[Closed] How much does a bike's paintjob factor into your bike buying decision?

It's definitely a factor. Hard to say to what degree.
I'd consider sending off to Fatcreations for a respray if I really wanted the bike despite the colour.
(but probably not at the Boardman price point)

I've been vocal before on my thoughts of the new Boardman logo.

Those Boardmans are a cracking example of how a paint job can make a difference. Previous years the smart schemes have made them look like a higher-end item than they are, the new paint makes them look like a lower-end item than they actually are.

I've never been swayed myself, but would avoid something truely gopping

Colour/paint is probably lowest priority for me but I draw the line at yellow

I like bright coloured bikes. It's definitley a factor in purchasing for me. Usually value for money trumps this though.

Quite important infact when I got my shand it was the biggest hurdle for me to decide on

To an extent it does, I'd rather not own something truly ugly, but I own one of these, which I think was designed by a 14 year old after 4 tins of Monster. But black was an extra £70, and all I do is sit on it...

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There's quite a few of the current Santa Cruz paint jobs that would put me off buying. The Nomad especially, dislike both current colours.

And the Pinnace Arkose - wanted the SS frame, but it was a dull green with flecks last year, and a dull white with flecks for 2016 , neither of them took my fancy.

It's not the deciding factor, i'd live with a colour if the bike was the one I really wanted, but aesthetics do play a part.

The new Boardmen (that is the collective innit?) look really good to me.

The old ones looked cheaper and more generic, I thought.

Eye of the beholder and all that.

Strangely enough I rather like those board an paint jobs. They look a bit like Cube or Ghost designs, which I also like. That black & yellow commencal is fantastic!
The colour / scheme does always play a part in the decision for me. I certainly partly chose my transAm because of the particularly nice green, but largely because I fancied a nice trail hardtail. 🙂

I guess it's a turn-off for me rather than a turn-on, I'd not buy one I hated but it wouldn't influence me towards making a purchase. Well, it might make me take a second look at a bike- it'd be the second look that sells it but maybe I'd have never given it a chance without the first look.

I really like the new Boardman paint jobs.
I wouldn't buy a bike based purely on the paint and graphics but I have discounted them if I didn't like it.
Those cheap Titus Rockstar frames O-O have been punting recently for example. Sure ey are alright and I was sort of tempted to build one up using spares but I saw a few pics on here and to me the combination of a slightly odd blue main frame and white swing arm made it look cheap and nasty to me so I lost interest immediately.

I'd like to say I work out which bike I want and then choose the colour I like most of what's on offer (I also own a dayglo Commencal like munrobiker). When I really think about it, though, I sure there's bikes I've never even considered based pretty much on looks (Cube springs to mind).

There are too many good bikes out there nowadays to own än ugly one.

I think this years look much better tbh.
Our local Halfords have the 2015 CX bike on display and the finish makes a good bike look cheap and fussy.

Smple designs, any frame colour or finish apart from matte.
Just think it looks awful, probably an age thing.

Hated brown bikes until I bought a beautiful metallic bronze Trek roadie,
but that 'Gravy Brown' Cross Check made me want to heave.

A shiny, unfussy blue, green, yellow or pink(?) and I'm happy.
Partial to purple too.

White always looks worthy and reminds me of ambulances, unless it's a pearl finish in which case it's great.

Red's OK on the MTB, but I can rarely live up to it.

Peugeot road bikes had some great colours in the 70's and 80's.

It's slot of money to spend on something you effectively don't like. I have to like everything about the stuff I buy, or be willing to modify.

Id put up with an OK colour for a budget bike, say 2k. But if I'm going to spend a lot Id want the paint job to be more than OK.

I may like the bike enough and end up having the frame resprayed - it doesn't cost that much. If you spend say 5k on a bike a £200 respray is not a massive factor.

Having bought a

A brown Kaffenback
And a green/beige Genesis\

and a few On-ones

I'd say "Not a lot" 😀

I'm genuinely amazed that anyone likes those boardman bikes but there you go we're all different.

In terms of that Commencal I really like it. I can understand it being marmite but at least you can see design intent and an idea that's been followed through. The boardmans look like they've got the design team from Apollo to create the most bland middle of the road graphics possible. There's just something about it that my mind just can't accept (mostly that someone has been paid to do that to a bike).

it's a big issue for me, I don't really like coloured bikes - they need to be predominantly black, grey or white.
to the extent that I'd prefer to buy a lower spec bike (presuming the frame was the same) if it had a more appealing paint job.

Blimey when did spending £2k become 'budget'

I think they make a difference more than you think, after all it's the colour/design that draws you in unless you're a fanboy of the particular brand

I think that the paintjob only plays a small part in the overall brand of a bike.

The other factors, technology and materials used, heritage, is it derived from a pro level frame, are the graphics modern, who do they sponsor all play a much bigger role.

My perception from looking at the Boardman quickly was it looks like a good no nonsense mid range brand, in fact it looks suspiciously like Bowman...

legend - Member

Those Boardmans are a cracking example of how a paint job can make a difference. Previous years the smart schemes have made them look like a higher-end item than they are, the new paint makes them look like a lower-end item than they actually are.

Yep, exactly that.

I wouldn't buy a used bike if it's been repainted or coated at any time.

On a new bike, yes it'd be enough to put me off if it was hideous.

I prefer a stealth bike but as it was a bargain (for what it is, wasn't exactly cheap) I now own a cyan/magenta bike.. It's great and I'm coming round to it now. Frame and component quality over colour.

I also have a dayglo Commencal, I didn't think about it too much, but the Mrs really liked it and said it looks like a safe bike, and I have made a sensible choice for a change!!
Don't know what to think about that!

I like Black, Blue, Grey, Green (but not bright), Red (but not Maroon) and Silver Bikes.

Lots of current colour schemes are gopping/been designed by blind people.

I like those.

But then I also like Ti so frame colour isn't an important factor for me

It makes no difference to me whatsoever. All bikes look the same when you are sitting on it and all you see are the bars and the front tyre.

The new Boardmans do look better in the flesh though I think.

Of course it plays a part, no question. And for what it's worth I think those Boardman's don't look good at all.

Not really, but then I don't really have much taste. I bought a brown Supreme 6, ffs 😆

Absolutely critical. If it's not green I won't have it.

I once ill-advisedly rode a pink bike, ended up on a spinal board for six hours, [i]and[/i] the stitches got infected. 😐

In my opinion, if you're riding anything other than a brown bike, the chances are that you'll probably enjoy wearing women's clothes but just haven't realised it yet 😉

A lot..my next bike is going to be silver. I dont which bike it will be yet but it will definitely be silver probably with black decals.

Judging by the last two:

You mean there are other criteria by which you would make your decision?

Wow. Who knew.

TBH I can't really fathom what's supposed to be so offensive about those Boardman, they just look like, well, bikes...

And Just what are the current set of aesthetic criteria anyway, it's so hard to keep track, is dayglo yellow or orange still in fashion? Or was that last year?
Do MBR publish an annual guide or anything?

I don't want to be mocked by the trail bitches for being [i]so 2015 Dahling![/i] do I now...

I'd never buy a bike with white forks, unless it was a white bike. I'd probably never buy a white bike, unless it looked good. Hope that's clear.

My Canyon doesn't have a paint job, it's annodized, and I got it at the same time as a replacement bike under warantee from Trek. One has lots of paint chips all over, and the other has lots of light scratches and is easily rubbed away (two rides worth of cable rub will show easily). You can guess which is which.

A bike's paint job is pretty much everything in my purchasing decision. I could not own a bike I didn't like the look of - especially the colour. And I really like colours!

Around 2007-2009 for some reason everything mtb fashion had to be all black. It was all so dull. Then came a strange white phase... And now - thanks to ENDURO!!! - we have lots of silly rediculous colours back again.

FWIW I really like the new Boardmans - the original 'cock and balls' logo was a bit of an embarrassing mess really and the bikes generally looked so generically 'Halfords' and dull. Now - thanks to ENDURO!!! - even CB bikes have gone all colourful. In fact I would almost consider buying one now on the basis of the new paint scheme. Almost..

Incidentally - THE colour for 2014-15 was the 'Yeti' turquoise - it started appearing everywhere. I've no idea what the colourway for 2016 will be yet.. Perhaps Boardman green..?

I bought (and overpaid for 😳 ) this 88 GT Karakoram solely for the paint!

[img] [/img]

(the pic is as purchased; the yellow tires, bottle cage, crappy grips, reflectors, and reflective tape are gone now!)

Yep, paint is crucial. Loads of things are perfectly adequate, so I'll always have the one I like the looks of.

The first bike I bought totally on looks was a Kona A'ha:

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Current bike is a Chromag, so I got to choose the colour.

[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5587/14874012626_1d37ee3c57_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5587/14874012626_1d37ee3c57_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/oEncKy ]Chromag Samurai65[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-dummy-raynes-park/ ]Jon Rollason[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Current bike is a Chromag, so I got to choose the colour.

No no no

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Yes yes yes

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It's an issue for me. I've tried to ignore it in the past but every time I went in the shed to get the bike, irrespective of how well it rode, my first thought was 'that is an ugly bike'.

Paint job/"look" is up there next to geometry/construction for me. Right at the top.

If i'm spending £1k+ you better believe it's gonna look good too.

oooh - that's my bike Leku!
(doesn't look quite as shiny as that now).

I don't really know what goes on at on-one. All they have to do is make some simple designs that don't turn anyone off imo.

I wouldn't buy a bike just because I liked the colour, but I wouldn't buy a bike unless I liked the colour either.

For example, I liked the geometry on the Smuggler from day one, but didn't buy one until they produced the orange version last year as the blue didn't really do it for me and I'll never own a grey bike. I count black and white as shades of grey, by the way.

Similarly I have a Five in the shed which I'm not using and should probably pass it on to somebody who will enjoy it, but it's neon orange and for that reason alone I'm reluctant to let it go.

Very high. Colour aesthetics most important.
Most of my bikes are black.
Fight the power.... 😉

I didn't like the colour scheme on my new frame at all when I first got it (scott scale 740 2016) as it was a bit bright with luminous orange bits> In fact, I nearly bought a 2015 frame (plain black and white) but the 2016 frame was 200g lighter so i figured I'd get over it. Having ridden the frame and fallen in love with the handling, I now love the colour scheme too. Either that or my retinas ahve become immune to the blinding colours.

Rad GT paint ahoy, I think this was called 'black rain' or something equally as awesome-

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Should never oughta have sold that bike. Stupid, stupid, stupid 😡

I had a red/orange spatter painted GT Outpost BITD. The 90s were awesome.

Leku - Member

Yes yes yes

Bird are a company that do it very well. A wide choice of simple primary colours, pick the one you like. I reckon that sells plenty of bikes for them.

One of these popped up on the local FB buy/sell the other week...
[img] [/img]

Just needs Crossmax XLs instead of those yellow Enduros, but what an achingly lovely colour.

I don't mind, as long as it's black

That Bird is tasty . Just ordered a respray for my Norco . Traffic safety orange :).

Strangely enough I rather like those board an paint jobs. They look a bit like Cube or Ghost designs, which I also like. That black & yellow commencal is fantastic!

Cube was the first thing that sprang to mind looking at the Pro FS. I think it actually looks pretty good and more distinctive than the old ones.

For me aesthetics do matter, especially on more expensive stuff so a paint job is important. I don't want to spend a load of money on a bike or a frame and think that colour etc is nasty / rubbish.

It matters in as much as it has to have no paint at all....so it still looks as good as new after bouncing riderless down the side of a hill.

Raw is king

I like strong/bold colours - I don't like fussy graphics at all.

I'd be much more put off by crap graphics than the overall colour.

The thread title instantly made me think of the new Boardmans!

Previous years the smart schemes have made them look like a higher-end item than they are, the new paint makes them look like a lower-end item than they actually are.

For me a new bike is fairly rare, and all other things being equal I might well be prepared to pay, say, £2000 for something it makes me happy to look at than £1800 for something I don't like the look of. It's not like there's not a huge range to choose from.

I bought my road bike just cos I liked the colour. Sometimes I even ride it (so I can take pics of it)

[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1653/24618760046_088ccf8280_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1653/24618760046_088ccf8280_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/DvtzE7 ]2016-01-26_05-34-20[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/47933770@N07/ ]Allan[/url], on Flickr

If I had a choice all my bikes would be white, as it's much easier to clean.
My dark coloured bikes look fine when they're wet but when they dry all the bits I've missed stand out like a sore thumb.

whenever mrs antigee tells me she doesn't understand an advert I remind her she probably isn't in the target audience
- same with bike colours I guess - if you hate it no big deal - pretty rare that there is no similar spec frame/complete bike around from another supplier, if you are in love with a specific brand then you've already entered some sort of trade off on rational choice so suck up what you've been sucked into

PS the word colourway does want me to put my fingers down my throat, can it be banned?

I subscribe to the Henry Ford school of bicycle colours.

Which makes it awkward often buying Specialized as it means you end up with an S-Works.

One thing certainly in the favour of Orange, that you can order from loads of different colours for the bikes, albeit for a small premium.

@ roverpig, just ordered my Smuggler (to replace my green bandit two9 🙁 )

Safety orange all the way!

a bike looking "right" will capture your enthusiasm and imagination - you can see yourself riding it - and colour will probably be a factor in that. That might be enough to make you do a little more research around that bike (probably influenced by verification bias) giving you a positive view of the bike. A gopping bike would have to have already grabbed your attention from positive press/reviews to make you look past your initial impression.

The all-neon yellow Commy Meta really grabbed me and I came close to buying it

[img] ?1403740476[/img]

I couldn't live with any Mondraker for that godawful braced headtube junction they use which makes the bike look like a crash repair job.

I love white bikes, despite Trimix's assertion white is a LACK of colour, and racing CX this year there are a lot of nice neon or pastel schemes out there which haven't made their way onto similar road bikes.

@ roverpig, just ordered my Smuggler (to replace my green bandit two9 )

Safety orange all the way!

Good call, on both fronts 🙂 Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it.

I couldn't live with any Mondraker for that godawful braced headtube junction they use which makes the bike look like a crash repair job.

You think that Commie looks better than this?
[img] [/img]

I think the Mondraker's at the nicer end of the spectrum myself, while the old Meta looks like they were just trying to make the heaviest bike possible. And the seat tube arrangement looks ugly to my eyes. Do you like the look of the Evil Following as well?

@roverpig, will do, just trying to decide between the fox 34's or the pikes. Any guidance?

I really like the look of that Mondraker, slack and long..

@roverpig, will do, just trying to decide between the fox 34's or the pikes. Any guidance?

No much I'm afraid. I'm happy with the (130mm) Pikes on mine, but by all accounts the new Fox 34s are pretty impressive too. I'm sure that whatever fork you go for you'll love it.

A good colour scheme will get me to consider a bike, so it aids them in getting onto the shortlist. I'll approach test rides really hoping to be most impressed by the ones that are nice colours. It may also resolve a tie if I can't decide between two options that I can't otherwise choose between.

There are obvious (though perhaps contradictory) limits to how much colour will influence my purchasing. I like brightly coloured bikes, with orange being my favourite frame colour. However I ended up with a raw carbon/black Mojo as getting an orange one would have cost me an extra 200 quid or so. On the other hand when my wishy-washy yellow Chameleon's paint started to look really ratty I ended up sending it to Argos for a shiny orange (with black contrast panel) respray.

I did go through a brief period many years ago of being taken with the idea of an all black bike. Then I saw a first gen orange Cotic Soul and realised that that was the perfect colour for a mountain bike! Plus the whole "stealth" thing is a bit of a joke considering we're all just playing in the dirt on bikes and many of those bikes are fitted with Hope or Chris King hubs. 🙂

Nearly 70 posts in and no-one's mentioned that if the new bike's the same colour as the old one then it's much less likely to be questioned. Or even spotted!

You think that Commie looks better than this?

yes, because that bent toptube/brace configuration is an abomination visually and from an engineering perspective. Introduce a completely pointless (other than to establish a visual identifier for your brand) bend in a tube, thereby weakening it, then flower it up and try to replace that lost strength with a brace. Without that it would be a far better looking bike than the Commy as it is more svelte and lean, and the seat stay line runs into the top tube.

You think that Commie looks better than this

I do. I hate to top tube on Mondraker. No mater how good they ride or how nice the colour scheme was, I wouldn't buy one.

To be honest, I have a hard enough time finding a bike that fits me anyway (due to comedy height) that my criteria for colour schemes is pretty low.

I own a blacked out, 100% stealth road bike (possibly not ideal), a champagne gold hard tail and a Stumpy in red/white/black, so it's all a bit random anyway.

For my current frame it was either anodised black or raw silver. Either I would have been happy with but I am glad I went for the black, just looks right for the frame.
My previous Intense was raw (ok) for a bit, then cherry apple red (lovely) then sulphur yellow with a gold flake (bright) and it's amazing how much difference a colour can make to how a bike looks. In raw it looked small and skinny but once it had a coat of paint it looked like a different bike.
Same bike, 3 different colours:
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Its definitely pivotal for me,I couldnt possibly ride anything that I didnt feel "fly" on or whatever the cool kidz call it now.
I often see versions of my 2 bikes in completely unappealing colours and they wouldnt inspire me to ride them at all.
I guess its the same with clothes,shoes,cars etc though isn`t it ?

I used to own a Shit Brown DeKerf single speed so I guess I can't be bothered by colour (I bought it new too!) - on the other hand, I thought it looked good so beauty really is in the eye of the beholder! 😀

Its important to me, but looks start with the frame,ugly frames like Ellsworths or any single pivot, Orange being a point in case are a no,no. I want my bike to look like someone competent has designed and made it, rather than knocked together by my mates with some gash tubes/plate and a tig welding set.

After that colour scheme is important and the less stupid stickers the better,my pet hate being shouty, screamy wheelsets.

But the bottom line is if I really think its fugly then thats it, it has no chance of ending up in my garage.

ps no matter pretty to your eye a bike is a test ride is essential.I once was seduced by the whole Intense blingy looks and hip marketing, that 6.6 was by some distance the worst bike I have ever owned, a complete triumph of style over substance.

Not concerned about the bikes colour really.

Seem to be in the minority here, more concerned about geometry , fit, handling.

Never really liked the Orange 5 look, but after having recently bought a SC Bantam the single pivot bikes are very appealing.

I personally really like the new Boardman paint jobs..

It's very subjective as this thread is proving.

I've just seen them in the flesh at the local halfords. They're even more awful than I first thought. They really do look like cheap rubbish which is a shame because over the years boardman seemed to have made some pretty decent and excellent value bikes. Must learn to look past the paint job.

For me it depends on what bike I'm getting. If I went for a no holds barred dream build the colour would be very important, it would all have to be right.

On the other hand, if the bike was a bargain and I fancied a change it wouldn't matter as much.