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[Closed] How much bling is tasteful?
So I've just ordered a "gloss grey" frame and have decided to bling it up with orange accents whilst keeping everything else black. Obvious first step is an orange headset. Pedals are almost definitely next (if I can find some orange Nanos). But how far is tasteful? Stem? Grips?
I guess this is a roundabout way of saying SHOW ME YOUR GUNMETAL AND ORANGE BIKES!
Here's mine
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got gold hubs on the singlespeed I think it's real tasteful, goes with the gold wrap on the bentley 😉
Titanium Prince Albert 8)
Headset, seat clamp, pedals. Plus maybe hubs or rotors. Gives a few highlights without being too heavy. They must be a good colour match too.
Pedals are almost definitely next
never pedals! it always looks crap/trying too hard, and then looks even crapper once they're scraped to buggery anyway
hubs, headset, seat clamp, maybe BB cups and a few little bits like bolts but go to far and it just looks like a what a 14year old reading MBUK would build 😉
They must be a good colour match too
also, this x10000, nothing worse that 8 different shades of the same colour anodising, or worse still, mixing anodised with painted :vomit:
I was going to go for grips too but that Stanton looks just right with monochrome grips...
If you fancy Orange pedals Carboncycles do Nano style pedals in orange £33
Not sure I agree about pedals - my rocket is entirely black apart from red grips and pedals. Sure the pedals are mostly red now...
Definitely agree that matching is important: the purple skewers on my sons bike don't match the purple used for everything else and it's really bugging me.
hubs, headset, seat clamp, tyre caps. that's it. orange to offset the sky blue.
Not sure I agree about pedals - my rocket is entirely black apart from red grips and pedals. Sure the pedals are mostly red now...
that's different, if they are the [b]only[/b] coloured bits
Less is more.
Headset, seatclamp, BB and hubs only.
Anything more will turn your bike into Ratners.
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7239/7187780378_b18e6f7c59_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7239/7187780378_b18e6f7c59_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/bXafFU ]20120513_121836[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/stu-b/ ]multispeedstu[/url], on Flickr
I initially tried to avoid any colour-combos and went with silver Hope parts, but then the frame I wanted in black sold out and only blue was left, which happened to match my grips. The fact my fork stanchions matched the shock was something I had no control over, but the Kash Money bars were intentional, and sort of work....though I can't say if brown and blue is tasteful 😕
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I added some to the frame and forks myself, with small touches elsewhere.
Grips, headset spacer, valve caps, and some on the saddle in this pic, and pedal end caps.
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Gold rims are where it's at.
It'll always look shit if they're *almost* the same colour..
Less is more imho.
Orange, gold and red seem to be difficult to colour match.
I had a red anodised Pace RC200 frame that I built up with a smattering of gold and red components, but everything was a slightly different shade 👿
That was a while ago, and some of those red bits along with some other red components have been recycled onto my newish DMR Trailstar frame. Not too blingy but I think it works with the retro paint job.
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2938/33531993983_e51f38bf5d_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2938/33531993983_e51f38bf5d_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/T67ezi ]New DMR first ride[/url]
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Trying to decide myself, stealth or a splash of red.
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Headset, seat clamp, cassette lock ring and the 2 bottle boss screws are red
Apart from their black bits, I reckon most hope coloured finishing kit is gopping.
Gun metal and Orange you say??..
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Note sure it's tasteful but I love it.
I think its fair so that I'm definitely in the less-is-more camp, more can be nice but less is tasteful with ease.
Thanks everyone! (removes orange bars and grips from CRC basket)
Discjockey tres AG2R.
Trouble is, people never know when to stop. This ultimately leads to bike which looks utterly cack.
Hubs, headset and grips on my Tarn (I know the upper headset is black, I've since picked up a matching Hope top, no idea why the previous owner only changed one half!)
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3776/33576605101_853b5c310d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3776/33576605101_853b5c310d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/Ta3SUv ]Tarn at Pines[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/le_grande_momo/ ]Matt Cotterill[/url], on Flickr
Hubs, grips, pedals, bar graphics and cable outers - I was accused of going to far on this one!
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2931/33481309402_d05ba0e85f_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2931/33481309402_d05ba0e85f_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/T1CsPd ]650B Spitfire[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/le_grande_momo/ ]Matt Cotterill[/url], on Flickr
Yep u didn't need to post that. There were already a few on this thread 🙂
As someone who has overdone it in the past I would say less is definitely more.
I'm a big fan of matching the bars and stem, but hubs and rotors bothers me for some reason.
My high point was cranks/bashguard/pedals/bars, thus:
That gave way to bar/stem/seatclamp/range-expander, thus:
But I've now abandoned bling altogether in favour of colour...
8)
If you have to ask, it's too much 😉
I don't think you can have too many shiny items - but for me there is cutoff in terms of maximum surface area of anodizing of any one item.
These Items are ok.....
brakes or bore caps
rotors
hubs
Bottom bracket
headset /headset spacers /Top Cap (but not all 3!)
Chainring
Seat Clamp
Jockey wheels
bolts (but not all of them)
valves
nobs and levers
Lock on grips
QR skewers
These are definitely not OK....
cranks
bars
seatpost
Pedals
rims
chain
cassette (Eagle looks nasty!)
frame (unless its just the frame and nothing else)
Grey Area....
stems
Historically I have said no to anodized stems but now that we are down to 35mm in length I'm not so sure? Id like input on this matter actually as I am currently on the fence over a black or red Hope stem...
Honestly the decisions I have to make, I don't know how I cope sometimes!!
Big Dummy's Chromag makes me want to eat Fox's Party Rings.
on my all black 2016 Arkose I've so far swapped the stem cap, QRs, seat-clamp and jockey wheels for red anno.
I might get some wheels built up with red hubs, and maybe do the headset when the time comes, but would definitely leave it at that - less is more.
Bit of orange is alright me thinks...
[img][url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2824/33253472251_d24b4b94f6.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2824/33253472251_d24b4b94f6.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/SEuJLt ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/49281217@N02/ ]Scud75[/url], on Flickr[/img]
Historically I have said no to anodized stems but now that we are down to 35mm in length I'm not so sure? Id like input on this matter actually as I am currently on the fence over a black or red Hope stem...
I'm in favour, but I'd back off having a matched headset. My brown Chromag above with the red stem had a black faceplate. Chromag were just doing them like that at the time, which seemed to be a rather good compromise to me. I'm not sure I could be bothered to buy two stems to achieve the effect (and Thomson did coloured faceplates on black stems at one point, which looked naff).
Agreed - the Thomson face-plates were a daft idea! My Headset is an integrated one so its hidden and I'm not running any spacers...so maybe the tiny stem moves into the circle of trust??
Personally (and after all; it's a personal decision) I think there are 3 camps that one can go for
1. Colour (see BD's chromag)
2. Stealth/monochrome (all black, or single colour frame, everything else black)
3. Few bits of bling on an otherwise mono colour frame, say headset and hubs, or brakes and BB shell.
I think the bike with matching Hope "parts-bin rummage" is the worst look.
It's also worth remembering to factor in colour fade associated with some parts. I can't fit anything new in hope purple as it will now accentuate just how much the other parts have faded! Fit them all at the same time and they'll mature together!
I must have one of the least tasteful bikes out there - nothing matches and all the components are mismatched bling - complete with alternated colour ti rotor bolts !
Not fond of colour matching in any shape or form.
It seems to be a thing with new bikes and I actively de-colour matched my Scott by replacing all the coloured bits with BLACK wohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Nothing tasteful about my Instinct, but it has 'orange' highlights. Luckily they didn't go for coloured grips...
Photos don't actually show how hi-viz the orange is (luckily)
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Would've prefered this colour scheme..
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I'm in the process of having my Stumpjumper frame repainted by Argos Cycles, in flamboyant candy apple green.
The problem is that I have blue Hope hubs, clamp and bashring, and silver Hope brakes. The correct combination of course is green with anodised black.
All in or all out. 🙂
Seeing as (I think) I bought this frame from you I'll take the opportunity to use it to illustrate where colour oh so nearly matches and actually doesn't quite. It would look better with a plain black saddle.
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/621/31625045871_87f7479697_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/621/31625045871_87f7479697_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/QbACkz ]Simple[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/68424083@N07/ ][/url], on Flickr
rocketman - Member
Not fond of colour matching in any shape or form.It seems to be a thing with new bikes and I actively de-colour matched my Scott by replacing all the coloured bits with BLACK wohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Sooo, colour matched in black then... 😉
Once you go black...
You'll realise other colour anodising looks poo.
I like some colours for anodised parts in isolation but never felt they fitted on the bikes i have had (eg hope parts). My current bike is sort of mint frame with all black parts, its easy 🙂 .
I do like a bit of color with Ti, or black. also have bikes blacker than soul of Beelzebub himself so not everything is as gaudy as drag queens baubles
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Do what you like - it's for you not them.
My wife's got a Cotic Soul in the Eggshell blue (or whatever it's called) and the components (hubs, BB, seat clamp, headset and pedals) are Hope in their Gunmetal colour which is a different tone of blue. You only notice it when you look closely, it's not a full on, in your face, contrast.
adsh: the Simple! Was reminiscing about that last night with a fellow Cotic owner. 🙂
So far I've gone for gunmetal frame, orange headset and seatclamp. Dithering between black or gunmetal bars (might order both and see). Stepping away from an orange stem. Now trying to find a UK source for the black-with-orange-lockrings grips that ODI and Lizard Skins can do if you order them from the US.
The following should be taken with a large pinch of salt. (I can hardly talk of "too much bling", when my bikes are goping or "cheap nasty chav dripping in Elizabeth Duke jewellery")
1: All anodised parts should be the same colour. No multi-shades from different manufacturers.
2: Headset, seat clamp and BB all match, colour and make.
3: QR and hubs to match, plus floating rotors if used.
4: Stem and seatpost, same colour and make. (This has been put on the fence because of dropper posts)
5: Bars the same colour as forks. Lowers or stansions, pick one.
6: All contact points to be athe same colour. Seat, grips and pedals.
7: Brake hoses can match the graphics on the tubes they route on. Cables look crap in any other colour than black though.
Have I been transported back to the 90's somehow?
For me, simple and functional is better than covering the bike with colourful anodised parts......
Two things have struck me in this thread:
- 'Too much' bling really is a case of personal taste.
- I really don't like coloured grips.
Have I been transported back to the 90's somehow?
They were good times. 8)
This thread has been epic. More of this kind of thing.
I think bigblackshed's rules are very sensible
My bike appears to break most of them, but still...
😆
I like a bit of subtle matching, not a fan of matching grips, pedals and seat, they just seem to stand out too much.
My frame came with the blue highlights:
My pro 2 hubs are red and the fork had red decals, so I used some matte vinyl decal and carefully cut out strips to cover up the blue:
The invisiframe kit covers all of the pieces (there's the downtube strip too) and after 2 years it's all still there with no discolouration 🙂
Steve, I think that's the only other bike I've seen with Marz 350CR tango-stantions on here!
Nice job with the decals. 🙂
A bit of colour works I think, but you can end up a bit 90's if not careful.
I liked my old grey Slackline with orange Z1 Anniversary forks, orange grips, pedals and a chainring. Everything else was black.
Agree that the shades need to match.
Anything that may be referred to as 'bling' is too much.
Nothing worse than a gaudy overblinged bike. A bit like a cheap Cockney tart at Ascot.
The answer is none, none bling >>>>>>> They all look pony.
On my green soul I had a fabric scoop saddle with a green base that matched very well, other than that, all black, looked good.
Hope colours are gopping IMO, most of the stuff too fussy and sculpted in the machining too. Less is more.
I had some formula dark satin silver hubs on my old raw scandal, that looked smart.
letmetalktomark has it right.
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Even a tastefully coordinated bike always seems spoilt when I see Kashima coated fork stanchions.
Just a pet dislike of mine.:-)
Get loads of bling on the bike, then go out and get a thin layer of mud on it.
Never criticise a bike that's being used properly.
My riding mates think I've ruined my Fatty and it is now full ginger 😀 but, I love it, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say.
My last bike was a pretty much full on stealth Rose Granite Chief so maybe this is a reaction to that.
I won't add any more ginger but I am happy enough - which is all that matters, really. Bling it up, mother****ers!
Summer wheels...
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Winter wheels...
I prime example of mismatching colours looks suspect. Sorry
No apology required, I love it, it pleases me, that's all really. I've seen loads of bikes which to me look rubbish, which a mate will love.
Opinions, innit. 🙂























