I try to tell myself I don't care, but I do! I tell myself bicycle color isn't near as important as functionality. But, deep down it matters. 

I like a nice looking bike, but not so nice that someone wants to steal it! I bought an inexpensive used bike that came with S & S couplers for international travel. It happens to be a shiny shade of red that I get frequent compliments on. Of course there is pride in ownership when someone compliments me on my constant companion. 

I've owned a couple of blue bikes over the years. Yes to compliments. I had a titanium bike with a pink sparkle clear coat. It's interesting that a gray bike received compliments, but that one did.  A bright orange bike - yes to compliments. 

My current touring bike's color is Money Green. Who thinks up these names? I believe the only compliment I've received on the bike was in Ovando, MT where I was told my bike was so clean that it looked new, and yes I could take it in the room. But I have not received one compliment on the color. Green must be out of style.

Coming to the point of the conversation. Jacinto's bike has a crack in the frame. He took it in for a tune up and the mechanic's eagle eye spotted the small crack. The bike is off to the manufacturer for a repair, which leads to a new paint job. He likes the color, but is selecting something new, just because he can. We've had the conversation about picking a color that's appealing, but not so flashy someone would want to take it. I think he's settled on a metallic blue.

Winding it up, how important is frame color to you? Are you concerned a particular color might make your bike more enticing to those with itchy fingers? Has your pride of ownership increased/decreased based on what your bike looks like?

I like having a good bike ... that looks good. My folding Dahon is a decent,  though not great, bike. From the first day I owned it, I never liked its colour or its decal designs, and always wanted it repainted.

Fast forward to a few years later. I'm a Formula 1 fan and when I saw the Red Bull paint scheme I finally knew what I had to do. A dark base coat (wanted blue but my time frame kept me from ordering the right colour at the time, so I used black) with red on yellow main decals, off-white and red minor decals. Turned that ugly bike into something I enjoy looking at. When we re-settle and get a new house, I'll redo the same scheme but with that coveted blue base coat.

Yes, there is a perfect-looking bike.

Given his druthers Steve will always go for blue, although his current bike is dark grey because that is all that was available at the time. Dodie likes a black and red colour scheme. Her bike is black, panniers are red. She thinks it looks very attractive .

Red bikes go faster.

I know it’s not the point of the post, but is it his Rodriguez?

Color matters to me too, and I tend to like interesting blues and greens.  Years ago I bought a Cannondale 2000, influenced at least partly by the color, a slightly shimmery metallic green.  After I bought it I really liked it when I was riding it in the sun I looked down and was shocked to see that it looked chocolate.  It had one of those photoreactive paint jobs that will look different in different light.

Partly because of this, I liked it well enough that it took me about ten years to realize it really didn’t fit me well.

yes, this is his well loved Rodriguez. Jacinto is happy the crack didn’t become a problem on tour this summer. Who knows when it started. He had perhaps 30 pounds on the rear rack, which is far less than the 45 pounds it’s rated for. The rack is a Blackburn. 

Yes, color matters. I wouldn't base which bike to buy on the color, but if you're going to be spending that much time with it, it should be aesthetically pleasing - to you, others less so. I kind of think a bike thief wouldn't care so much about the color as what he/she can get for it in relation to how difficult it is to steal. 

I read Scott's post and it reminded me of a bike from way back. It was a Cannondale, circa ?1982?, and what I guess is close to a deep British racing green with dark brown leather handlebar tape. It was the most beautiful bicycle I had ever seen, and I fantasized about it for years, but it was well beyond what I could afford. I kept the paper catalog for at least a decade.

I did some google searching but wasn't able to find that bike, but did find some interesting vintage Cannondale catalogs. Looking at the 1980s bikes, gear, clothing, hairstyles, and poses was an entertaining way to spend a few minutes:  
https://vintagecannondale.com/catalog

As it happens, my new bike (more in an upcoming journal) happens to be British racing green. I didn't even realize the connection until seeing Scott's post.

it’s an interesting segue thinking about bikes you’ve coveted for a long time.  Mine is my Rodriguez, which sadly only gets ridden now when we’re back in the states.  It’s one of the things I always look forward to about returning to the states in the winter.

I first heard about Rodriguez bikes back in 1974, when my first wife and I were living on Capitol Hill in Seattle after moving back from Indiana.  One day on the way to work I saw a flyer for Rodriguez bikes - it must have been just about when they first started manufacturing them - and something about it really tugged at me.  I was just eking by making pizzas and we were about to adopt our son, so there was of course no money for a luxury like a custom-made bike.

Still, the vision stayed in the back of my head for decades; and when I finally retired 45 years later I bought one for myself as a retirement present.  I went up to Seattle to get measured, and it was after I rode it out of the shop that I realized how missized for me my Cannondale was.

Oh, and to return to the theme, I’m quite happy with the color scheme.

Color honestly does not matter to me.  Since I got old enough to have to buy my own bikes, I'm not sure I've even had the same color twice: orange, red, green, black and grey cover the last 40 years of bikes!

The dark grey Jamis hides dirt/grease the best since it always looks dirty - that is probably my favorite...