We're about to order a new production run of Polyvalent frames and are thinking of changing the color. The two top choices are dark green or dark brown (top or bottom left on the chart). We're leaning toward brown. But I thought I'd open it up to suggestions. What's the best color for a city bike? The only color we've ruled out is blue, since we already have two other blue frames.
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110 comments:
Green
Battleship gray.
Is it possible to get these steel frames Aluminum plated ?
I'd like to balance out all the chrome plated aluminum parts that seem to be flooding the market.
Taxi-cab yellow is a lovely color for the city.
The cream color would be classy with the stainless steel fenders. The dayglo yellow doesn't quite go with the V-O vibe tho.
Chrome!
Green. Brown bikes are dead ugly, IMHO.
Keep the flat black. It's perfect.
Green
Whatever color you choose - go with a glossy finish on it. You like shiny on everything else - why not on the frame, too. :)
Should be a bright color to be more easily seen by traffic
A brighter / happier color could be a good choice. I'm personally not that picky, but I know a few people who wouldn't go for a brown frame.
Clear Coat
Creme de la creme.
Definitely green -- English Racing Green would be extremely cool.
Chinese red!
DS
FS 720 Orange would be nice. But if it's down to brown vs. green, definitely go with the green. I am trying to sell a brown Mercian right now and I think the color is holding it back.
I like that creamy color at the top left or that rusty color two up from the brown. Glossy gloss gloss.
I like white or light cream...but perhaps you should save that color for the peugeot PX10 frame that you promised a while ago! :-)
http://pinionsandpedals.com/989fq7.jpg
burnt orange or clear coat
yellow or orange!
7317 or 740 are awesome orange colors.
I vote for either of the greens (YS 7313 or YS 736) or the dark maroons (YS 737 or YS 7318). I agree with others that a glossy paint is best. Either of these colours looks pretty awesome with shiny bits and pieces, like those you're stocking.
Any chance you have plans in the work for other lugged frames, perhaps a loaded-touring model? It's very hard to find beautiful lugged frames for touring that can take your rando or constructeur racks.
Anything but brown! Isn't it bad enough that Surly has inflicted the world with hideous brown Cross Checks?
If the choice is limited, make it green, but I think a bright color would be better.
Mmmmm, Brown!
Like riding on chocolate!
Mmmmmmm, chocolate!
What were we talking about?
Can you do a run without cantilever bosses this time?
Oh pleeze!
Cream.
I love the racing green. Would you also consider offering color-matched fenders?
I like the dark green or cream. The cream would offer classic looks, compliment polished components/fenders well and be more visible to others.
I like the 7317 Orange. It would be incredibly fitting for a Velo Orange bike and it would contrast nicely with traditional green canvas bags.
Also, it would be nice to see the downtube decal in some permutation of black with white fill, if it was on cream. Speaking from personal perspective, the black polyvalent is the classiest looking of VO frames. British racing green would be appropriate for the rando frame, and the mixte would benefit from something a little more subtle than bright blue/orange decals. This has always been the one thing that's perplexed me: VO parts are so elegant, but the frames don't quite seem up to the regular VO spec for elegance.
I vote for a nice shade of green. The color on the Pass Hunter was very nice. Most brown bicycles look terrible (Surly Cross Check in Beef Gravy Brown for example). I'm also in favor of a glossy finish over matte.
Yes, gosh, please please please bring out a self-supported/fully loaded touring frame with French geometry.
You're our only hope, Obi-Wan!!!
also: GREEN, a la B.R.G. Next choice: cream. dead last: brown [blech]. if you go brown, they won't sell as well. I know some Surly guys and they say it's hurt sales; those bikes linger...
Burgundy -- right and middle (737). Would look great with brown/honey leather bits, plus the name it fits with the French flair.
I vote for the creme colour. It just seems so classy.
cream! would significantly increase the odds of my buying the frame someday.
I am with the Cream crowd! Otherwise green.
as someone trying to sell a brown cross check, I wish you all would stop slamming them!
BTW, I get a ton of compliments from people who love the color of the bike....
That said, I agree with the poster who said:
city bike - black or beige
rando - BRG
mixte - guess I don't care about this one
passhunter - wish you made one so I could suggest a color. (burnt orange)
Dan
With the last surly cross check brown I'd stay away from that, I love the dark green but I also like the maroons and burgundies.
When I painted my previous city bike I matched the color of the crud inside the fender mid-february; a greenish light/medium gray. Surprisingly fetching, actually, and the bike never looked dirty.
orange 7317 or 740 or cream.
Maybe we can vote using RAL color space:
http://allral.com/color_tables.php
Given the choice of green or brown, I'd choose green.
Echoing the opinion of another, I like the idea of a high gloss British racing green (PMS 5535) for the Polyvalent.
Definitely not brown. Grey or green would be nice. What also would be amazing would be a low trail conversion fork for those of us who want to try low trail, but don't want to buy a whole new bike to do it.
I see a lot of brown bikes that I like, but I think all the ones I like really benefit from some lugwork trim or panel-style decals; I think on a smooth-welded, simple decaled bike like the PV or the aforementioned Surlys (Surlies?) the brown doesn't quite work. Although, seeing as how I'd imagine quite a few PVs will have some metal fenders kicking in some contrast, and possibly porteur racks as well, perhaps the brown would work well. I think you need to photoshop up some different colors as a complete build (or two) to get an idea of what might look good.
Whatever happened to the gray that you were originally planning, before the mix up with the matte black? I thought that was going to be the next run.
Already owning a Polyvalent, I would appreciate if you pick a color that looks a lot worse than the matte black, so I feel like I got one of the "good ones"
Also, as long as we are discussing this... is there plan for larger sizes?
It looked a lot like this. By the way, what's your position on chromed forks? [actual question, not chrome joke]
I'd also like to suggest a dark teal/turquoise, or is that too Kona for you?
Bring in color, and you get 44 comments in a day!
In line with your namesake, orange.
Maroon or cream would compliment your blue frames in catalog spreads, websites, etc.
Thank goodness you're going to do a run other than black! That's been a show-stopper for me on this frame. Cream is so classy and would look so smart with your other highly polished silver components and a brown leather seat/grip combo. Cream even looks great with the black seat/grip combo as well. Orange is my second choice, then brown, then green.
grey or green! But no do-do brown!
1. Gloss not matte
2. Battleship gray
3. If not gray, gloss black
4. If not black, clearcoat.
I find both the green & brown to be dreary.
i like the original black
like the green. and I third the request for a touring frame with french geo. step up, VO!
Green please.
Cream or Green.
flat white or flat black, it compltes the vintage look of your frames and parts.
GreenGreenGreenGreenGreenGreen
I vote for green. Color matched fenders would be nice!
Mrs Dibbly would like a nice purple with some metalflake.
We both reject brown.
Dark green!
some of the browns are nice. the color called "root beer" is so popular, it's rapidly becoming an iconic bike color like orange. I like it, but especially like the coppers and metallic types of brown. British racing green, on the other hand, is an all time favorite, and another iconic bike color.
Reds and blues are great, but anything can be red or blue. Only a classic bike can be orange, green, or brown.
mw
I'm down with the brown!
Brown, and please make it shiny, not flat. How much would it cost to have stock box lining? It would differentiate the frame from everything else out there.
Brown please!
I've been tempted my the Polyvalent, but brown would seal the deal.
Burnt orange would be my second choice.
Ryan
that ys737 is pretty hot and would look great with some silver components
First choice: BRG
Second choice: cream
RED! RED ONES GO FASTER!!
Or, light grey.
Yellow 734 is my favorite
for cheeriness and visibility.
I like Orange 7317, too.
The BRG is elegant but a mite dark.
Brown? Say it ain't so!
.
Yellow with all lettering orange with a black pinstripe to make it stand out.
I like the burgundy best. The British Racing Green is also nice.
Yellow
Green, and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE could you make a smaller frame size. I am sick of looking at sloping top tubes and Surlys for frame options.
stay away from the surley colors as they already use them. theres a lot of surleys out there we are already looking at.
thx superfreak
Jim Said. . .
Orange! What else.
cream is good and unique.
green is good, but have you checked out that new Soma rush khaki green? reminiscent of the old surly crosscheck pea greens. you can tell i like bright greens...
The real acid test: does the color look good next to a nicely broken-in, honey-colored leather saddle...
Cream! or brown would be my second choice.
Cream or the 736 Green. Forgive my frankness, Chris, but the color selection is horrible. They are tractor and implement colors, which are great for tractors and implements, but horrible for classy bicycle frames.
You should be looking at "tones" and "tints". These are colors that are mixed with either whites or greys. In everyday terms, such colors include: cream, aqua, slate, mint, goldenrod, etc.
Now, be clear, I'm not talking about "pastel" in the sense of bland colors with no personality.
A good move would actually be to develop a "Velo-Orange Orange". Think push-pop. A soft orange with yet enough energy.
This pushes me to a further thought. The Velo-Orange orange" would be a nice color to put inside the engravings on your engraved products. Of course this is extra labor that's probably cost prohibitive, but the thought is nice.
Good Luck!
p.s. I would avoid metalics, but pearlescents could be quite nice.
Not Brown. Please?
Orange!
Brown is nice two. There are so many green bikes in the world already....
A cream headtube makes any color look classy.
Alternative: You send us a raw frame, no coating, and a set of decals. We go to the powder coating shop. For a mere 120 bucks, we get the custom color we want.
I like the brighter 70's colors, rebuilt my Fuji Gran Tourer SE with bright yellow. And my Schwinn Voyager 11.8 with bright red.
Would a raw frame work?
Gee, Chris, I'm thinking of getting my hair colored. Can I post my photo and swatches here and get some opinions?
Annette
Cremes and greens are nice. Of all your current frames, I think the Mixte blue is in most need of a change :)
Orange. Now that we've resolved that can we move on to the issue of the VO camper bike? Is it still being developed? Is there an ETA? It would be nice to have one before next summer.
not brown. maroon would be good. dark green is passe. i agree with taxi yellow too, bright, but fun.
Orange. I have not bought a PV because of the color.
Orange! or green.... Orange bags would actually be quite cool as well.
matte black
Another for Yellow
Keep a few frames the matte black for the people who like dark frames, but introduce a new, bright color for the next round of Polyvalents: make them different!
My ideal bike has a timeless quality, as if it were something out of the Wright Brothers' shop. So anything true to the metal itself would be wonderful, particularly clearcoat, although I understand not everyone shares the rough-hewn aesthetic. Plating maybe. I do love the flat black and flat in general to contrast with the shiny components. Also, with due respect to your brand, I would hope to be able to lift the decals, with the understanding that I would praise Velo Orange at every opportunity.
Clear coat does not work. Every single clear coated frame I've seen has started to rust under the clear coat. The only way to do it would be with multiple coats of marine epoxy, then a UV protective clear coat, which would add a few hundred dollars to the price.
The dark green is the least hideous of those colors.
velo-orange
Orange.
Because I want a polyvalent and because I want an orange bike with shiny fenders and 650b wheels.
Go with a dark maroon. Gloss.
Dark colors look good with the metal fenders. Someone else mentioned earlier that a black or honey brooks saddle should go well with this color. A good test.
Cheers
Any color would be an improvement I think. I say keep the matte finish and go with the maroon 737 or 7318
What about the mixte frame? Any possibility of getting it cream or white? I really love it but I already have a blue bike.
Between the 2 choices you mentioned, I like the Green the best.
However, that cream color did catch my eye really fast. I also agree that a dark red would look nice.
Definitely orange! That's the color for Velo Orange.
Greetings,
The best color in my humble, yet accurate estimation, is the creme, #YS73717.
You'll sell more frames than you'll know what to do with and it's a beautiful color for a bicycle.
Best regards,
Dark Green, Burgundy or Black, pref. gloss.
Deep red or orange
1st: Orange enamel
2md: White
3rd: Brown
No metallics or metal flakes.
I better put in my vote for Brown, although it seems it may have already lost.
Dark Green
Dark green sparkle
What better color for a city bike than gun-metal gray? It would look great with the orange graphics and all that chrome and leather. Yum!
Second choice would be shiny black.
Definitely BRG
I agree with nearly everyone that Brown is bad and brit race green is best. Cream and white look fine when new on a showroom floor but get dirty and ugly quickly. Grey is also acceptable
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