Funny that this thread popped up when it did... My mother just bought a brand-new Giant OCR w 3, and her only complaint: "It's girly blue! I hate that color!" Personally I thought it could've been much worse, but she wanted a zippy red bike (which is the color I happen to have, and yes, it does feel faster)... I don't have much to add, except that I wouldn't let color dictate my choice, but given a choice I would tend to avoid flowers, traditionally feminine colors, and suchlike decoration.

Several people have mentioned custom paint jobs on bikes. I'm curious: How much does that usually cost? Where does one find a custom bike-painter? (I've thought for a long time flames would be *so* cool on my bike; plus I've had a lifelong love affair with that iridescent green/purple/blue color that you see on really customized cars and motorcycles (I hear that costs $$$ per pint, but how many pints would you need to paint a bike anyway?))