how come bikes are only ever one colour ?
northernneil
Posts: 1,549
how come manufacturers only offer their bikes in the colour they want you to have ? If you spend a lot of money on something it seems madness that you cant have it at least a couple of colour choices.
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Cheaper bikes are built to a price which means reducing the number of options to keep costs down.0
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Having more than one colour choice is about the worse thing a manufacturer could do (from a sales/marketing perspective).
By having a 'range' of colours:
It doubles/triples the amount of bikes a stockist needs to keep in stock. (Guaranteed to be out of stock of the colour/size the customer wants).
It creates an 'indecisive moment' at the point of sale. "shall I go for the red or the blue?" "my girlfriend likes this colour, but I think it's pants" etc.
It 'dissipates' the brand identity. Some bikes are easily identifiable by their colours/graphics.
It suggests that the manufacturer has run out of ideas and so is therefore resorting to producing a mediocre product in a range of colours.
...and everyone knows white bikes are faster.
Cycling weakly0 -
but it seems to be across the board - cheap bikes or high end bikes, I dont know any which offer you a choice, even if the frame was one colour then the decal stickers could be printed in a variety would offer consumers better choice0
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northernneil wrote:but it seems to be across the board - cheap bikes or high end bikes, I dont know any which offer you a choice, even if the frame was one colour then the decal stickers could be printed in a variety would offer consumers better choice
Erm...
Trek Madone Project One?
Ridley?
Colnago? (Who can do any colourscheme from their entire back cackalog.)
Just off the top of my head...0 -
ok ok fair doos ... when I mean expensive I am taking about £1K or so
for a £5K bike you should be able to have it any colour and sleep with the salesmans wife0 -
Cannondale do different colors too?0
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skyd0g wrote:...and everyone knows white bikes are faster.
Um, hate to disapoint you mate but it's widely acknowledged that red bikes are fastest.winter beast: http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff016.jpg
Summer beast; http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff015.jpg0 -
.every time you change the colour with spraying equipment ererything has to be cleaned down.a time consuming job. if one colour isnt popular the shops will have a load of unwanted bikes. was you looking for one to match the purple tint in your hair.0
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the pink highlights in my hair0
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Orange have an any colour option.
The other problem with offering different colours is how do you identify you now have last years model.................0 -
I know Bianchi used to do colour options but only a fool would buy anything other than Celeste as a colour choice.
Red bikes are fastest though.0 -
White bikes are fastest. Something to do with the aerodynamics of white paint. Red (or coloured) paint causes more drag. 8)0
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I just cover both the bike and myself in vaseline to reduce drag. The leaves that stick to me are somewhat inconvenient though and might negate the performance benefits.0
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I remember riding Alpe d'Huez a few years back when CSC were at their peak - they had a huge fanclub and they'd obviously come mob handed to the alps. Big reception for them at a hotel at the top - there were literally 100s of identical cervelos being ridden up the hill, with peope in their fan club tops.
I reckon some riders are still riding the wrong bikes 6 years plus on....
Planet X offer different colours on their TT and carbon bikes - they're under a grand.0 -
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GavH wrote:
Oh do keep up Bond!0 -
Yeah Project One has already been mentioned.
Really long lead times and quality isnt good - you'd be better off getting it resprayed over here - quicker and cheaper and better !0 -
By offering 2 colour choices, you double inventory across the supply chain - expensive and greater chance of having a pile of unsold stuff at the end of the year. The vast proportion of 2010 bikes are built from September to March and shipped out into distribution worldwide - the logistics of colour choice would be a nightmare. Yes, there are places where you can have colour choices, but expect to pay a premium and a 12 week wait for the priviledgeMake mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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I think bikes should be only one colour. Bianchi seem to have every colour except Celeste these days. I love the brand identity and the whole anorakness of knowing which groupset goes with which colour.
Call me sad if you like (and i know you will)0 -
I think the 09 Orbea Onix came in 4 different coloursNorfolk, who nicked all the hills?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/243 ... 8d.jpg?v=0
http://img362.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 076tl5.jpg
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3407 ... e001af.jpg0 -
Just paint it whatever colour you want... Custom paint jobs cost from £20 - £150 (you get what you pay for though!)0
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Any colour you want as long as it's black or faux carbon...
And of course there is the issue of the decals and branding, Look at a Specialized and count the number of times you see their logo on your bike, do they pay you for advertising their product?
Looking at modern bikes is enough to put you off buying one.0 -
Look at it from the other end- why should they?
As mentioned there are a lot of problems and very few benefits. The number of people who really make a decision based on color is probably vanishingly small, especially at the higher end, so you're probably not really losing customers by not doing it and you probably won't really gain any if you do.0 -
How would you be able to know?0
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Cressers wrote:How would you be able to know?
You wouldn't really- which is why I said 'probably'. But I find it hard to believe that many people are that concerned, especially if they're buying something at £1k+ (although I'm sure some people are).
Personally I find very few bikes are good/bad looking enough that it would really make the difference between buying it or not.
Brand perception is a different thing of course.0 -
Ohdearohdear, people like you and me who think this are at risk of being exposed as Not Real Cyclistsnorthernneil wrote:ok ok fair doos ... when I mean expensive I am taking about £1K or so0 -
true, most bikes are not bought by womenMrChuck wrote:The number of people who really make a decision based on color is probably vanishingly small0 -
We are some of the few left who's perceptions have yet to be warped by the branded/marketing/head up it's own ar*e monster that cycling has become.0
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bompington wrote:
Ohdearohdear, people like you and me who think this are at risk of being exposed as Not Real Cyclistsnorthernneil wrote:ok ok fair doos ... when I mean expensive I am taking about £1K or so
he he he ...0 -
Cressers wrote:We are some of the few left who's perceptions have yet to be warped by the branded/marketing/head up it's own ar*e monster that cycling has become.
Yeah, cos marketing didn't exist until recently. Checkout the 'blurb' from the 1952 Holdsworth catalogue
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/bikes/holdsworth-romeo-rb.html0
