colors for gear. So I shopped with them.)

Saw the new Scott Contessa CR1 pro which has a beautiful paint job and looks very tasty, but of course it uses pink instead of the silver, red, white or yellow that I see and prefer on their other bikes. It's exactly the same geometry as the men's... so, why the pink? I wouldn't mind so much, but it's the only option.

I am not and have never been "girly". Feminine, intelligent, driven... sexy even... but girly, never. Manufacturers, if you want to convey a product is for women pick a color scheme that doesn't reducing us to select from colors and designs that would appeal to an 8 year old.

Thank you for listening

[imdeanna]

((((Wow...this is a year old thread!!)))))



Awww man....all this time I've been thinking I was SO cool...with my Caribbean Bayou Blue WSD bike.....and how I customized it with a PINK Saddle...and PINK Speedplay pedals.... DOH'!!!




(I've never been able to play with 'cool' kids!!)

[mimitabby]

I think there's plenty of room for those of us who like pink and those of us that don't!

Your liking pink doesn't make you any less cool than me (queen of uncool)

[katluvr]

I do NOT like pink. Note girrly pink. I wanted a "real" bike w/ 700c wheels (previous with 650c). So i got what i wanted...carbon, 700c wheels and fast AND great fit. But it is HOT PINK (w/ black). So I have "embraced" my "pinkness" with a pink helment and saddle bag. Big sigh......I still wish it was not pink. But other people think it is very cool! But I agree w/ the beginning of the thread....why all this pink and floral, etc. Is it to get more women riding? Are we "women" still so easily persuaded by flowers, pastles, etc? I really don't get it.....so I think we need more "options"...for the rest of us who don't really like pink!

[Bluetree]

I have two female friends (one a tremendously strong climber) who have pink bikes.. and I mean EVERYTHING is pink. Great for them!

Personally, I hate pink. I would never buy anything pink. I prefer colors that kill and intimidate. The main difference is, my friends had the option to buy pink. Or powder blue. Or other pastels. The colors I liked were not as readily available for me, except when I went up the WSD carbon fiber food-chain or looked at men's bikes.

My LBS dealer told me that the higher quality of bikes for women, the less "pastel-y" they become. In fact, the women's team he sponsors unanimously asked that none of their bikes/kit had any pink in them.

My S-Works is stealth black and my Pinarello is black-red-white. To me, those are women's colors!

[imdeanna]

My LBS dealer told me that the higher quality of bikes for women, the less "pastel-y" they become. In fact, the women's team he sponsors unanimously asked that none of their bikes/kit had any pink in them.

I can relate to this .... this is my first....and not knowing how far I'd go with cycling...was on a budget to give it a try.....so it was the highest quality I could get for my buck....

BUT...now that I know I'm loving cycling....when I get financially able to buy my next bike.....ya...your right....it's not going to be a 'girls' bike...... when I go into the LBS...I drool over the dark sleek colors...and the hot curves...of the BIG TIME bikes!!!

[aicabsolut]

The saddest part of it is that there are plenty of guys out there who would benefit from "wsd" geometry. I don't fit WSD bikes at all, but my bf feels pretty comfortable on my friend's WSD Madone. Would he ever buy a WSD bike? Hell no. Why? Because they are girly (although that Madone is a hot shade of dark metallic purple). So these guys go with a bike that doesn't fit as well. Even if there's a guy who likes pink (and real pink, not T-Mobile pink), is he going to buy a pink bike with flowers? Hell no. I find it odd that when you look at racing caliber bikes especially, manufacturers still seem to think that a fast racer is going to care about how cute the bike looks and not how BADASS it looks.

I'm glad I don't need to buy WSD bikes. It's not that I want to avoid pink necessarily, but I like that I get a decent SELECTION. If I want to put pink bartape and tires and whatever else on there I can, but I can also keep the look classic with white.

On a similar note, I'm glad that most women's cycling clothing doesn't fit me either. It's either black or some pastel color with the flowers.

[OakLeaf]

Would he ever buy a WSD bike? Hell no. Why? Because they are girly.

Um.

Madone 6.9:

Madone 6.5 WSD:

Ruby Expert Compact:

Roubaix Comp Triple:


To round out your mass-produced bikes, Cannondale does have completely different paint schemes for the WSD bikes vs. the men's bikes, but most of them aren't what I'd call "girly." Some of them are. Most not.

Unfortunately I think it goes back to what another poster said. It's the homophobia, or something similar. Most men wouldn't buy something branded as "WSD" even if it was cosmetically identical to a men's design. Even if it was identical in fit (as unfortunately a lot of so-called "women's" gear used to be, and some still is). There's absolutely a stigma attached to being female or appearing feminine.

[GLC1968]

And yes - look at what's changed in a year. Ask and you shall receive...Think that Georgena read this thread?

There's nothing 'frou-frou' or 'girly' about these paint schemes:






Unless, of course, you find white to be too offensive.

[imdeanna]

I think there's plenty of room for those of us who like pink and those of us that don't!

Your liking pink doesn't make you any less cool than me (queen of uncool)

Phew!!!! I was going to start riding with a full face helmet so no one would recognize me!!!!

Funny thing...I've never really liked 'pink' for myself....it just happend to be what I dressed 'her' in....(my bike is VERY feminine!!!)

[Bron]

Having a bianchi makes it easy - bianchis are celeste and nothing else goes with celeste, so I can forget colour co-ordinating myself. Yes I know there are some bianchis in other colours....

I heard about a local high school football team whose coach wanted them to play soccer in the off season to stay in/get into shape. Big burly guys, most of whom had never set foot on a soccer field and weren't very good.

They called themselves the Rosebuds, wore pink jerseys with red rosebuds on them, and nobody dared laugh at them (though I'm sure everybody laughed with them).

Um. And I'm sure they all rode bikes.

(Sorry for the drift.)

Um, is this a cultural difference? Why would anyone think that men are girly for playing soccer?

[bouncybouncy]

I have not read this thread in its entirety (sp?) but I read most of it when it was first posted...my $0.02:

colors could go either way...I personally hate red! Don't want blue (hubby's bikes are blue and/or green) I like white...but not good for mtb even though that is what I got! Any and all components are pink, pink, pink, and um some pewter that look lilac in color!!!! Yep, I like pink!!! I also like orange...my previous bike was orange with pink components!!! You read correctly...pink & orange! They are mtbikes...tough, cute, girly, and can take a beating!!!

My roadie is pink too...but just the frame...the components are silver...it is a little more classy than my dirty girls!

Point is...I like I have the choice! I could have had pink, black, Yeti turquois, nude, or a redish color...but I had a choice!!!!

[Tokie]

I cringe when I see pastel bikes in a sea of other color bikes at the bike store.My first thought is that those are the low-end bikes in the store, aimed at women who don't know much about bikes. I do like some of the colors that Orbea uses on their women's frames. They are a bit feminine but look like the type of paint job you would see on a really high end bike. Tasteful and understated - in my opinion. I just want a great bike! I want a bike that fits with all the features offered on comparably priced bikes that are not women specific. I am pleased that the Specialized Ruby bikes have nice paint jobs that don't scream "girly bike". I don't mind that the name "Ruby" on the frame is in a feminine font. I love pink and feminine stuff. But I don't want a pastel car or a pastel bike. I can wear girly colored bike clothes, but don't put me a a girly color bike. Just me. Attract me to a women's specific bike with a great frame,components,fit and quality! Tokie