Poll: What color to paint my ti bike's fork?

[m_sasso]

Write in vote for black fork, splash of colour on the fork crown alla Look/Litespeed, any bright colour that matches the decals.

[dbnm]

You should also paint the stem the same color as the fork.

[doomridesout]

Frame's gonna get decals removed, if I can't convince Seven not to put them on in the first place... their font is pretty 90s and I don't need to shout it out loud. Bar and stem will be bare ti (Moots Cinch Post and RSL stem) with decals removed. Saddle and tape will be black. I like polished silver headsets. I also like the matte slate CK color that just came out, but I don't plan to get the matching hubs (love the HS but hate their hubs), so maybe that's out. I'm also idly thinking the WI gold headset would look nice if the fork was a deep red.

I disagree that matching anything else on the bike is necessary- it's like wearing an interesting tie with a dark suit- yes, if you can get a perfectly matching pocket square that's good, but adding more color pops that don't match is too much. Anodized stuff, bar tape, and cable housing all have different surface finishes than a paintjob and won't be a perfect match, so I'll just hold off on that. I'm thinking WI gold CLD hubs might be nice if I go the gold headset route.

As far as the stem: I might paint to match, but I just got this RSL stem from a forumite for a sweet price and want to use it.

[cadence90]

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[doomridesout]

More like a metallic oxblood, not cardinal. I don't mind a little shouty with a bright color on the fork- I'm not against loud as a contrast to the frame and wheels, but clashy sucks.

Also, yeah, I wouldn't do the matching pocket square with a tie even if a perfect match because it's pretty tryhard-- but faux pas or not, it's not even in the realm of acceptable to aim for matching, but fail and clash.

[teleguy57]

this one has me drooling:



https://forums.thepaceline.net/attac...1&d=1524232271

as does Lionel's Spectrum:


As others have commented, tying in the fork color with something else (panels in these two cases) is what makes it work for me.

[vqdriver]

seems pretty sedate to me so you can't go wrong with a stock black fork. couple things that come to mind tho:

-paint it hi gloss piano black to add some flash to it without going over the top with color
-leave the outside of the fork black and paint only the inside with your color of choice. could even put the indy fab branding there as well and put a their crown logo somewhere discreetly on the outer fork legs, perhaps just over the dropouts

i would caution against simply picking your favorite color of each component. having too many different shades of grey/silver will only serve to break the aesthetic, not add to it. for instance, i'm not sure what else that matte slate ck headset would tie in to.

[SoCal Al]

Go old school and have it chromed.

[jrsbike]

Check out some of the outrageous colors Serotta used to do. I like their dayglo yellows and luminous oranges. You are riding to have fun and not joining an sedate old man's club.