Hi Tony, all. I beg to disagree. My first good road bike was a new '72 Raleigh Competition w/ the lilac/metallic blue color scheme. Not your everyday color scheme but i liked it. I've seen other British bikes on the whirlyweb w/ lilac coloring and thought them very nice as well. In general i love the British bikes w/ contrasting head tube and seat tube panels, often in rather bold color choices; much better than playing it safe. Cheers. Billy Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA