Do you care about the paint scheme?

[Biciclista]

One of the reasons I went custom is that the few bikes made at the time that fit me were hideous colors like swamp green....

[GLC1968]

Fit is most important but yes, the paint is also important to me...but not in the way it is for most people. I'm not adverse to pink or light blue or flowers but I also like orange, red, navy and black. My issue is that I don't want a bike that looks like everyone else's. I always want something different.

If that means a bike that is super popular but in a weird color, great. If it means a bike that no one else has in a relatively common colorway, That's fine, too. I just like to be different.

(My commuter is a Terry in boring silver but due to it's small front wheel it's odd looking and I like that about it. My road bike is also a Terry in a stunning blue and white swirl paint, so it really stands out and I love it!)

[sarahspins]

My issue is that I don't want a bike that looks like everyone else's. I always want something different.

I agree, but I also want to add that I wouldn't want to ride something completely heinous either... there is a limit to what I'd consider riding, based solely on looks.. I'm not a huge fan of yellow for example, so anything with a lot of yellow is a huge turn off, but not a complete deal breaker.. but yellow with something like purple.. most likely is, even though I do like purple.. just absolutely not with yellow (or orange.. and I love orange.. my bikes are both orange!)

[Norse]

Yes, it is important to me. My current road bike is black with red and silver/gray accents. I love it. I call it my "Black Stallion." I was looking at the end of the year sales last year, and found an upgrade with the right components at a great price, however, it was white and red. And so, another year for me and my trusty black steed.

[Aggie_Ama]

Very important to me, I refused to get a Trek Fuel last year because it was a sandy beige and rootbeer. The bike looked like my Pawpaw's 1984 Oldsmobile to me. I was so lucky that the Gary Fisher with sparkly black paint and a slight bit of pink was the best fitting bike of my life and it is a show stopper. Seriously, I haven't seen another one in Texas and even the wrenches at the shop flip over the bike. They didn't stock the bike, so there aren't any that come into the shop. I love that it is mass produced but really unique because it is a higher end bike most shops chose not to stock. And I don't even like pink that much!

Of course after discovering that a bike that fits like a glove is way more fun to ride, I will concede my next bike will be bought 100% on fit so hopefully I will be able to go custom. I love to mountain bike 10x more than road riding, but I didn't until I got a bike that fit. My road bike is not a great fit and thus my love of the road has fallen immensely.

[TxDoc]

Of course I care about the paint scheme... I'm one of those people that have to match everything on every ride - bike, shoes, kit, socks, helmet, gloves...

[pumpkinpony]

Very important to me, I refused to get a Trek Fuel last year because it was a sandy beige and rootbeer. The bike looked like my Pawpaw's 1984 Oldsmobile to me.

I would like to pick color... I loved the Gary Fisher paint scheme, but when I rode the two I ended up with the Root Beer colored Trek Fuel because it felt better to me.

I still hate the color, but I don't see the color when I'm riding it. And it actually gets enough complements that I'm beginning to feel better about it.

[Aggie_Ama]

I would like to pick color... I loved the Gary Fisher paint scheme, but when I rode the two I ended up with the Root Beer colored Trek Fuel because it felt better to me.

I still hate the color, but I don't see the color when I'm riding it. And it actually gets enough complements that I'm beginning to feel better about it.

You know Fisher geometry is either awesome or awful. If it hadn't worked for me I would have ended up with the Trek despite not being crazy for the frame paint scheme. It was spec'd great and Trek was having a crazy sale last July so the bikes were way cheap for the quality. So yeah I would be in the same place you are, ultimately fit would have won.

I did see one at the trail a few weeks back and liked it. At first I didn't realize it was the bike I wasn't crazy about in the shop! I thought that was kind of funny.

[Gowest]

Nah....color is irrelevant b/c I ride so fast I am a blur and no one can see me!

Seriously - once I found a bike that fit and handled the way I wanted then I worked within the colors available - I went for basic black and white - that way I can add any color accessory that I like, and being a girl - I am fickle. First it was pink for a few years - now it is kelly green.

[shootingstar]

Colour: hmmmm if I had money to have it custom painted to shade I wanted.

In the end, the fit is most important and deciding factor for buying my bike.

[Kiwi Stoker]

Bike colours and graphics are one of the biggest headaches for bike manufacturers. I remember watching the graphics team slave for 4-5 months over designs. Often they would have to submit 3 different designs for the more "out there" bikes like the urban BMXs, the team bikes etc.

They would sit there pouring over the photos they took at Eurobike and Interbike, going through the "colours of the year" magazines from Pantone etc as well as have the whole company walk by and give their two cents.

Then the dealers were asked to go over the product managers picks and more changes were done.

Graphics were often put on the bikes up in China and pics sent back and then more changes done.

The graphics guys would be printing out and wrapping blank frames just to get the graphics just right. The new tubes shapes do make their lives hard.

In all it took 4-5 months for 3 designers fulltime to do graphics for over 150 models of bikes. The there was a 4 month rest before they started the whole process all over again!