# Black on black? Ladies, your opinions please!



## the_gormandizer

So I am about to pull the trigger on a new bike for my wife. The Scott Contessa Solace is the right fit for her, and I want to get the Ultegra build since it is 11 speed and therefore not already obsolete. I am just not sure about the color scheme, which is black on black with some purple accents.
See: 
SCOTT Contessa Solace 15 Bike - SCOTT Sports
It's a beautiful bike, but IMO is not exactly feminine. What do you ladies think?


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## love4himies

What does your wife think of it? 

I, personally do not like girly colour bikes, but do like a bit of femininity to it. There was a custom bike for the owner of a LBS that had a black bike, but added pink accents to it. It was one of the nicest feminine bikes I have seen. You could do the same with this bike if she wanted more colour.


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## the_gormandizer

I can't ask her what she thinks of it, because that would ruin the surprise!

The bike actually has some purple accents, not easily visible in the pics. You can see some on the saddle. I'm thinking of getting some custom decals made to add to the accents. For tire choices, I will be sticking to black since we are going the tubeless route with upgraded Ultegra wheels. But I can add purple decals to the rims to accent them.

My wife is not a "girly girl." But she did insist on non-black Sidis since she thought black ones were too masculine. Green is her favorite color, and I seriously considered a Trek Domane Project One with a customized paint scheme. But I think the Solace is a better bike for her. I think she will love the ride (compared to her old aluminum Cannondale) but for the cost of the bike I wanted her to like the way it looks too.


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## bikerjulio

the_gormandizer said:


> I can't ask her what she thinks of it, because that would ruin the surprise!
> 
> The bike actually has some purple accents, not easily visible in the pics. You can see some on the saddle. I'm thinking of getting some custom decals made to add to the accents. For tire choices, I will be sticking to black since we are going the tubeless route with upgraded Ultegra wheels. But I can add purple decals to the rims to accent them.
> 
> My wife is not a "girly girl." But she did insist on non-black Sidis since she thought black ones were too masculine. Green is her favorite color, and I seriously considered a Trek Domane Project One with a customized paint scheme. But I think the Solace is a better bike for her. I think she will love the ride (compared to her old aluminum Cannondale) but for the cost of the bike I wanted her to like the way it looks too.


To me, a bike and the way it looks are personal choices, and I'm not sure I would want anyone picking it out for me. Kind of like being given an item of (visible) clothing that you really hate. At least an ugly gift sweater can usually be returned. Not so sure about a bike.

You would need to be very very sure as to what the giftee would like, which you are obviously not.


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## Cyclo-phile

I have to laugh at the idea that women would only ride a bike if it looked feminine enough.


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## the_gormandizer

Cyclo-phile said:


> I have to laugh at the idea that women would only ride a bike if it looked feminine enough.


This is not the point. She has been quite content to ride an un-inspiring looking Cannondale for 13 years. But if I am spending $3.5k on a new bike for her I want her to love it. I don't want her to love the bike but hate the color. 

Still I have to say that the SIDI shoe incident was an eye-opener for me. She is quite frugal. We could have got black ones on closeout, but she held out for the new model titanium colors. I would not have thought that she would only wear cycling shoes that looked feminine....


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## love4himies

the_gormandizer said:


> I can't ask her what she thinks of it, because that would ruin the surprise!
> 
> The bike actually has some purple accents, not easily visible in the pics. You can see some on the saddle. I'm thinking of getting some custom decals made to add to the accents. For tire choices, I will be sticking to black since we are going the tubeless route with upgraded Ultegra wheels. But I can add purple decals to the rims to accent them.
> 
> My wife is not a "girly girl." But she did insist on non-black Sidis since she thought black ones were too masculine. Green is her favorite color, and I seriously considered a Trek Domane Project One with a customized paint scheme. But I think the Solace is a better bike for her. I think she will love the ride (compared to her old aluminum Cannondale) but for the cost of the bike I wanted her to like the way it looks too.


I'm not a girly-girl either and prefer men colour bikes, but prefer women's shoe colours (unless it's like those sweet red ones Salsa-Lover bought http://forums.roadbikereview.com/ge...ion/got-my-****ty-red-shoes-today-314065.html). 

How picky is she in general? Is there anyway you can ask her a general question about black bikes in a way that she won't suspect anything? That way you know if she says she can't stand them, then this is not a bike for her.

Can you get the LBS to exchange the bike should she not like it?


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## love4himies

the_gormandizer said:


> Still I have to say that the SIDI shoe incident was an eye-opener for me. She is quite frugal. We could have got black ones on closeout, but she held out for the new model titanium colors. I would not have thought that she would only wear cycling shoes that looked feminine....


She's a woman so this doesn't surprise me in the least. I am as frugal as you can get, but there are some things there are no compromises with. Hubby still doesn't get it even after 30 years of marriage.


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## the_gormandizer

> How picky is she in general? Is there anyway you can ask her a general question about black bikes in a way that she won't suspect anything? That way you know if she says she can't stand them, then this is not a bike for her.
> 
> Can you get the LBS to exchange the bike should she not like it?


Hmm, it's hard to make generalizations abut her pickiness. After 12 years of marriage she still surprises me! 

The bike will be a special order of a spanking new 2014 model, so a return is not practical. One option is to have the LBS do a custom paint job. But that would cost an additional $700 plus. I think she is frugal enough to rather have the money than the paint job. But my fall back is that I can get the paint job later if she just hates it.


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## love4himies

the_gormandizer said:


> Hmm, it's hard to make generalizations abut her pickiness. After 12 years of marriage she still surprises me!
> 
> The bike will be a special order of a spanking new 2014 model, so a return is not practical. One option is to have the LBS do a custom paint job. But that would cost an additional $700 plus. I think she is frugal enough to rather have the money than the paint job. But my fall back is that I can get the paint job later if she just hates it.


Then I would try to get her general feeling on all black bikes before you make the purchase.


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## the_gormandizer

love4himies said:


> Then I would try to get her general feeling on all black bikes before you make the purchase.


Hmm, how to do this without giving it away. "Honey, I need to ask you something. Now please don't read anything into my question, but how do you feel about all-black bikes...." She won't suspect a thing!


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## Cyclo-phile

Look at all black bikes in your size and gauge her reaction.


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## love4himies

Or get a cycling magazine (or website) that has pics of black bikes and casually tell her that there seems to be a shift towards black bikes ask what she thinks of them??


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## il sogno

It really depends on your wife's taste. Personally, I'm not into it. I prefer more exuberant paint schemes. That said, I would never want a pink bike.


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## il sogno

il sogno said:


> It really depends on your wife's taste. Personally, I'm not into it. I prefer more exuberant paint schemes. That said, I would never want a pink bike.


Good on ya for wanting to get her a quality bike. :thumbsup:


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## Alfonsina

Is it Di2? That is much more important than color. I love the matt mono look, but as a woman, I never want a WSD bike. But I sure would want electronic shifting in a new luxury bike.


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## spdntrxi

black bikes look awesome.. My wife has a black ruby comp.. I just put CLX40 wheels on it.. so it's even blacker. Personally it's pretty mean looking.. I like it.


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## r1lee

Ask a friend to ask her to go bike shipping. Get your friend to ask what she likes cause he's looking at getting his wife a bike... He informs you and off you go.

It's really simple really. If she has no idea on the fact that you're buying her a new bike, then she'll think its nothing. 

Yet again, you can just ask her and say your buddy needs some recommendation. What would she pick in that range.


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## il sogno

Alfonsina said:


> Is it Di2? That is much more important than color. I love the matt mono look, but as a woman, I never want a WSD bike. But I sure would want electronic shifting in a new luxury bike.


A top level grouppo is always sweet!


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## love4himies

il sogno said:


> A top level grouppo is always sweet!


:thumbsup:. Especially when it's a surprise from your hubby.


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## Alfonsina

My DH would know better than to buy me something like a bike without me choosing it though, so I personally think buying a bike unseen and untried as a gift for the wife is a real risk. But I don't even like flowers etc. The Di might take the edge off though LOL.


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## Bluenote

Forget how the bike looks. How does it feel? Does she like how the ride feels? Thats a very personal thing, bikes that seem perfect on paper don't always ride great in real life. 

I think its better to let her pick out the bike.


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## Lindy B.

I recently bought myself a Cannondale CAAD 10 Black, Ultegra groupset w/ Di2 shifting.It's a matte black finish w/ gold lettering. Very simple, understated, not at all feminine and I LOVE it! I think it's great you want to surprise your wife, but I know how important fit and the feel of the bike is and can't imagine it's a good idea to get a bike she hasn't ridden. 

But, you asked about the color. I am not at all a "girly girl", so a matte black bike was perfect for me. I bought H2O bottle cages in the same finish and it looks great. The best thing about this bike though is the Di2!!


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## spdntrxi

My better halfs Ruby Comp

sadly the Sworks Toupe was a little too much for her… so that has been changed


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## love4himies

Lindy B. said:


> I recently bought myself a Cannondale CAAD 10 Black, Ultegra groupset w/ Di2 shifting.It's a matte black finish w/ gold lettering. Very simple, understated, not at all feminine and I LOVE it! I think it's great you want to surprise your wife, but I know how important fit and the feel of the bike is and can't imagine it's a good idea to get a bike she hasn't ridden.
> 
> But, you asked about the color. I am not at all a "girly girl", so a matte black bike was perfect for me. I bought H2O bottle cages in the same finish and it looks great. The best thing about this bike though is the Di2!!
> 
> View attachment 289321


I love the gold on black, makes it very rich and sophisticated looking, but not gaudy.


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## lamazion

When my wife turned 40, I got her a new bike. Originally, I picked one that I thought she would like and was ready to buy. At the last moment, I decided to give her a bike picture and let her pick her own. Best decision I've made! We spent three weeks going to every shop in town trying bikes. Spent twice as much as planned, but seven years later she still loves the bike. This year I upgraded the components because she refused to consider a replacement.


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## kimoly

il sogno said:


> It really depends on your wife's taste. Personally, I'm not into it. I prefer more exuberant paint schemes. That said, I would never want a pink bike.



I am in full agreement with our moderator here. I like my bikes to be colorful, but not necessarily what the big bike companies think of as "girly" colors. To me, black is fine for a cocktail dress but I don't want my bike to be black...


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## Karlyn

I would like the black bike, but would want to change out the tape to the purple color that's on the seat. I think that would be enough to make the bike stand out more and not be so monochromatic, imo. Fabulous bike, though!


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## CyclChyk

the_gormandizer said:


> So I am about to pull the trigger on a new bike for my wife. The Scott Contessa Solace is the right fit for her, and I want to get the Ultegra build since it is 11 speed and therefore not already obsolete. I am just not sure about the color scheme, which is black on black with some purple accents.
> It's a beautiful bike, but IMO is not exactly feminine. What do you ladies think?


Sooo...... Did you get her the bike and how did she like it if you did??


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## aureliajulia

I ride a black on black Pinarello. I like things to be a little edgy with just a hint of feminine. Never the icky pink bikes. I didn't the change colors on the BoB Pina at all, would have been a travesty. 

Does this bike fit her? I know you said it was the right 'fit' for her, but that could mean a lot of things. (Upright, responsive, blah blah). Ride quality is important and quite open to interpretation. Did she test it?

If this were me, I'd want to pick out my own bike. And you want her to love it? Yeah. She needs to pick it out.

Having said that, black on black with purple accents is something I'd like. (But, it looks a lot like my bike, which, of course, I chose).


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## 9W9W

spdntrxi said:


> My better halfs Ruby Comp
> 
> sadly the Sworks Toupe was a little too much for her… so that has been changed



How tall is she if I may ask? That looks like the smallest frame, with a slammed seat.


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## the_gormandizer

CyclChyk said:


> Sooo...... Did you get her the bike and how did she like it if you did??


Nope. I got a friend to ask her opinion of the bike (as if he was buying it for his wife). Guess what? She hated it! Long story short, the ploy was eventually revealed. It turns out she does want to do test rides etc. So the acquisition has been delayed.


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## aureliajulia

the_gormandizer said:


> Nope. I got a friend to ask her opinion of the bike (as if he was buying it for his wife). Guess what? She hated it! Long story short, the ploy was eventually revealed. It turns out she does want to do test rides etc. So the acquisition has been delayed.


It turns out, huh? 

Oi.


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