14 August, 2006

Colors


These are the colors for our new frames. The colors are not accurate on a computer moniter, but it gives you some idea:


And these are the colors of our handlebar covers, chainstay protectors, and toe clip leathers. From left to right is the new macchiato, the new espresso, black, honey, and white. The espresso really doesn't show well on a monitor; it's a very rich dark brown. If I were the sort of chap who drove a Bentley, instead of a beat-up Mini Copper, that would be the color of my leather interior. But for a Maserati, it would be macchiatto. Click to enlarge.

Oh yes; one more thing. We will offer 650b wheels on the rando frame for $50 extra, unless you take a frame smaller than 52cm. In that case they are standard.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is the expresso a reasonable match fo rthe Brooks antique brown?

Velo Orange said...

Neil, It is a fairly good match.

Dad said...

The color for randonneuse bikes that I think is just insanely cool is basically "Healey Blue" - the color used on so many of the Big Healeys over the years -- i.e., that ice/silver blue color they have more recently tried to replicate on some of the BMW convertibles. Peter Weigle's formidable machines are roughly this color. My old beater frame that I made into a halfway decent rando bike after I rescued it from the trash was about this color and I bonded with it instantly. Many of the Herses were in fact finished in a hue very close to this -- the sloppily hand-lettered 'Rene HERSE' logos in gold look shockingly great over this color. I think the medium blue color (at least on my monitor here) looks like that wierd blue that some of the Rivendell bikes are - I'm no color expert but it just looks a little thick and heavy to me.

One thing I think is so important is to keep the paint jobs simple. Those colorized panels and such that some of the retro builders employ look too Victorian to me. I really, really like the plain look of, e.g., a Jitensha bike or of course a Toei: plain but ultra carefully prepared, and incredibly dignified. It looks totally normal, not precious, and yet rewards a much closer examination too.