I'm in the market for a new summer road bike this year and a couple of the models I'm looking at come in white, which I like.
My concern is that after a couple of years of being battered around highland roads the paint is going to look tired and grey. Is this likely to be the case or am I being pessimistic?
Any experiences of how your white paint has worn?
I had a white covered stiffee. The paint flaked off in chunks and was repainted silver by Argos cycle. That paint mostly looked good after 12 years anywhere I hadn't scratched scraped or crashed it.
We have a white/ cream tandem for the school run. I'm not sure how old it is, it has v brakes so pretty old. The paint is lovely. I suspect it's had a very expensive repaint not that many miles ago. It looks great, but only does 4 miles a few times a week. It does show the dirt.
So I'd say it's the paint job, not the colour that would cause a bike to look tired.
TBH I think black wears worse than white. I have a white/red/black road bike that's 15 years old and doesn't look particularly shabby. Might be worth seeing if there's a frame kit available for yours or, depending on how complex the curves are, get a generic one and mod it accordingly.
White (and yellow, pink, light colours in general) tend to be heavier than darker colours as they usually need an extra coat or two of paint.
Obviously black carbon or polished metal are lighter still.
Anyway, I've still got a white Marin Attack Trail from 1999. I'd echo what Marin said, it's more a question of quality than colour.
Matt white shows every mechanic fingerprint!
Had a white Trek Madone, used all year round and had no issues what so ever.
Cleaned and looked after, but looked good after about 3 years of very regularly rides in all weather.
Got a white cannondale here knocking on for 20 years old and it still looks great. I kind of even like the way it looks when it’s splattered with mud.
We've got a brilliant white Pinnacle allroads/errands bike, it had daily all weathers use for 6 years, plenty of road crap, off-road crap, actual crap crap, brake dust, chain oil spatters. I gave it maybe its second clean the other day and it came up lovely.
edit: gloss white (further to wheelsonfire's comments about dirty matt)
My only (as opposed to summer) road bike is primarily white. It still looks ok after 10 years of intermittent Perthshire rides, but only when it's spotlessly clean. Generally it has varying degrees of grey tint due to the amount of muck on the roads.
Day 1
2.5 years later of off-road and commuting in Highlands, a few weeks before it snapped (again).
They start out looking pretty but end up scuffed and grubby.
The paint should be fine and not fade or yellow at all. Scratches will be down to how you look after it.
I have a >10 year old Canyon road bike and the white paint is still great. The protective sticker on the drive side chainstay has gone very yellow
White Ragley
Cleans up fine, but if you have any protection tape (I just have it under the downtube) the edges will always hold dirt
I've got an old Look 566 in white with black/red bits on. Paint still looks great after 15+ years, just the odd stone chip.
I got a gloss (off-) white frame recently because it was heavily discounted.
Despite my fears, it has cleaned up really easily so far - in some of the grottiest conditions I can remember.
Yes it shows greasy fingerprints, but they wipe off quickly and I'm not a princess about my bikes anyway.
Orange's paint is very tough IME, so I expect it to last well.
Oh sorry, you need to click to slide 5 if you want to see it...
You could tape it and it'll last longer looking good...
You could tape it and it’ll last longer looking good…
I've done minimal taping on my frame, as I expect the edges would collect dirt and show up more.
All depends on what your level of clean looks like
As mentioned above, if you like bikes to look spotless after you have cleaned them then white is not for you. Over time frames get lots of little micro scratches and they always stand out on white bikes in my experience as dirt gets in them and is never white. Also smears of lube, grease etc. are difficult to avoid.
I had one, would never again.
Love white bikes. I think they look better. They all get the same amount of dirt on them, but white, and all pale colours make it easier to see the dirt so you dont miss bits cleaning it when you get home and its gone dark
I had one, would never again.
I'd never say never, but if it white and a different colour was the final differentiator, no way choose the white.
@TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR is that the Whitegate Way near Cuddington, Cheshire? It looks very familiar, I know there are probably lots of similar disused railway track paths to ride down but the Sandstone bridge construction is common round here.
Gloss white I never had any problems with, if anything it's a color that hides knocks on metal frames quite well.
Be careful what chemicals you use on it though. ScotOiler UBS turned it yellow.
As above, matte white is a PITA for fingerprints. Have a clean rag to hand and some sort of car wax / detailing spray / silicone shine to clean it off once you've finished.
I wouldn't worry about white, though would agree with above that dirt getting under the edge of protective tape is the only minor hassle - but I don't think that's a road bike concern.
2009
2016
Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Still undecided but also still haven’t saved up enough money so I have time to percolate your ideas
I personally think they look ace. I’ve had several black bikes, and this is my second white bike. I honestly haven’t noticed it being harder to look after.
Be careful with greases, Park and Shimano greases can stain white paint or powder coat around the edges of bolt and pivot holes, it kinda seeps in over time and discolours under any lacquer or clear coat.
I have a gloss white Giant TCR road bike that was a warranty replacement. It is fine really but honestly, I wouldn't buy a white bike personally.
It does clean-up easily if wiped with a dry rag but I find that when I'm cleaning it I spend a lot of time wiping grease from one part of the bike to another and every time I touch it it seems to add more grease fingerprints or smears. Possibly I am just cack-handed when cleaning.
There are a few marks on the inside of the chainstays right behind the BB that appear to be permanent and I don't know how they got there- hardly a big deal but they wouldn't show up on a black bike.
I think plain all-white or all-black bikes looks best so if I was free to choose, I'd just opt for an all-black bike in a perfect world.
dont invisiframe, will always get a dirtly line at the edge of the tape, or worse a permanent discolouration at the edge.
if its the fork as well, brake dust on the leg around the caliper will be a permanent mark if you leave it too long without cleaning. this was on a suspension fork, not painted carbon though, so maybe not an issue for your roadie.
I had a largely white Scott years ago. I can't remember the make but some lube did stain it slightly yellow
@TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR is that the Whitegate Way near Cuddington, Cheshire? It looks very familiar, I know there are probably lots of similar disused railway track paths to ride down but the Sandstone bridge construction is common round here.
@tthew - no mate, Monsal Trail at Bakewell
I've got a white Defy. It's 11yo now but still cleans up ok. Not sure I'd get a white mtb though.