Why so much branding on bikes? Are we childish show offs?

futuristicoldman

Senior Retro Guru
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What is to be gained from having manufacturers logos and model names plastered all over ones bike? Who are we trying to impress? When I see an aston martin driving past I dont see branding splattered over it, the owner knows what he is driving and doesnt need to shout out to the world that Bobby chrome hoof made his wing mirrors because its plainly obvious to everybody that he has lots of cash, good/poor taste, and an enormous engorged organ and the machine itself does the talking.
Surely by the same logic a cyclist does not really need to tell the world who made his titanium seatpost because he is happy with it and knows that all the other folks in the know have clocked it and all think that he must be a great guy because of it.
If I got paid to ride somebodies fancy bits then that would be fair enough but as a regular chap who buys his own, am I a much cooler cat keeping my push iron subtle and not looking like an advertising billboard or a fashion victim?
 
well my modern carbon GT has bloody gt stickers every where , if you fell of it and landed in a million randon patterns relative to the bike you could still see what you crashed as they load you into the ambulance

thats why all my old GT's have no decals on them
 
Advertising & marketing by the bike/component manufacturers, and a healthy dose of testosterone fuelled male posturing when it comes to aftermarket decals.
Cars do have the manufacturer name & model on them, an Aston Martin badge is still there just not so in yer face as it is on bicycles.
Then you get the Kevins in their Saxo's or whatever with Yokohama and Sparco decals all over the car, despite their 1.1 Saxo not having any aftermarket parts whatsoever.

Anyway, it'd be pretty boring if all bikes were just plain decal-less metal skeletons.
 
I'm pretty sure anyone that would be interested would be able to identify an Aston Martin by it's shape, styling and subtle badges.

The same cannot really be said for MTBs as, with a few exceptions, I think most people would struggle to identify the make of a bike, never mind the model, if it wasn't for the decals.

Then there's the "bling" factor of course :)
 
see that for me is one of the distinctions between retro and modern, BITD brands were trying to establish and prove themselves. they didnt want or didnt need to shout too loudly, as the bikes and bits spoke for themselves. They just seemed less crass and in your face back then.

I blame it on aluminium myself , them bigger tubes gave people more room to place bigger logo'sand it all went wrong from there. I blame that cunningham fella who built that ground breaking revolutionary thing with tatty welds, grrrrrr :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
The issue was brought to my attention several years ago when I found myself the proud owner of a Look road bike, all was rosy until it was pointed out that it had the words LOOK splashed across it something like 37 times. Whenever I rode past anybody I knew, I had "LOOK at me" muttered in my general direction. I suddenly saw the light and have lived a life of contentment through minimal branding ever since.
 
To be fair.....

Bike components and frames were fairly generic for decades. Without the maker's name - the casual observer would have been unable to distinguish between a De Rosa with Nuovo Record or a Peugeot with Simplex and Mafac.

For the purposes of advertising/sponsorship it would have been very important to identify your brand. After all - the cachet of a racing bike is that it is .... well.... good enough to win races on. Which is not the same as having a nice motor to pose on.

All the logos we have today are probably just the logical extension of that thinking. As many people STILL want to ride the same stuff as the pros and the pros are supposed to make the brand visible. And for resto-purists, the idea of pulling labels off would be an anæthema.

Logos today are more discrete than they used to be - but also tend to be etched into products so you can't really avoid them.
 
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