What about the kit??

[shellkay1212]

Okay, so I just put a Litespeed Tuscany in lay-a-way. (it's going to be a long three weeks). It isn't painted and has yellow stickers with some sort of yellow/grey camou-y handlebars. I got black matte bottle cages. And, I've read posts about accessorizing the bike.

But, I just got new pink sunglasses that I've only worn twice! According to the LBS resident fashion police - the glasses are to match your kit. Well, I don't really have kit(s). Perhaps I should have gotten black or white. I have a grey helmet which fashion guy says should also match the kit. Is the kit supposed to match the bike? What do I do about pink sunglasses with no pink on the bike and no pink kit? The bike is soooo cool I don't want to muck up the scenery with weird color combos!

(I am trying to post pictures but I'm doing something wrong!)

[divingbiker]

Okay, so I just put a Litespeed Tuscany in lay-a-way. (it's going to be a long three weeks). It isn't painted and has yellow stickers with some sort of yellow/grey camou-y handlebars.

Is this your bike? The one that was for sale here on TE?

[shellkay1212]

It is exactly like this one! It was at my LBS. One of the shop owner's wife wasn't riding - didn't like riding - so he sold it...TO ME!!!

[Flur]

Congrats on getting the bike!

I personally don't worry about matching the bike. My bike's celeste green, so unless I'm going to outfit in Bianchi clothes all the time I'm not going to match. I just wear whatever I want and as long as my clothes match each other I don't worry about the rest. I'd recommend getting a neutrally colored helmet so that it works with a lot of stuff.

[mimitabby]

you don't have to match your bike. if you did, you'd always have to wear the same color.
hm, i'm always wearing bright yellows for visibility. not sure that matches my bike. see what i mean? and sunglasses? they cost a fortune!!

enjoy your bike. work towards having an outfit that matches, but not for every day riding.

[martinkap]

Occasional matching is nice. Worrying about matching all the time is for 'sissy' or those with low self-esteem.

We, strong women can defend our fashion choices with one heavy sigh and long stare at the person. Honestly, if someone suggested that my sunglasses must match my watter bottles or something like that, I would laugh for a very long time. It is great to have your own style and choices which our not dictated by some 20 yo clerk in the LBS. Sunglasses are too finicky to care about color; they must match your cheekbones (we don't want additional wrinkles from too large sunglasses or from too small ones), must match you head size and must not give you headache after a day wearing them. That is important.

Honestly, I wear black with occasional red accents because I like red. My bike is silver and black. Recently I got a red chain because I just thought will be funny. But I will hapilly wear screaming yellow jacket in cloudy/rainy conditions and yellow screaming helmet because it MIGHT save my life. I don't care if I don't look as professional biker. It is actually even more fun to look like someone who just start biking and then blow fast around all the 'matchy' professionally $1k-spent-on-outfit. I never forget to remind them that they have 30 (or 20) gears and are still slower than me on a fixie. "Sorry, I have a fixie, I must pass you since I am FASTER than you!"

[ilima]

You don't have to match the bike. But you still may want to get rid of the yellow stickers! My Merlin came with red stickers, which clashed with my pink King headset. A hair dryer, credit card and 30 minutes later--no more stickers.

I do plan to get some new stickers at some point, either from Merlin (the new Litespeed stickers are white) or make my own. I might try this place:
http://www.quickstickers.com/custom.php

I also want to get just a bit of bling to match my headset. Maybe some handlebar end caps and bottle cages.
http://www.purelycustom.com/c-31-road-bikes.aspx

[TxDoc]

Is the kit supposed to match the bike?

Nope. Some people like everything to match (yes, yes, alright, I'm one of them) and some others don't. Wear what you like - your pink sunglasses included - and don't worry about it. You are the one that has to like the bike and the kit - not the LBS fashion guy...

[Zen]

I take pride in having nothing match.
I may start wearing one Adidas and one Sidi.

[tzvia]

I've always felt that one risks looking like a poseur with a 'kit' that matches. I see them when I ride at the beach, nice bike, not a speck of dirt, perfectly matching clothing, down to the socks. Never actually riding, mind you. Just standing around some waterhole. Most people I see actually RIDING aren't quite as fashion consious.

I ride whatever isn't in the wash. My mother was the accounts administrator for HiTorque (MTB Action, Road Bike Action..) magazines and she brought home a lot of shirts and shorts over the years and nothing matches and I don't care. Free is good. I've got stuff with logos of teams and companies that don't exist any more and I don't care. I look like a circus on wheels sometimes. As long as I'm riding and not posing I don't care. I'm having fun.

To me, the 'kit' that matters is what is in the saddlebag or Camelbak (and yea I ride with a Camelbak so I guess I'm a Fred). Kit is what I use when something happens and I have to fix my bent wheel and patch a tube so I can make it home.

[TxDoc]

I've always felt that one risks looking like a poseur with a 'kit' that matches. I see them when I ride at the beach, nice bike, not a speck of dirt, perfectly matching clothing, down to the socks. Never actually riding, mind you. Just standing around some waterhole. Most people I see actually RIDING aren't quite as fashion consious.

That's ok, just remember that appearences can sometimes be defying... there are people out there that ride 60miles per day and just clean their bikes (or ask their mechanics to do that). And they like to look nice and have matching team clothes, helmets, socks, gloves, etc - especially if there's the chance of someone around taking pictures.
You cannot infer just from their looks that all of them are poseurs that never actually ride. In fact, I know quite a few good racers that are fashion divas as well, more than a couple of them gone pro...

[Bluetree]

The guys on my team are notorious posers...and that's not considered a bad word because style points at the coffee shop count! In fact, many of the race reports end with "...and we looked great, too!"

But they indulge in their divaness because it's a fun diversion from the intensity of racing. Dont believe for a second that they don't razz each other if someone wore the wrong socks or if someone else forgot to shave their legs the night before! But its all in fun and part of the team-bonding rituals. If they're hangng out at a local waterhole, they usually have no intention of real riding that day, or else it might be a post-ride break. (Keep in mind that a lot of racers ride every day, so some days are "easy" days.)

Wear what you want. Have fun riding your bike. If anyone has an issue with what you're wearing, it's their problem... not yours!