Quickbeam Custom Paint Color Help

[Birdman]

Hey Bunch,

The bottom bracket shell replacement on my Quickbeam is going well and it will be headed to wet paint at Black Magic Paint next week. I could use some advice.

For a while I had planned on going with a version of Mark’s custom pink. Next I was convinced that it should be a PurpleRiv purple. Then I settled on a very slightly metallic British Racing Green, as an homage to the original QB green and the to Ents the world over.

Now that the time has come, I’m not so sure anymore. Also, I’m slightly color blind, so colors are not my strong suit.

Design constraints:
1. I can go with a single coat, or add a 2nd color for the head tube.
2. It will sport the original decals and head badge (gold with cream).
3. I want it to be a color that’s in keeping with the Riv aesthetic and color pallet.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Isaac in Portland OR

[Patrick Moore]

I say the green; accent with cream panels if you must, but green is a noble color and is well known to make you happier.

Patrick “I like green” Moore

Patrick Moore
iPhone

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[Matt B.]

I like Riv's mustard / autumn yellow.   I've seen it on a few customs, and think the original clementines also came in that color.

[Joe Bernard]

I'm biased because this is my bike in my choice of color, but I think more Rivs should be Dove Gray with Red panels.

[christian poppell]

Hey Issac,

I like your thinking on the green! Its a good homage to both Quickbeam the bike and the Tree. A cream color to match the background of the detail would be very nice and in line with riv paint schemes. 

In the end its your bike and it will be great whatever you end up doing. 

Christian

Berkeley, CA

On Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 7:36:22 AM UTC-7, Birdman wrote:

[christian poppell]

Typo

"A cream color to match the background of the decal"

Christian

Berkeley, CA

[Joe Bernard]

A much longer answer to why I posted my bike's colors:

I found that having the option of doing whatever color(s) I wanted was actually kind of paralyzing and took a lot of time..there's too many! I had a friend as a sounding board for ideas, which is similar to what this thread is..that was helpful. You may not end up with any color we recommend, but the ideas may expand your possibilities.

Looking at galleries of other paintjobs was the next step and this is how I settled on my colors. In my case I was focused on Joe Bell's work because he was my painter, but I recommend his site for anyone planning bike paint. I had noticed his work on Kirkframes' Instagram, then meandered over to joebell.net and founded entire galleries of Kirks. There's sooooo many to look at and it really helped me visualize what was possible. That particular direction may be even more helpful to you because your bike hews closer to the classic road bike look of Kirk's frames than mine does.

One thing to be cognizant of is those Quickbeam decals have a whole lotta cream and gold in them, they're not going to blend well with just any color. Green definitely works, I was always on the fence about the orange one, and once I saw yellow which I uhhh didn't get. Choose well and good luck!

Joe "Homer Blue is nice, too" Bernard

[lambbo]

isaac, how exciting! the pink is so excellent, and a purple would be outstanding, especially if it were desaturated slightly to be a kind of purple grey.

however, when it comes down to it you want a forever color, and it is perhaps undisputed that the sparkly green will forever be incredible.

both pink and purple go very well with green, if done right (desaturated, again), so i’d recommend making your head tube a light, dusty-brownish-pink, like the flesh of a tree, or ENT. that would be subtle (almost cream from a distance) but noticeably beautiful, and very customized.

i’m considering this now for my cheviot!

[Robert Tilley]

The component choice could affect color choice as well. Silver components look good on most colors but black components don't always fit.

I have a sage pea green sage All Rounder and really like it. I think it's a classic Riv look. I did always like the original Riv Silver blue metallic as well.

Robert Tilley
San Diego, CA

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  Original Message  

Hey Bunch,

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Isaac in Portland OR

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[Ian A]

I can get mesmerized by certain colours. As a child and spending time with my dad in Paris, I used to see small Fiats in pastel torquoise and still love that colour today. Pink has always been uninteresting to me and I actively abhor purple hues.

Greens and blues, metallic or flat, would be on my short list. No cream panels for me though. I quite liked the run of blue Hillbornes that missed the cream bits. The colour and the uniformity were attractive.

I also really like a bicycle in black. Surly's Long Haul Trucker in "Blacktackular" appeals to me.

Any colour you like will be right though.

IanA Alberta Canada.

[Joe Bernard]

"I quite liked the run of blue Hillbornes that missed the cream bits."

There was a green "mistake" run like this around 2010-11, too..it reminded me of an early Porsche 911 color. I thought that solid no-cream green looked amazing.

[Birdman]

Thanks for chiming in y’all. I’m enjoying imagining all of your suggestions. I’m strongly leaning green without a cream head tube at this point.

Joe, thanks for sharing your paint selection process. I absolutely love how your custom came out! It reminds me of one of the old Bombadil color schemes. Or am I thinking Hunq?

Isaac

[Joe Bernard]

Hunqapillar..yep, that was an inspiration! (My story left out a couple steps cuz it wasn't pertinent to helping you on this thread). It was originally a color Joe Bell did for Mark Abele which later got on the first-gen Hunqs..I've always loved that bike. Then I saw the lighter version of those colors on a Kirk frame and here we are!

[Abcyclehank]

Birdman,
I strongly suggest you go with a cool green. A splash of metallic would be a bonus.
I also would discourage you from a contrasting cream head tube; just my personal bias but factors in significant upgrade cost usually $100+. My suggestion would be to consider pinstripe outlining the lugs. More bling for you buck. Not to mention you could do it yourself and bond with the big Ent.

Ryan
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0v5oqs3qDoQh9

[Max S]

The Japanese color palette is just lovely. Highly recommend. Check out some Ebisu bikes for examples of how it looks on a bike.

- Max “pea soup green, oxidized mustard, ox blood, periwinkle, light gray, burnt orange...” in A2

[Christopher Murray]

Hunqa green! And despite my best efforts this bike remains unbuilt and new in the box. Someday I’ll find the time.

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

If I were getting a custom QB but with original cream decals I’d probably have just as hard a time choosing. Having kinda lusted for a 68cmQB (or custom equivalent) I’ve pondered this before and here are a few in no particular order:

I’ve really liked the Hunqapillar-Pea-green or “Jay’s Green” (as I think they’ve maybe called it) and the more recent dark, shimmering, “Chameleon Green” of Cheviot & Clems but I’ve only seen these in photos and never in person.

I’m also a fan of that creamy ‘Sage green’ they’ve had on later Sam’s and Cheviots, but I think they’ve varied somewhat from batch to batch, if I remember correctly... unless I’m just confused and thinking of sage vs the Betty Foy blue?

Atlantis blue-green... Haven’t seen one in person but I think I’d really enjoy an Atlantis colored QB but would skip the cream headtube with the cream filled QB badge.

Mustard/Butterscotch is what I have on my 65cm Clem and I love it but would personally choose something else for a custom painted QB to complement my own Clem.

I’d be more inclined to go with a pale-ish or creamy pink if I had the later blue decals of the Silver gen QB... Or anything on the lighter side to contrast with the darker decals. But there’s a certain kind of sunset-kissed-cloud shade of pink that comes to mind. With the cream filled and gold lettered decals I’d likely choose something different and darker.

Just looked and there’s some great stuff on the Black Magic galleries on their webpage... have fun choosing and may you have even more fun riding once all is said and done!

Best,
Brian Cole
Lawrenceville NJ

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Ha, After just seeing Christopher Murray’s HunqaGreen QB I think I retract my “no cream headtube with cream QB badge statement” but now knowing there’s one currently out there in that exact color scheme I’m not sure if seeing it and wanting to duplicate it exactly outweighs the desire to paint my hypothetical one something else entirely unique or vice versa?

[Lee Chae]

Just gonna say in all biasednessess that *split* pea green looks pretty OK on a QB:

[Joe Bernard]

As long as we're dreaming I vote for the QB decals (no cream headtube) on my Dove Gray without the red. When I designed the scheme on my bike I was really into the red and saw the gray as kind of a backdrop for it. Now that I've lived with it a while I've really grown enamored of the gray itself, it's WAY more alluring in person than shows up in photos.

[Joe Bernard]

But green kills on a Quickbeam. It's almost *supposed* to be that color.

[Bill Lindsay]

When I think "Quickbeam" I think metallic silver.  When I think "Quickbeam, but the other color" then I think orange.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Joe Bernard]

And I will add - adding to what Bill said about what I said - that in the end we are just sounding boards. It's YOUR bike and you get to paint it YOUR color. My friend I said was my sounding board, the one I badgered for months and we discussed a bunch of different ideas? At the last minute I picked a scheme we NEVER mentioned 🙂

[Jason Braaten]

Purple or Robbins Egg blue would be my choice.

[Matt B.]

Bark brown looks great on a bike, and would accentuate the gold and cream bat-wing decals nicely.   +1 regarding no contrasting headtube.  

On Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 10:36:22 AM UTC-4, Birdman wrote:

[Birdman]

Thanks all for being such a great sounding board!

I reached out to the painters about British Racing Green options (single color paint job - no cream head tube). I’m open to a subtle metallic version. I also asked for a quote on gold lug lining. More soon.

[Michael Baquerizo]

I own a brg Bob Jackson w gold lug lining.

I like green bikes and BRG especially, but imo lug lining detracts from the beauty of the lugs. I'd like the bike much more if it was a more simple paint job.

[Philip Williamson]

If I were to repaint my Coleman Green Quickbeam, it would be in metallic dark dark gray, with no decals.

Philip
Santa Rosa, CA

[Wally Estrella]

Any color other than orange will just make the bike slow.  But, you already new that ;)  Can't what to see this refreshed Ent!