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The Color White

Boonen in his final Paris-Roubaix

I saw the Black Crowes in concert some years ago, and as the band swung into their first number, Chris Robinson casually strolled onstage wearing head to toe white sequins. Later in the show, he remarked that nothing quite makes you feel like a virgin like wearing white.

The color white is indeed a bold statement. A white house declares to the neighborhood that the homeowners are committed to give nature the what-for and keep it pristine at all times. Similarly, the Cyclist who wears white declares that they are willing to take their chances against road grime, despite effectively turning themselves into a human mudflap.

White is like hanging a “Kick Me” sign on Nature.

I personally find it irresistible. White bar tape and socks, even on a bike I expect to get dirty, is a must. I do admit to going through phases where I’ll experiment with black or orange socks or bar tape like a temperamental tween experimenting with talking back to their parents. But I always find myself irrevocably drawn back to white.

When I was 13, I bought my first Selle San Marco Regal saddle in perforated white leather. (I promptly crashed on it). It matched my Scott Drop-Ins which were wrapped in white Benotto bar tape, as well as the white spatters on my early Nineties paintjob. It was many years later before I bought myself some White Ladies. And to be fair, as much as I love my Orange Damsels, there is nothing like a clean, white pair of socks matched to a clean, white pair of shoes. Just ask Tom Boonen.

White sunglasses are a must as well, and after a short foray from the path, I’m back on the white helmet program. White jerseys tend to look sharper than their dark counterparts (assuming your physical qualities don’t require the slimming effect of black.) I’m on a quest for a white bike, but people seem loathe to make me one, as they are apparently unlucky. (I’m going for the next best thing: silver sparkles.)

White is bold and requires a concerted effort to ensure one keeps it pristine, but it pays you back by Looking incomparably Fantastic. It seems the only place where white doesn’t look better is on bibshorts. Go figure.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Rick says:

Jun 10 2017 at 7:03 am

Regarding white not belonging on bib shorts- look no further than the FDJ team kit for evidence. It is only my opinion but the all white FDJ kit is one of the worst in the peloton.

However, changing to blue shorts makes the kit one of my favorites:
chuckp says:

Jun 10 2017 at 7:33 am

@Randy C

@chuckp

So the Hollands is just dripping class. And the Felt, you just know, has to be a sweet ride. So… which one is getting the most miles ? The modern C or the classic lugged steel ? I have a good buddy with a collection of classic Italian steel but it’s his C Merckx that gets the miles.

Thanks for the kind words. I pretty much just ride the Felt FC these days. But now you've reminded me that I should try to get the Hollands out every once in a while. Maybe on my "easy" days when I don't have to deal with so many hills and wonder how I used to ride/race that bike with a lowest gear of 39x21 in the mountains.
chuckp says:

Jun 10 2017 at 7:38 am

@litvi

Yeah, have to agree with the Ciussi cages being rad. @chuckp – you can find the full-width white electrical tape everywhere and the narrower multi-color packs have the deep royal blue that would work well with your downtube accent. I haven’t seen orange tape though… if I see some I’ll message you. BTW… I cut a narrow strip of that same dark blue tape to use as a height marker on my seat tube, and it’s perfect. Subtle, but if/when you do see it, at least it matches your color scheme.

When I switch back to the stem/bars in the pic, I'll also go back to white bar tape and use white electrical tape to finish it. I have blue electrical tape too so might see how that looks. Will probably just do regular black electrical tape for my seat post marker.
frank says:

Jun 10 2017 at 10:46 am

@Phillip Mercer

@Phillip Mercer

I did use the spare tape wisely to indoctrinate my son on his balance bike…

0

That.

Is.

Awesome.
Ron says:

Jun 13 2017 at 8:31 am

@frank

Your INNER curmudgeon? Jesus, based on the curmudgeon that you let out of the cage, I’m terrified to know what the locked-up one is like, Mr. Hyde.

0

He actually hibernates most of the year, so he's usually pretty lethargic when I let him out. Hey, just like with the Rules, I have my own standards. It was fun when people started wearing colorful, stripey socks and such. Now that people are trying to sell full white kits with unicorns and ice cream cones on them...I'm not feeling it at all. Cut that out.
Ron says:

Jun 13 2017 at 8:34 am

I love the FDJ kit, no matter what color bibs. AND, I like the AG2R kit as well. F the boring all black or black and white kits. So many ugly ones out there. Red and black are ugly too.
RobSandy says:

Jun 13 2017 at 8:44 am

@frank

@Phillip Mercer

@Phillip Mercer I did use the spare tape wisely to indoctrinate my son on his balance bike…

0

That. Is. Awesome.

0

Only just seen this - bizarre, was having a conversation with my son yesterday and he said he'd like some Lizardskins camo tape on his bike.

He's 5.
universo says:

Jun 14 2017 at 11:11 am

@MangoDave

@universo

@Buck Rogers

@universo Damn! Now that’s a proper bike! Who made it? Frame?

Eddy Merckx MX Leader — Noah Rosen of Velocolour turned my design scheme into his 2016 white edition. We collaborated on my understated graphics to carry only the an M, Columbus Dove, and Velocolour logos. Then M appears where needed and Velocolour added dashes of pink on the pantograph areas of crown and bridge.

Nice! I’d love to see some photos of these details.

thnx -- much more detail @ velocolour
universo says:

Jun 14 2017 at 11:21 am

really good to check back in and see what's been happening with this group -- after a long time lost in the wilderness -- after gravel kept me hidden away.
Cary says:

Jun 14 2017 at 5:50 pm

@universo

@MangoDave

@universo

@Buck Rogers

@universo Damn! Now that’s a proper bike! Who made it? Frame?

Eddy Merckx MX Leader — Noah Rosen of Velocolour turned my design scheme into his 2016 white edition. We collaborated on my understated graphics to carry only the an M, Columbus Dove, and Velocolour logos. Then M appears where needed and Velocolour added dashes of pink on the pantograph areas of crown and bridge.

Nice! I’d love to see some photos of these details.

thnx — much more detail @ velocolour

1

this bike is completely outstanding. i think the MX Leader ranks as the finest steel frame ever seen in the pro peloton. i like it better than the Colbago Master.