Extreme component branding practices...

[bikeworkshop]

Up to the (mid?) 90s, branding of cycles was reasonably discreet, and tended to stick to the major parts.

The frame decals would probably be less than a quarter of the tube diameter, a discreet postage-stamp label on the rims, tidy shimano logo with groupset level name on the major components.

Look at it now:
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/update-narrow-wide-chainring-180°-flip.489076/page-4#post-3686175

Nobody said:
"That looks brilliant - keep it"

Meaningless branding attached to any component with a visually significant surface area!

Do we dislike this stuff because we are aesthetically attached to our own little "golden age"?
Do we dislike shouty branding elsewhere, like on our clothes, food packaging, even the workplace?

Is it connected with the rise in bold tattoos on those parts of the body we can freely display in public?

Secondly, why did it come about?
Do we blame Specialized?

I think trek did some fairly huge frame decals early on... especially with the arrival of oversized aluminium as frame material.
Were they making up for just having a 4 letter name?

Deep carbon rims became billboards pdq.

Where will it end?

 

[Twozaskars]

Maybe you're just a miserable old man set in your ways?
We live in a materialistic society now - maybe people want everyone to know (or think) they've got money. Not for me, those Easton wheels for example. Klein Mantra also springs to mind. Not sure where my line would be drawn personally but they're way over it. Starbucks, Costa. The race face chainring on my Soul is ok. I think it is anyway, I haven't seen it for over a year. My sons Five is a bit loud with the Schwalbe tyres, Stans wheels etc but I did pull the green stickers off the Fox 34's.
OTT clothing branding isn't my thing apart from a Crosshatch hoodie I used to own, I quite liked that but the only generally acceptable clothing one for me is the three stripes on Adidas stuff.

*no offence bikey

 

[grantoury]

Marketing and advertising has come into business in the past decades, and branding has become subject to fashion. And fashion changes, so branding can become more subdued again in time.

I think you are right, the fact that lots of material has become oversized, was irresistible for manufacturers to enlarge their logos. Also, project an eighties logo on an oversized alu tube and it looks wrong.

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Amongst many other brilliant things, Tom Ritchey said this back in 2018:

"The ideal carbon bike is not the carbon bike that you see on the road today. As nice and as beautiful as it is, the ideal carbon bike is actually designed with diameters of tubing the same as steel. It's where carbon started out, and where carbon will probably some day end. Because only when you get back to those diameters are you going to get the ride quality characteristics of the steel bike. But they won't come back easily. This is the dirty little secret in the industry. The companies want a billboard, and the downtube gives them a billboard. And their not going to give up that billboard. So their gonna be big, their gonna be stiff, their gonna be harsh and that's just the nature of it."

 

[pwebb]

I have long believed that 'aero' rims are not actually very aero at all and especially with the de-rigeur enormous tyres everyone wants to ride - they do however provide an enormous marketing and branding space compared to non aero rims, older rim brake rims

 

[bikeworkshop]

I have long believed that 'aero' rims are not actually very aero at all and especially with the de-rigeur enormous tyres everyone wants to ride - they do however provide an enormous marketing and branding space compared to non aero rims, older rim brake rims

Aero Rims are actually aero, but they are also heavier than a narrower profile rim - so they should only really be seen on constant high speed, flat and in particular timetrial.

So they are massively over represented on bikes.

Give me a slim rim and someone else's back wheel to draft any day

Amongst many other brilliant things, Tom Ritchey said this back in 2018:

"The ideal carbon bike is not the carbon bike that you see on the road today. As nice and as beautiful as it is, the ideal carbon bike is actually designed with diameters of tubing the same as steel. It's where carbon started out, and where carbon will probably some day end. Because only when you get back to those diameters are you going to get the ride quality characteristics of the steel bike. But they won't come back easily. This is the dirty little secret in the industry. The companies want a billboard, and the downtube gives them a billboard. And their not going to give up that billboard. So their gonna be big, their gonna be stiff, their gonna be harsh and that's just the nature of it."

I'd hate to take issue with TR, but I'm not sure he's talking about the design requirements of modern race bikes.
(Which is where the marketing people want to lead us)

A larger diameter tube delivers more stiffness, and so greater strength and efficiency, for a given amount of material.
(Although you can't drop your keys on it!)

Narrow tubed composite frames would be wobbly or heavy or both.
I don't think there's a market for that any more.

But the "designing in a billboard" idea is bang on.

 

[Gtpulse]

Interesting thoughts. I like the Tom Ritchey quote which in my mind makes all the carbon “fuselage” lot seem a bit daft!

I love the brands/models that are so distinctive by their design and silhouette that you wouldn’t need a logo to identify. That’s both MTB and non MTB which has been going on pretty much since the invention of the bicycle!

 

[retrobate]

Do we blame Specialized?

Always! And Trek, bastards the lot of them! Grumble grumble mutter.

 

[retrobate]

Torsional stiffness is where efficiency stems from, vertical stiffness or lack of is where comfort is.

Sod the UCI, beam/cruciform is where it's at for carbon. Maybe then we can have both (and f'ing huge logos).

 

[bikeworkshop]

I thought the curly/ flying gate/ cantiflex/Paris frames of the 40s and 50s were used (mostly) because the manufacturers wanted to make their frames visually distinctive on the race track?
Otherwise let's face it its' a gimmick.
(Altho im a curly owner)

The rise of TV sport and multinational branding has demanded greater "bike area" to advertise on.
And clothing - cricket in particular, but football and rugby, cycling of course...

I'm reminded of Raphael Nadal in a tv interview removing the carefully placed bottles of coca cola and replacing them with water