Style man

Far and away my favorite feature of Bicycling magazine is "Style Man." If Bicycling were nothing more than a postcard mailed to my house each month with the Style Man column printed on it, it would be worth the price of the subscription.

As entertaining as the Style Man is on his own, the real gold is the combination of the January/February column and subsequent reader response, published in the May issue:

Q: When is it OK to ride a pink bike?

A: Yesterday.

Pink has its place in the stylish cyclist's life--but only for clothing details such as piping, stripes, highlights, stitching and liners, or as the name of the skanked-out but still somehow hot companion (male or female). When it comes to bikes, it's simple:

• Black is the fastest color
• White is even faster
• Black and white is acceptable
• Red or blue is not embarrassing
  

Nothing else works.


And here's the response, published without editing:

No were not

Is it okay to ride a pink bike (Style Man, Jan./Feb.)? Who are you to say what is right? If someone wants to ride a pink bike he should. I have a Tommasini Diamante with some pink on it and I get plenty of compliments. Your an idiot.

Mario De Simone, Brooklyn, NY

Thanks, Mario.