The effect of different paint designs on frame appearance

[foz]

So it's Xmas eve, I'm on holiday, and with some time to think about bike stuff....
There are a lot of "classic" paint schemes for bikes:
- single colour
- single colour with panels
- top / bottom fade
- front / back fade
- highlighted HT, BB, seat cluster
- diaganol panels
All with or without various amounts of chrome....
And what about different colour combinations?
Has anyone ever studied or thought about the effect of different paint on the way a frame looks? I am sure it must have an effect - making a frame look longer or shorter, taller or lower, faster or slower....
There are some designs that for me just "work", and others don't.
Anyone else find this?

 

[Jonny69]

In general, you’ll find yellow on a frame makes it quite dangerous to ride, hence ‘yellow peril’. Green will make a frame unlucky. Never race on a green frame.

 

[pigman]

Wasn't there some article published a while back that said red cars/bikes/planes etc were scientifically faster than other colours.?

 

[non-fixie]

Yes, based on TdF results blue is best:

 

[PanoIgano]

Well, what I found out is happening to me when I am looking at a bike is this:

I first notice the color choice and its combinations (if any) and then all the frame details (tubing, angles, length of wheelbase, details of the welding, cable routing, etc).

I think, the tendency of people (I know I am now generalising) to first look at the color of a frame or the impression the color leaves to potential buyers has been something that early MTB manufactures were very aware of.

MTB being a new sport back in the day, I think it allowed frame builders to pursue further this concept of making as big of an impression as possible with the color choice of their frame right from the first second you laid your eyes on an MTB frame. It was a selling point that could boost the sales of their frames.

And so really early on, late 80s beginning 90s, you had some of the most amazing paint jobs that we have seen so far (splatter jobs, cracking / lava colors, concept designs, combination and fade in and outs of 3 or 4 colors per frame, fluorescence colors, etc.). Mountain Goats, Serottas, Grove Innovations, Fat Chance, Salsa, Klein, Cannondale and so many others focused a lot on their paint jobs.

In fact, I believe there was a period where the color wars in the early MTB scene had taken hold for good. Point in case the Klein MTB raced by Tinker with a concept storm paint job documented from the Radavist that I think is a strong contender for the best paint job ever:



For me, color defines how much I want to ride a bike.

Somehow this bogus idea that if it looks good it must ride good is something that resonates with me. Of course, it doesn't hold water! But trust me, it will go a long way convincing you that the bike that looks good also rides better than if that very same bike had a boring color.

Also color is a game changer in terms of frame price for certain models. A Salsa frame with original gelly bean paint scheme will always cost more than the same frame in plain black.

Now how did we end up with black matt and grey and all the variations between these two colors to be considered desirable nowadays?

If you ask me, this is more of a top down decision by bike marketing "specialists" of mainly big brands and (I am certain of that) not of what most people would consider a nice color on a bike as such.

 

[fguki]

As mentioned and also PROVED !!!!! above, blue makes a bike faster.

 

[Old Ned]

In general, you’ll find yellow on a frame makes it quite dangerous to ride, hence ‘yellow peril’. Green will make a frame unlucky. Never race on a green frame.

Had my best season on a Green bike. I changed frames to a White one toward the end of it and went much slower. My Mum hated Yellow. I had a frame resprayed Yellow when I was a lad and the first TT I rode on it I crashed.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Green bikes are fastest. See this chart for evidence:

 

[grantoury]

My fastest bike is red. I was considering a light blue metallic in the future, hopefully I'll win the tour with it then.

I like to see a bike builder or brand have a vision of what their bikes should look like. If it is a coherent whole, it will work for me. It doesn't have to be creative, but just matt black with some huge lettering will never get my attention. If it is creative, that is even better. Like Rivendell or Pegoretti or the jelly bean Salsa. But my down to earth black Vittorio is recognizable, and that is the minimum to me.

 

[Takingabreak]

So it's Xmas eve, I'm on holiday, and with some time to think about bike stuff....
There are a lot of "classic" paint schemes for bikes:
- single colour
- single colour with panels
- top / bottom fade
- front / back fade
- highlighted HT, BB, seat cluster
- diaganol panels
All with or without various amounts of chrome....
And what about different colour combinations?
Has anyone ever studied or thought about the effect of different paint on the way a frame looks? I am sure it must have an effect - making a frame look longer or shorter, taller or lower, faster or slower....
There are some designs that for me just "work", and others don't.
Anyone else find this?

My green Yates looks significantly more old fashioned than your red one, yet essentially they are the same frames