Wednesday, September 29, 2010

rSogn Color

Here is the plan:

Wednesday - Nominate your color(s) of choice for the rSogn, and explain why. 

Thursday - Announcement of top three colors. Pick and/or prioritize your color(s).  

Friday- Announcement of the color for the prototype rSogn. 

You may begin...now!

Sean

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about a red or orange or blue or brown or green or even black are all great. No gold like the Salsa Mac'nCheese (casserole) or white which will always be dirty.

Martin said...

Same likes of color as the Snekka....maybe they fit better with this model

1)Always been a fan of the orange that maple leaves turn in the fall
2)English racing green has that darker feel like pine needles
3)Darker/maroon type red...autumn leaves

Much has to do with the feelings of fall

Joe said...

Something that'll look nice with black or brown saddles and red Hetres. A nice battleship gray.

stevep33 said...

battleship grey or charcoal silver...looks rugged, looks great with red Hetres.

humblecyclist said...

I like the idea of raw with clear powdercoat. Very primal!

Bonde said...

1. Original Rawland Red. That color is so perfect.

If not that then,

2. Something in the same hue as the Drakkar metallic green, like a metallic blue.

3. Metallic Bone, like in the Rawland logo.

*Definitely not something like XO-1 orange or white

John Grasty said...

I like the idea of the bone color (like the Rawland logo), but maybe a touch closer to cream than yellow.

Metallic blue in the same hue as the Drakkar metallic green would also be great.

Basically I'm seconding Bonde's 2 and 3 and reversing their order.

Anonymous said...

I do like the orange of the Sam Hillborne but think it would be out of place on the Sogn. A more rugged color that would go with the logo-grey? Have you thought about selling them w/ a decal set rather than already on the bike?

rory said...

I vote for mustard, like a deli/dijon mustard. or a sage green.

Jon said...

Rawland Red or XO-1 Orange

Anonymous said...

dark gray or silver

giant hogweed said...

dark orange, fire engine red, herse blue

Sean said...

@Anon: Like the Drakkar, the decals will be clear-coated after wet-painting. We will have some decals on hand in case of repair, for example.

Anonymous said...

no particular order:
clear powder coat
gray
black
burnt orange

Anonymous said...

Mark's rSogn Colorways of Fun

My first choice in color can be found here:

http://tiny.cc/bt96x

Not the bike itself, but the chainring color. Repeat, not the bike. The chainring.

I would call it Harvest Moon. (Yes, I like Neil Young.) It has echoes perhaps of an XO, or a faded Molteni jersey. You might also call it Spicy Pumpkin. In any case, a hue for off road and on, a rugged, versatile, uplifting color. In no way ostentatious, but not a bland wallflower.

My distant second would be a gray, but not the "battleship gray" of the new Riv Hunqapillar, especially since we will not have a two-tone paint to break its monotony. I'm thinking more of a silvery-gray, like this old Motobecane:

http://tiny.cc/ny8co

Mark

Seabiscuit said...

+1 for Mustard/yellow
+1 for Cream/Bone
+1 for Greyish
+1 for Orange
-1 for Rawland red (sorry, just not my style)
-1 for metalic green, Brit Racing green is good though
-1 for gold

jim g said...

Powder Coat PLEASE!

Referring to http://www.tiger-coatings.us/index.php?id=1295&tx_pressdownload_pi2[showUid]=2398

I like, in no order:

RAL 3013 or the darker RAL 3011 -- a dark-red/burgundy which is very similar to the color Alex had his custom/hand-made Gifford done in.

RAL 5009 -- a slate/water blue that I find particularly fetching.

jim g said...

Of course, I'm still holding out for a Ti version. In which case the color choice is mostly moot, except for the fork+decals...

James Black said...

I recommend gloss black powdercoat, and I will lay out some reasons why.

1. I think that TIG welded bikes with threadless steerers look best when paired with a painted steel stem - it gives them a balanced look not achieved with any aluminum stem available. These stems are best when painted to match the frame. TIG welded steel stems are readily available (from Salsa again) in black only, so it's easy to buy a stem that matches the look of the frameset.

2. black is the only color that is easy to match - if you get a custom rack or stem, it's easy to have it painted to match, whereas with any other color, color-matching is a problem. It's easy to get matching touch-up paint. It's easy to get off-the-shelf painted components to match black.

3. Black looks great with both black and silver components. It's one of the only colors for a frameset where mixing and matching black and silver components doesn't look weird.

4. Black has a slimming effect, just as with clothing. I have two almost identical framesets, one black and one off-white. My girlfriend commented after I built the white one that it just doesn't have the tall, dark and handsome slim look that she likes in the black one.

5. Black is elegant. Black looks great against shiny silver. When paired with silver components, black frames have a timeless look. Black was a popular choice on Rene Herse bikes of yore. A recent issue of http://riderscollective.org/ featured a gallery of black bikes, calling them "tuxedo bikes".

6. Black is utilitarian, humble, cf. Henry Ford: "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black."

7. Black is cool. That's why people refer to other colors as being "the new black". It is rumored that one of the founders of Kraftwerk has a fleet of bicycles, all black. All-black bikes are referred to by the kids as "murdered out".

My second choice would be metallic grey, as popularized on early 80s Treks. This is the classic choice for the American touring bike.

I would be happy with anything except red, green and purple, none of which I care for.

Grey, silver, orange, yellow, white, blue, brown are all preferred.

Michael_S said...

I would submit a nice metallic grey or orange as my top two choices. Please no bone or yellow/gold. Black would be acceptable as well as a dark blue.

Michael_S said...

I would submit a nice metallic grey or orange as my top two choices. Please no bone or yellow/gold. Black would be acceptable as well as a dark blue.

Garrett said...

1. Dark Gray, metallic. Goes well with brown leather, black leather, black racks and black parts, silver parts. Goes well with reds, as in Hetre tires, bar tape, and logos. Though my preference is for white, logo on dark gray.

2. Gloss Black. James makes a pretty good argument for gloss black. Goes with: everything. I do not care for matte black, or any other matte finish.

3. Battleship gray, non-metallic. Very nice utilitarian color.

I am not into:
1. clear powder coat.
2. white, off white, pearl white
3. beige / custard (great color, just not for this model)
4. purple. Ah, who am I kidding. This is the best color.

Unknown said...

rawland fire engine red. This way I can secretly sell my cSogn and transfer all the parts to the rSogn without my wife discovering that I have upgraded my frame

karl said...

1 - Same red as before. It's a great color and has a recognition factor to it. I've had people recognize my Olaf by the color when they were too far away to see anything else about it.
2 - Dark gray, non-metallic. Looks equally good with black or silver components.
3 - Drakkar green. A nice color. Very classy and really make silver components stand out.

BTW - Where are you on deposits?

Scott Gamble said...

Dark metallic battleship grey.  Re early treks and yes the American touring bike in general.  With silver components you can go for a more traditional look, with black components you can build a more progressive modern looking bike.  

No mustard yellow colors like the Pugsley please.  And I've almost never seen a blue that looked good to me.

Paint please!  I can get powdercoat anywhere.  I don't even know where to go to get a bike professionally painted, and I'm scared to think of how much it'd cost if I did.  Also I think that all the detail work going into the lugging looks nicer under paint.

I'd take black as a color but it seems an unimaginative choice, and again I dislike any choices that lend themselves to obfuscating the lugging.

A very dark burnt orange would work for me as well, but dark metallic grey is my first choice.

jim g said...

James, I agree with you on all fronts regarding gloss black, BUT if the rSogn is black, from a distance it'll look like a Kogswell P/R. ;)

I think Franklyn's reasoning for red is the best yet. ;)

Anonymous said...

In no specific order:

- Clear powder coat
- Dark, neutral grey
- Dark cold blue (RAL 5013 or 5010)
- Darker-than-british racing green

No metallic effects...

Scott Gamble said...

I'm a dumbass. It JUST clicked that this isn't a lugged bike. HA!

My reasoning still stands though. There is detail work here, I like to see it, and think that black would cover it up.

I'm also not interested in it being mistaken for a Kogswell.

orc said...

I'd vote for

1) white. A clean white bicycle looks very pretty, and a dirty white bicycle looks very useful. I have an old Trek 1000 which is almost always slightly dirty, and it has the curb look of an old compact pickup truck.

2) black, because it's a nice traditional color and it's easy to match components to a black frame.

3) The dirty yellow that Kogswell used on their P/R is awfully nice. I don't know if that color ever looks sparkly clean, but at least from the pictures I've seen of well used P/Rs it never actually looks dirty until you've got a frames weight of mud cakes on the bicycle.

(Given my absolute druthers, a nice flamingly bright pink would have been my #1 choice, but bright pink does not dirty well. Alas!)

Unknown said...

I'd like to see the rsogn in:
1. Cocoa Brown with a dull or matte coating rather than glosscoat.
2. A raw frameset with clearcoat.
3. A deep orange red, or a orange yellow.
4. A tan/gray, or a gray/green.

Bonde said...

I still think something very "Rawland" in color for both models.

Rawland red.

Included also are the colors in the same metallic tone and hue as the Drakkar.

Metallic lightish blue, metallic orange, metallic gray, metallic yellow/gold

Nothing too dark or light, same as Drakkar. All together they would look amazing.

alex wetmore said...

Color choice: a very dark british racing green. It should look nearly black in artificial light, and have some green when outdoors in good sunlight. Look at 1996 Trek 520 for an example. Bike Friday also uses a similar powdercoat on their bikes. That was my color preference for Gifford(a very similar bike to the rSogn), but I didn't want to special order the powder from my powder coater. The rustish colored brown that I went with is another nice foresty color.

Question: How many prototypes are you making? If they are prototypes and only going to yourself or a few choice beta testers then why do the rest of us care what color they are?

Sean said...

@alex: Prototypes are pre-production, so the color(s) would be the same for production.

Hal said...

Re: very dark british racing green.

Like RAL 6009 (Fir Green) or 6012 (Black Green)?

RAL 6005 (Moss Green) reminds me of a lot of the foliage in Norway.

Unknown said...

After thinking twice I'll change my first choice to Raw with clearcoat. Reasons besides the industrial look: It's an "R" Sogn, and it's a "Raw"land already. OK those are lame reasons. My best reason is I think it looks cool.

Rob in Seattle said...

I'd be happiest with....(kind of in order)

• chrome (Hey, what production bike is chrome these days? That'd be unique. Look good with black or honey fittings, silver or black hardware....Check out John Ferguson's new Herse...)
• raw clear powdercoat (turns it into a stealth bike that I would feel more comfortable locking up in the city)
• gloss black (for all the reasons James cites--and I don't care if it looks like a P/R...it'll also look like many other historic, classic bikes...which this hopefully will also be.)
• a coppery dark root beer
• dark battleship grey faintly metallic (pearl)

OK with...
• the dark, almost black metallic green Alex is talking about (my Bridgestone RB-T is that color too)

Not so excited about...
• beige, white, lighter colors in general unless they're metallic.
• Already have an orange bike...
• Rawland red, though it is iconic, and I'd deal with it if I end up with a used cSogn. Just not wild about it as a bike color for myself.


Definitely not...
• purple!

Rob in Seattle said...

PS I had fun checking out the color possibilities here:

http://www.houseofkolor.com/speedshapes/speedshapes_urethanes.jsp

Lots of them seem to require a base coat plus several top coats, so likely not practical for a production bike--especially one that'll get ridden everywhere and possibly knocked about some.

Justino said...

I'd love to see a robin's-egg blue or meringue yellow.

Inspiration:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andromedaphoto/3466044411/in/photostream/

Cheers, Justin.

Russ said...

Brown with a bit of red is a nice color:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89119745@N00/498668422/in/set-72157601782922602/lightbox/

As is champagne, British racing green or burgandy. Metallics in any of those colors would be great.

Really any color that blends in with its natural surroundings would be great.

One of the best things about biking is feeling at one with nature. A frame that blends into nature only adds to the pleasure.

Whatever the color, please just let us know the number/manufacturer so we can paint racks etc to match if we choose.

Protorio said...

Black for James' reasons.

Ivory.

Not grey - that's the Hunquacolor.

Mustard. Baby poo colors look great on bikes.

Unknown said...

Sean: you mentioned that the decals will be clear coated after being affixed to the paint coat. These won't be easily removeable. On the preorders, could I pay extra to have one made without decals?