I don't mind black as long as its not flat, which always looks like it is in a perpetual state of dirtyness. Not to deviate from the original topic, but when did black become the standard default color for wheelsets?

I was thinking of this thread when I took this pic yesterday.

Yep, vintage is color!

All the dirt and grease thrown off the chain/cassette would turn the wheelset (especially the rear wheel) black over time.

Go shine up (degrease) your chain and cassette so it's back to being silver colored then go take a few rides and note how long it takes before it's black again. Same thing would happen to your rear wheel.

Also the same reason most bike shorts are also black.

Depending on riding conditions and duration. To extend life of chains and seals de grease and apply fresh wax. Wax is a bit messy but it holds on better. Or I'll apply a drop of 3in1 oil per link. The wheels and frame are easier to keep clean also.

As others have mentioned, Trek Project One provides lots of options. I'm fortunate enough to have done a couple road and MTB's in the P1. They're fantastic! Honestly, depending on the paint job chosen, it's not 'that' much more than the retail options. Plus you can spec many of the parts to get the fit right. I went to my fitter, he's fit me on multiple bikes, he punched in the specs and I was able to choose the right stem length, bar width, seat post, etc, for my desired fit. The shop has the now, so upon arival, I will start out with the desired fit.

I just ordered a new Trek Madone Disc SLR with the new ICON Refliptive paint finish. It will be 35-45 days to get a sweet, non-black bike that I won't liekly see too many of in my area.

All of that to say, the project One program is sweet in the sense of custom color options as well as fitting.

Since this has turned into a glorified "bike show off thread" (not that there's anything wrong with that ), and speaking of Trek Project one, here's some color, no?

You can just as well send any frame to a pro painter and get whatever color youn want. or rattlecans. same rules apply to both of them if you want a good job. I used to work at a painting place for 10 years. I know how its done. You will never ever get as good a paintwork as you will in real shop with rattlecans though. rattlecans dont have any hardeners in them. but real paint do. so its like 100X more durable.

Rattle cans have came a long way, first mentioning the off the shelf generic paint you get at the local hardware block. The spray nozzles have vastly improved, on cans from respected paint companies. That said with good preparation a good paint job can be achieved with them, just not on a bike.


To take it up a level or two check in with automotive supply houses, the jobbers that supply shops and to the public. Find one that custom fills rattle cans with automotive paints and enamels. And the primers that best suit the paint you pick out.


They use professional paints and have a rainbow of colours to choose from. They load it into decent quality rattle cans with nozzles that spray extra fine consistent jet of paint. Its nice to use. As I was saying they fill the cans custom order, and pre mix all the measured out reducers and hardeners, ready to go for you. They are meant to be used up, for best results I wouldn't recommend shelving them and going back to your paint job in anout 3 months. Its the hardener is meant to set the paint in a limited window of time. Depending on atmosphere, more or less.


A pretty good paint job can be achieved with those, and nice clean prep work ready to go. I'm a hobbyist but have a fair amount of laying paint experience. I also seem to get stuck with indoor wall painting. But it is kind of relaxing if you find the right groove lol.


If your similar and like to get down and dirty its a worthwhile investment to get a compressor set up and a good set of spray bombs. Those can get pricey but can be the difference of a 2k paint job and a 10k. As the saying goes you pay for what you get. A couple hundred bucks will get you some pretty good spray bottles. And were not painting a number making 70 Cuda.


Summer is the worst time to be painting with the heavy air = orange peel city. Even in a controlled downdraft booth it can be problematic if its like it was today outside.

Black is considered the absence of color.
White is considered all colors.

My little bit older Colnago Carbon Fiber frame.



Looking at Colnago's website, many of the new Colnago bikes look quite plain vs the old ones.

It depends on your gender and your preference .My bike is black ,but I like white mostly ,so I advice you can choose green ,which will good for your eyesight .

I'm not sure how gender related it is. I'm a heterosexual male, my frame and forks are PINK lol. But if there were ever a masculine shade of pink this might be as close as it gets. See avatar.

Back to matte black. One other nice thing about it besides looks, and polished aluminum contrasts beautifully. Its usually more forgiving to work with. I just finished painting a set of bars. A certain mount of "orange peel" is meant be present in some paints, not all. I don't have the set up for anodize matte finishes at home unfortunately.

Pic wont load, will give it a try asap.