That bike is beautiful. What kind of hubs are those?

Wow - that's the most unique paint job I've ever seen! Was that bike a Tommasini by any chance?

It's a Titan of Switzerland built in Italy but the actual builder is unknown to me. I have three of them and there are others posted in the Classic & Vintage area. All have rather uniquely painted frames, many were Varnished by Dossena Carlo an Italian Artist.

Red, silver and black - stock colours of a 2005 Trek 7500FX. I like the paint job, I don't think I'd change it. However, replacing the red with a nice midnight blue would look cool.

My old bike was glossy black - very boring.

My main bike for the past 10 years has been a battleship gray Trek 5500.

I want some color on my next bike, but all the new ones I'm interested in are either garish or matte black.

When I was selling bikes, I decided that color is more of a veto issue, at least for men. I can't tell you how many times guys have said to me something like: "I don't care about color. I'll take the next one that comes off of the assembly line." The very next words out of their mouth might be: "Not green."

I might take some sexist heat for saying this, but my experience has been that women are a bit more selective. I've actually had at least one woman come into the store and say: "I want to buy a blue bike."

Personally, I won't ride a bike that I think looks ugly.

Interesting. I've always thought that beauty is as beauty does--unless the bike's green. Then forget it.

If I stumble across a quality frame & the price is right, I don't care what color it is.

My fav of the stable is emerald green metallic.

What's wrong with green? My Raleigh is a dark green, almost British Racing Green. Gorgeous. If I had my druthers, any bike I own would be the same shade.

I agree -- what's wrong with green? I have a shamrock green '97 Breezer Storm with over 30,000 miles on it (I use it as a daily commuter for a 100 mile/week commute). Not only do I like the color, but I love the scalloped design of the top tube and down tube. Total retro look. And yes, the green makes me go faster

Last week I placed an order for an Apple Green Santa Cruz Blur. I'm getting the wheels laced with green nipples and green Chris King hubs. Everything else will be black.

I have a Ti hardtail and it doesn't do anything for me, colorwise. Love the bike, but the color is bleah. Yeah, I know that's what distinguishes a Ti bike, but I like vibrant colors. When Retro Grouch said that women are more selective, it might be that color selection seems to be aimed more towards men's tastes. At least that's what I've noticed. I'm not into the matte blacks, gunmetal grays and silvers.

all things being equal, the red bike will be faster

I vote on BLACK- it's tough, sleek, cool...yet has a yearning to be loved


*side note: Hey... BostonFixed So far this is my favorite bike on the forums Niiice!





my next bike has to be a Scott or a Felt (god help us all if they ever made a DH frame)

I just purchased my first road bike -- an '05 Felt F65 -- It's a great blue color.... Not as killer looking as the F55 in the semi-matte black stealth color, but it's a proud looking ride.


Call me vain, but I wanted a bike not only for how great the ride was (I test rode several in the price range), but also how I felt about how it looks. To wit.... I think Treks are great bikes, but their paint jobs are horrible. Just my opinion!

Looking good has a lot to do with feeling good..... ..... but so do the carbon stays....

Not a thing is wrong with green. I was just attempting to make a joke at my own expense in response to what Retrogrouch said. Irony never plays well on message boards. Somebody always thinks you're being serious.

Mine is silver (hardrock), but I'd like one of these frames (azonic steelhead):

I don't always think people are being serious!




(and for the humor impaired- that was a joke....merely a joke)

SEEEEEEEEEEE black. I told you! Black is the new black.

Silver. Looks fast just leaning against a post.

Nude Ti. Paint just weighs the bike down.

Now that was funny!

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I tend to like bikes that are all one color. Some of the newer multi-colored paint jobs just doing do it for me. Some of the older Gary Fisher bikes used to be way to busy for my taste but they've been toned down in the past year. And his goatee just has to go. Guys his age shouldn't try to emulate the late-teen/early-20 crowd. It's just wrong.

So, any suggestions on how to paint the frame?
I'm thinking of two ways.
Either get a good paint and use a regular brush to get it on, or get spray cans and apply it that way.
I'm looking for a thick, matte paint. I do NOT want a smooth, glossy surface.
(Desired colours: dark grey or olive drab, for a military look...)

The frame is alu, and I'd prefer to leave the existing paint on.
Any suggestions for paint to use for this?
(And by that I mean types of paint, not specific brands, as I'm not where you are... )

If you want something like that you might go for one of those acrylic texture paints and then spray over that.

A brush? Are you joking?

Use a spray can at least. An air brush is better. Flat or matte colors will tend to hide imperfections better than glossy paints. Use a stripper on the frame to take the old paint off, then use emory cloth to smooth it out. Paint with a coat of primer and lightly sand. Then put on a few coats of your chosen color. If going glossy then 2 coats of color with multiple coats of clear will do a pretty decent job. PP&G makes a great paint. It's used by many auto body shops.

I don't want to hide imperfections. I want a really rough surface texture.
Hence the brush...

Using a brush also removes the need for serious ventilation masks.

I do not want to remove the old paint, as I said.
I could consider sanding it lightly, but I'm not sure what that would do to the stickers (or decals or whatever you call them).

Oh, and I'm looking to keep the costs down to a minimum.
$20-$30 total.

Then you may want to check out something like the Rustoleum hammered textured paints. You can probably apply those with a brush and they won't look "brushed" like other paints. A buddy of mine are using the Rustoleum hammered black on a couple of pair of speakers were building. It should give you that rough surface texture you're looking for and it doesn't require any primer.

https://members.interfold.com/tedrobinson/Finale.html

The hammered black actually looks like a very dark charcoal. There are several other hammered colors also. The silver looks pretty cool.

https://www.rustoleum.com/Product.asp...ct_id=21&SBL=1

I've thought about painting an older MTB with this for use as a commuter. The big advantage to using something like this is if you get a chip in the paint, it won't look doctored up if you touch it up. The touch up will blend right into the rest of the paint job.

Good luck with it.