Why do bicycles generally come in so few colorways?
 

I come from a background of competitive paintball. It's a flashy sport that enjoys it's bright colors as much as cyclists seem to do.

What confuses me about switching over to cycling is the extreme lack of color options when buying a bike of any quality. Whether you're getting a $500 bike or a $5000 bike you're probably only going to be offered 1-2 (MAYBE 3) options. Now that might make sense for professionally sponsored riders who most likely get custom wraps/paint to match a team or sponsor but I'm confused as to how this is justified for mid-range and "low-end" bikes.
To clarify, in paintball you're hard pressed to find a marker at any price point that isn't released in 5-10 new colorways every single year. These are from smaller companies, selling items of roughly the same value, and with what I am assuming is much less overhead while operating in a much smaller market.

In a market where everything "looks the same" you would think that companies would be doing everything in their power to differentiate from their competitors.
Is there something I'm missing or is this a common complaint shared by others in the industry?

Also, if you're going to make some ridiculous comment about how I shouldn't be worried about the color of my bike or paintball marker then just go ahead and hit the back button lol. I know it doesn't make me a better player/rider and you're not enlightening or impressing anyone with your wisdom rhetoric.

When I had my own shop I hated anything that came in sizes or colors. It seemed like I never had in stock the exact one that the customer wanted.

The only thing you said that doesn't directly translate to the paintball industry is the need for sizes which obviously wouldn't be an issue with a paintball marker. I wonder if that in itself is a big enough thing to prevent cycling from doing more options?

I guess I'm mainly surprised that paintball, being so much smaller of a market, manages it somehow while cycling has not.

Responded before your message popped up but I guess it really is the need for sizes that makes it such a big issue for cycling.

Somehow I missed your reply when I responded to the other two haha. Thanks for the welcome!

That's a very good point about model-year. I have actually already relied on that when I was looking at some used bikes.

I'm literally in that exact same boat :twitchy: I really like the Trek FX-3 but the colors are horrendous! Luckily I stumbled across the Cannondale Quick 3 in that amazing Green but it's just been so frustrating trying not to feel like I'm settling. I thought about just getting it painted/coated but I don't want to spend $300+ to have it done professionally and it just wouldn't feel right pulling out some spray paint lol.

I think it just boils down to inventory, and how much stuff has to be marked down in the fall. On the other hand, stuff that's cheap, such as bar tape and bottle cages, come in all sorts of colors.

Guns haha. Even $200 markers come in ~5 options. High end guns will usually be released with 5-6 new color combos every year.

I still think most of that translates straight to paintball haha. After reading the first couple replies it seems like my main oversight was not thinking about different sizes and I'm thinking that's going to be the major cause of this difference.

I knew somebody had to make the comment hahaha.

I will counter with "Look good; Play good" :50:
Even if you don't buy into that logic I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to be 100% happy with a purchase as large as this.

How many sizes do paintball guns come in? How big is a paintball gun in storage waiting to be sold versus a bike? While I know paintball guns can be pricey, what is a mid-level gun cost versus a mid-level bike? Back when I was playing, a top level gun might have been approaching a grand, a price point you aren't much past entry level in cycling. When I look at paintball sites now, I'm seeing a whole selection of guns that haven't changed much since I last played in the mid-00s, not an industry considerably based on a new iteration of a model every year.

Most bike shops don't even stock all bikes in all sizes. It becomes much harder to stock a dozen colors in those sizes, risking unsold inventory at the end of the year. Simply put, unsold inventory has to be discounted at the end of the year, bikes frequently change geometry and specs. Much easier to only offer one or two choices of color.

Not to mention, I see you can still get the Tippmann A5 in any color you want, so long as it is black :thumb:

Cost of storage is also something I hadn't thought about. But I think you have your price points in paintball a little low haha. Angels and Autocockers were pushing ~$2,000 in the 90s. These days it's roughly the same but with a much larger mid-range selection (much like cycling).

I see your point about the A5 but I counter with the Azodin Kaos 2 :roflmao:

For the record, I am conceding that product sizes (and now probably storage too) are leading factors in the differences between the two sports.

The manufacturers must be concerned that people are too particular with colours and are afraid that if you make a bike "Red", too many people don't want a red bike, ditto if you replace "Red" with "Yellow" or whatever colour.


Sadly this has lead to all sorts of blacks and greys dominating and it is getting to the point that I would put off buying a bike, in the hope that a non-black or non-grey colour will come out that I like.


For me the colours that will never go out of style are those like British Racing Green, Dark Blue - Navy Blue, Deep Reds like that found on the Thorn Sherpa or the colour Trek call "Viper Red".


I also like a white bike with striping using the above colours too, yet one really struggles to find bikes with these colours now being sold. :(

FTW!

The quality of these sorts of threads leaves a lot to be desired these days.

Look at the automotive industry. Lexus/MB/Audi etc. I never noticed until my parents lived in Singapore for a while. The Asian cultures are driven by the need to blend. If you do not blend in certain cultures you can have reprocussions. Therefore, the black car or white care are neutral and considered to be safe and empowered at the same time rather than being odd or counterculture. A great deal of our industry comes from that region so it doesn't surprise very much that it follows. However, the other trend I observed having started into the sport in the mid 90s boom of colors(GT, etc) is that when carbon fiber became popular it was also popular to leave it bare to show it off. Carbon black became a sign of development and bright became left behind. Even what wasn't carbon was painted to look like carbon in some cases(silly). In cities drab is the thing to have for obvious reason. If you are paying big bux for something, make it less of a catcher.

That said, I never stopped liking bright blues or yellows. My mtb's last paint was to look like a 2001 Gt team and it's next is going to be Mustang Grabber blue with accents. Colors are trending back slowly. The new Trek catalog(I work at a trek dealer) actually has some colors this year like 'VOLT' green and 'Radioactive' yellow.

Maybe bikers just don't care about having a whole mess of color options. Even back when bikes were often more colorful and varied (like the 90's), most models only had one option, or a couple at best.

That's why i ride vintage bicycles. They used to come in a lot of colors. Tigra offered some 25 different colors in 1978: http://k-i-n-g.ch/wp-content/uploads...ar-katalog.pdf

So go custom if it bothers you.

(Gratuitous photo of my one-of-a-kind, custom-blended ceramic glaze finish omitted.)

I'm assuming this is your first adult bike?

I don't think the color will matter too much because like most people that buy a hybrid it will get ridden for about a month and then hung up in the garage. I'd recommend getting a fun bike to ride (and it may come in a better color too :) )

OMG that is the best vintage 'dale I've ever seen. Incredible!