ColonelSanders

Perhaps in the vein of how some people may have a foot fetish, is there one particular aspect of a bike or its design/parts, that due to aesthetic appeal, you find your self heavily influenced by in your choice to purchase, when you are after a bike?

I'm not talking about something as obvious as a colour scheme, but something less obvious to most people.

Perhaps it is the difference between a straight fork or a curved fork.

For me, what I didn't realise was going to appeal to me so much, is the look of the crankset.

In particular, I just loved that Hollowtech look where you can see straight through the centre of the crankset.

Whilst it is not as important, I find myself also wanting the crank arms to be silver rather than black.

So what do other people have as their "fetish" when it comes to bike components, that might surprise people if you were to reveal it?

lopek77

Awesome question.
As the look goes, I love black (I know I'm silly...Red is much faster), simple yet modern design with sharp lines. Not a fan of round for sure.
I love Niner forks for beefy and simple, clean lines. Disc brake is a must of course...

Here is one of my favorite looking bikes, straight from BF...the owner knows I'm in love with his bike... lol


Here is another one...



I don't really care about brand or price. Durability, having fun, and good lines are the 3 most important things to me.

Grey.

The smooth joints on Carbon frames really push my buttons. I really don't believe in the advantages of Carbon over Aluminium but one day I will own a full Carbon bike simply because of how good it looks.

2702

Matching wheels to the frame. It can make or break a design.

quicktrigger

Personally, I like lettering on the wheels and tires. Guess its like the difference between raised white letter tires vs blackwall tires on my truck in earlier years. Maybe I need to add some chrome rims...

I also don't like straight thin tubes for the frame. I like some bend in the tubes, stays, and fork. Also like some width in the main body tubes. Lastly, I like the look of disc brakes on a bike. The fact that they work better is the practical bonus.

Love internal cabling.

Also don't like the look of the very narrow tire of a road bike. I understand why they are there, but I don't like the look of them.

Lastly, I prefer that the cassette, chain, etc not be greasy black.

As you can see, logic is optional in the preferences.

QT

Little Darwin

I am more into function than appearance, but given two identical bikes, there are a few items I would prefer. My preferences probably show my age.

The less obnoxious advertising on wheels frames and components the better, but not necessarily completely devoid of identification.

I love the sleek look of steel frames, whether lugged, welded or filet brazed. Slight preference to a tasteful lugged frame. Frame should ideally have a level top tube.

Curved forks look more natural to me, so I prefer them to straight.

Silver for all components... levers, crank,. wheels (hubs, spokes and rims), stem, handlebar, seat post, QR levers etc.

Tires are black with allowance for tan/skin walls and/or white lettering.

Although getting rare, I prefer the look of a quill stem to the modern monstrosities.

lopek77

lol That's right! I like it.

ColonelSanders

Could you please provide a photo of where this is done well and where it is done poorly.

Calder Benson

I had to have the bike I bought due to two things aesthetically (I purchased based on ride quality / functionality first however): the classic vintage look of the frame, and the subtle yet noticeable branding on the down tube.
Loud letters all over the frame is a turn off to me; maybe this will change - who knows.

I am a new enthusiast, but one thing that seems fetish like to me is tires the same color as the frame. Red rubber tires on a red frame etc. I haven't figured out yet how fringe or taboo this is, but have noticed it.

SHOFINE

I'm a sucker for twinn top tubes...got two and waiting on another to be delivered!

I also favor IGHs but have been very pleased with the 1x10 X9 on my Fatty. Going with 1x11 X1 on this build!

EvilWeasel

Seriousness and a clear purpose. Built like a high quality fire arm.

2702

Done well if you like some attention when you ride-

2702

Done Poorly too much orange, should just have gone black in the rims-

lopek77

Orange and black are my colors...I would go for the one you don't like lol OTOH, I DON'T like attention when I ride. I was like that when I was 10, and my bike was covered with every possible stickers I could get.

quicktrigger

I like the second one better as well.

Personally I WANT to be seen. Not a vanity thing, more like not getting run over and not bleeding thing. But beyond that, I simply love bright colors, and don't much care if others like them or not. I call it my "Bower Bird" response. "Bower Birds" are bird that the male of these species collect bright and/or shiny objects.

QT

lopek77

Sounds like my ex and current wife... "He went to Jared..."

ColonelSanders

Thanks for those examples.

I tend to prefer to have my tyres be bland, so something like what we see on the Specialized CrossTrail range or Trek DS line.

I guess with bland tyres, you probably would have liked the Orange & Black Jamis much more.

quicktrigger

LOL, I was referring to that I want to be seen on a bike. Other things, not so much. I just like bright and colorful. My office at home is very blue, my hybrid is very blue cyan, and my mountain bike is very bright green.

Lucky for me, my female significant other isn't too hung up on those expensive shiny things from Jared.

Thanks for the smile.

QT

Funduro

Don't like the bike manufacturers big font name on more then one tube( yea, I'm talking about you Giant). I'm not buying a billboard for the bike's maker. I took off the lbs store decal as soon as I brought my new bike home, it was blazing white rectangle on top of the bike's satin gunmetal paint.

Wallonthefloor

heh my rims dont match my bike but I got light blue toeclips to match the light blue stickers on my shimano wheels. Subtle yet succesful I think.

lopek77

I love my Specialized graphics on mine...you have to stand very close to see it lol

The LBS decal was also annoying...took mine the moment I left the store. They put another one in the same spot when I took the bike for a tune-up few weeks later... Didn't know that, and it bite their butts... Went for a ride, stopped near a group of guys, and we talked about local bike stores and quality of their services...I said "I won't tell you which one I'm talking about, but they suck! They did this and that, they didn't do something else..." and so on... The guys faces started looking strange, some were laughing, some got mad, some just didn't know what to say...I was talking about the biggest and the most popular LBS around here... And they knew it was about that store, because of the damn sticker I didn't know they put on my bike again...