so, i've noticed a trend, and it is biggest in the Cyclocross line.
A bit bike company, in Wisconsin, that is nearly universally shunned or at least second guessed by all but the king doper ball licking fan club (who are hard pressed to be called cyclists) is doing something clever.
In one of their lines. One very particular line.
It is sneaky. And brilliant. No one wants to ride their bikes, but hey, they have to sell bikes, or at least get people to ride them. SOOOOO
lets make the logos invisible.
lets save the riders embarassment until people get close, if that.
"Hey graphics department, design the paint scheme and logos so you can't tell what brand the bike is, total stealth. If no one can tell what you're riding, then we'll sneak in some credibility without resorting to strong black and yellow color schemes."
Look at the Cyclocross frames. All of them. Katie's photo by her frame sponsor, HER SPONSOR TOOK THE PHOTO and you have no idea what she's riding. Look at the Cronus in your LBS, can you tell what the brand is until your sticking your face between the main triangle? Nope.
You can't.
At first i was incredulous. Like Nike pulling all their logos from everything. No swoosh. Izod making polos without a little embroidered status symbol. It didn't make sense. Here's your chance at free marketing. People see bike, people see brand, ADVERTISING.
Odd. At first. But when you look at the fact that they backed the wrong horse in the Lemond battle, destroyed the only aluminum production brand with value and a unique product and turned the sweetest most evolved technically awesome mt bike brand into a catch all component group from high end wheels down to the last inner tube and streamer, well, you do things differently.
They make good bikes. People like their bikes. It is a recognizable brand.
They dumped tons of capital into the brand, touting US MADE and actually making shit in Wisconsin. Then they caved to the fiscal pressure and the lure of off shore profit potential.
This new twist is interesting. To complete the circle they need to drop the brand for all the mountain bikes, put the GF logo all over them, no they aren't our's they are GF's. Instant sales. Maybe that's the 2014 phase of the plan. Unlabel all Cyclocross bikes, then transition to GFs in the Mt Bikes. Who knows what's next. Just please don't put the Klein label on the current aluminum stuff.
heddwch
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Trek have their own factory and make their own stuff in Taiwan too. So does Giant. Not many other brands do. It's all contractor made and the graphics are the only thing that's different in many cases. But I think this is just the beginning of a fashion shift. The NASCAR style graphics era of the past decade will probably fade. There's already backlash against the huge graphics like you see on a Shiv. Never mind some of the bizarre color schemes the big bike companies come up with. You see a lot more deep wheels with the graphics peeled off too. At D2R2 it was weird to me to see so many serious cyclists with no graphics on their clothing. In our little racing world we have a twisted perception of normal. Cycling is more fashion conscious than anyone wants to admit. Look at all the commentary around Wiggin's helmets. All anyone could say was that they were ugly. It's not about the bike, it's about the look...
Compton has Trek gear on in the photos. I don't understand the Trek hate really. The bikes are awesome. But many people judge bikes without riding them. Probably fear of having their identity associated with the brand.
I have a $700 pair of Bontrager alloy wheels that ride way faster than my $1800 carbon Mavics. Go figure.
Also interesting that Compton's bike doesn't have 9 miles of seatpost showing. I hope this is the beginning of the end of the "look like an mtb" trend too. S-M-L-XL sizing and all that.
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