soulbike

There are many thoughts regarding the function of bicycles and the culture of cycling. I would like to hear your opinions regarding this.

Do you guys buy bicycle parts based on how it will make your bike look? Or do you just generally stick to black/ silver parts? Just thinking that bicycle parts have pretty much reached the limit of weight reduction/ limit, sure some parts have gone boutique silly light and expensive. But is there a market for parts that do not have a technical improvement but only stylistic?

For example if you had a red bike and we had red cranks or red brakes would you get them to match. Comments are appreciated.

umd

To some extent, yes. It is not my primary consideration, but where convenient I try to accomodate asthetics.

As for silly light and expensive red brakes... I don't care that much.

Jay-W

Fixie culture.

rcummings1

I had to buy red nipples for my wheels because they are faster than silver or black. It had nothing to do with how they looked. I would love to have red brakes because they stop faster obviously. Seriously, I like color and I'm not a fan of black or grey. Most CF bikes do nothing for me visually. I probably would consider if Form/Function/Quality/Price was competitive.

55/Rad

Never.

Wait, what was the question again?

MiqueMaus

I bought white Hudz for my new bike. But I also tore the stock ones when I was peeling them so that's a different story [despite the Hudz page being in my bookmarks ].

Good excuse to justify my purchase though.

txvintage

Being able to carry over a color theme from saddle, tires, and wrap would not suck.

matkinstall

red ano is so 90s.

mustang1

only as far as color scheme goes.

Mr. Beanz

I put some purty red chainrings on our tandem. I thought they were cute till we ended up shearing off two of them!..I like a clean shiny bike but once I'm riding, I wouldn't notice if my bike grew hair!

celerystalksme

do i make decisions based on aesthetics? FOR SURE!

but...functionality comes first. it has to be the right part for me and what i want to do...durability, reliability, compatability, and cost comes first. if there are several different manufacturers offering a part that i need which meets all said requirements, then it comes down purely to aesthetics.

that's my decision making process in a nutshell

pharding

I always go for both function and design.

Paul Barnard

I can only speak for myself, but I suspect my thoughts are shared by the majority. I prefer function over fashion, but the two do not have to be mutually exclusive. You mentioned getting red cranks to match. Red can be hard to match. There are too many shades of red. If the shade of red you offer doesn't match it would look worse than getting a contrasting color. Not so much on road bikes, but on mountain bikes, colored cranks get scuffed up pretty quickly and look worse than a brushed aluminum finish.

Pedaleur

The question in my mind is, "Would you pay extra purely for aesthetics?"

For many of us, the answer is clearly "Yes." Black rims and spokes typically cost more than silver ones. Colored cables may cost more than black. Mottled handlebar tape is often more expensive than solid color. Themed jerseys. Etc., etc. None of these differences add function, but we pay a premium for them anyway.

Bob Dopolina 

Without a doubt, yes. It is a consideration.

gsteinb

I'd buy eight-balls and do blow off the top tube.

Hocam

Honjo fenders!

urbanknight

If I need a part and it costs about the same to buy the one that will make my bike look better, I'll get it.

Flatballer

I have red tires, red tape, and I'm considering buying a red/silver Fizik saddle, which I'll have to play full price for instead of getting the black one from PBK for $50 cheaper. So yes, it's important.

I dunno about red cranks though, might be a bit much. I wouldn't mind a red chain, or red brake pad holders, or water bottle holders, etc. My cranks also get rubbed and scratched a decent bit, so aluminum looks better.

grolby

I don't think that the monochromatic look is very aesthetically pleasing. Yeah, I'll try and pick parts that go well with the overall color scheme and general appearance of the bike, but if the dominant color of my bicycle is red, I don't want to put more red parts on it. I want to offset the red with white, black, perhaps other colors if they're on the frame somewhere. But my current frame is red with white and black accents, so my parts are pretty much either white, black or silver (because black spokes are just a bad idea).

Basil Moss

I bought anodised black rims for £10 more, so yes. But then I learned that they could be a tad weaker than plain silver rims, so maybe in future I won't.

waterrockets 

No.

CastIron

Exactly.

In any case my spandex clad ass makes the whole idea pretty f'n hopeless.

bbattle

Podium Girls!

Ames

I am a 63 year old man in spandex and tight cycling jersey with funny shoes and helmet with mod sun glasses and gloves. Something has to look purty as I sure do not.