tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post6551030874021498535..comments2024-03-29T04:01:31.445-04:00Comments on Lovely Bicycle!: The Allure, and Lure, of the HeadbadgeVelouriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-21623848809621254422014-10-20T05:20:10.697-04:002014-10-20T05:20:10.697-04:00I love ANT Bikes for many reasons, but the headbad...I love ANT Bikes for many reasons, but the headbadge is definitely one of them. It has an old world 'stamped with a chisel and hammer' look that I just love. Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10228751291651549631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-61212298783416278392014-10-16T22:59:30.352-04:002014-10-16T22:59:30.352-04:00I've never really been one for fancy, but ther...I've never really been one for fancy, but there's just something incredibly alluring about Ahearne Cycle's head badge to me, perhaps it's the "made with love and fury". I am passionate, appreciate craftsmanship, and approach cycling with love and fury; it strikes a chord.<br />NaomiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-3920451788543357872014-10-13T11:01:44.090-04:002014-10-13T11:01:44.090-04:00I own a custom Ellis. No badge, just a decal. Alth...I own a custom Ellis. No badge, just a decal. Although I can appreciate a nicely designed headbadge, it is not a deal breaker if a bike does not have one. What attracts me to a builder is attention to detail and artistry that goes into the frame itself. If you visit JP Weigle on Flickr, head tube shots are hard to find. I think he uses a decal also. These two builders have such a high degree of skill the frames they construct are so beautiful they are drool worthy without even noticing the lack of a headbadge. Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09090802854306112252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-13869202405331971972014-10-13T10:29:17.877-04:002014-10-13T10:29:17.877-04:00I'm lucky enough to own a Chapman. And yes... ...I'm lucky enough to own a Chapman. And yes... one of the first things that attracted me to the bike was the badge. It's beautiful. Cool trivia: the badge is made by a Rhode Island company called "Hookfast." In addition to making police and fire badges they also make all the badges for RBW. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-64376445969898491592014-10-11T23:24:54.466-04:002014-10-11T23:24:54.466-04:00I love looking at head badges, and must admit that...I love looking at head badges, and must admit that my current bike is without one -- being I painted the frame. The Trek head badge that came with this bike had the word "Trek" spelled out, and it was anything but attractive. So I threw it away. Trek was kind enough to send a more attractive replacement, which is the company's shield logo. So that one will get called into action soon. Nice post. I believe they help give a bike an identity.Darren C.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-32300044992475912502014-10-11T23:00:40.620-04:002014-10-11T23:00:40.620-04:00I've never bought a bike because of the badge,...I've never bought a bike because of the badge, but I've lost interest in some because they lack them.<br /><br />For my birthday in second grade, I got a Raleigh Mountie, bright red lugged steel with chrome fenders. In 7th grade, I stripped off the fenders and chainguard, and rode it until high school. The first bike I bought myself was a Raleigh Technium road bike. <br /><br />From what I can tell, all their carbon and aluminum bikes just get a decal. To me, they lack personality. If I ever buy another, it will be one of their steel frames with the heron in its proper place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-80183620313218342832014-10-11T22:49:15.728-04:002014-10-11T22:49:15.728-04:00For my birthday in second grade, my parents bought...For my birthday in second grade, my parents bought me a red Raleigh Mountie, a lugged frame bike with 20" wheels. I rode it until I was in 9th grade. The first bike I bought for myself was a Raleigh Technium.<br /><br />Most of their line today has a bland "RALEIGH" decal in place of the heron badge. To me, the badgeless bikes lack personality.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-78701235042625253102014-10-11T21:25:50.050-04:002014-10-11T21:25:50.050-04:00I didn't see any Dick Power frames while snoop...I didn't see any Dick Power frames while snooping around Seattle this summer but I DID see a late 50s Mac-Lean in my size hanging up in Recycled-Cycles. Oh my, the palpitations and waves of lust that washed over me till I snapped out of it and got the hell out of there... I wouldn't have thought that would be a bike that could give me the vapors but there you have it.<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-6469456429361439032014-10-11T21:17:10.989-04:002014-10-11T21:17:10.989-04:00A non-Schwinn bike with a Schwinn headbadge is nev...A non-Schwinn bike with a Schwinn headbadge is never going to ride right. Just sayin...<br /><br />There are some really fine builders out there with really lame badges or no badge at all. I just had a fork made by Clockwork Bikes, his stuff is really fine and he's well regarded as a builder and as a person who is good to deal with. But his headtube logo is sort of underwhelming. If some well laundered money slipped into my possession I would TOTALLY have a frame from him tomorrow, but I'd have him leave the headtube bare and I'd snip out a little brass alarmclock and screw it on there myself...<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-6332805154372808232014-10-11T19:31:45.490-04:002014-10-11T19:31:45.490-04:00would someone buy a painting because of the signat...would someone buy a painting because of the signature? i've seen a lot of crappy wannabes develop a flare for the market but fall flat with the work. the joy is in the experience..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-62427789720184005742014-10-10T14:25:54.411-04:002014-10-10T14:25:54.411-04:00Saint Christopher
Be My Guide
vskSaint Christopher <br /> Be My Guide <br /><br /><br />vskAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-38156810259794824042014-10-10T14:20:43.000-04:002014-10-10T14:20:43.000-04:00Hmm Pictures pictures. I think I put some up on t...Hmm Pictures pictures. I think I put some up on the Brooklyn Velodrome Vintage Wheelmen Facebook page. I'll try to send something to your filligree velo etc etc. I am not a flicker/picture/sharer subscriber. <br /><br />I forgot, fast forward a couple of weeks and Eddie e-mails me (with the subject of "Your DP Bike" so as not to freak out Big Brother at work!) a picture of Lynn Adams on "the" bike with her father holding the seatpost for support. She has leather hairnet and funky 50s (?) glasses on. <br />Now I am not going to dispute him but I think there may have been a few bikes made for her with the St. Christopher medal affixed. I showed Brett Horton her picture at a B.V.V.W. meeting to see if he recognized her but no dice. <br /><br />While in Seattle, I have seen a few Dick Power bikes (over a bar and at Classic Cycle on Bainbridge Isl. to name a cupla occasions). Eddie had one or two on display at the Rapha store on Gansevoort Street in NYC and again at another in Queens. <br /><br />I forget the bike somethimes because it is not my size and don't really get to ride it. No brake as well. I am sure it was meant for tubulars and the 27" tires barely clear the fork crown. I think the drillings were 32/40 which narrowed my rim choices. <br /><br />I'll see if I can get a couple of pix of it to you. <br /><br />I hear you Spindizzy! I am kind of glad the bike is not my size as I'd be tempted to do something stupid like see what lurks beneath the paint or something. Or hack it up. I will keep it, as I read roughly translated on French eBay "preserved in its juices".<br /><br />I don't disparage the "safety levers" on bikes too much after learning that touring P-15 Paramounts with the Weinmann brakes came with them a lot. I always think I am going to find some rare rough diamond putzing around NYC and I'll offer the guy $100. You never know!<br />I have seen a Robur full chaincase bike (without the chaincase) around here (Bryant Park and Grand Central Station) with the integrated 1 piece Cinelli upright handlebars and brake levers... I'll see him/her one day.<br /><br />vskAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-8709581124851370042014-10-10T09:33:44.011-04:002014-10-10T09:33:44.011-04:00I love headbadges, I have a small collection that ...I love headbadges, I have a small collection that gives me guilt and pleasure in equal measure. I don't buy old bikes and kill them just for the badge anymore and I don't buy enough new ones to make decisions based on the badge, but I would totally pay someone $100 or so for a nice custom pewter or sterling one for an especially nice bike I was in a relationship with. I'm getting a Seven and find their badge to be sort of Ho-Hum but it's big enough to re-shape a bit and paint a panel behind to give it a border and some contrast for the cut-out bits.<br /><br />When I was a kid I epoxied a badge onto the headtube of my BMX bike, it was a neat aluminum thingie with a Bull Elk head on it and the words Shenandoah National Park. It was intended to be nailed on to a hiking/walking stick as a souvenir (not sure why the Great Aunt who gave it to me bought it, the walk from the car to the gift shop was probably about as long a trek as she ever made and I suspect she just leaned on her sister the whole way, a stick would have just forced her to leave either her handbag or her Bible in the car and that was never going to happen ). It eventually fell off(should have drilled the headtube for screws) and I was bummed. 25 years later I bought an almost identical new one myself at Shenandoah National Park and it's glued to the headtube of my old Mongoose single-speed cruiser/MTB/townie-bike with some black silicon. I really should drill the headtube for screws before it falls off and I have to start over again. <br /><br />I know someone with a St. Christopher medal on the seat-tube of their CX bike, everytime someone tells her that St. Christopher isn't a real Saint anymore she tells them it's OK 'cuz she isn't a real bike racer anymore. I wish I had thought of that...<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-60439422261199551402014-10-10T09:03:16.621-04:002014-10-10T09:03:16.621-04:00Guilty as charged when it comes to purchasing old ...Guilty as charged when it comes to purchasing old bicycles for no other reason than to harvest the head badge. After culling my trophy I either build up the frame and donate to some deserving local or recycle if it cannot be salvaged. On bikes I donate I usually glue old Schwinn badges where the original set.<br /><br />Among current builders agree Chapman is very nice. Demon bicycles in the UK (know nothing about the frames but understand the builder is well regarded) and Winter Bicycles (just took possession of one, Eric Estlund is a master in the making) are also pretty well conceived. Matthew Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10408057524387021992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-64528382619019061702014-10-10T08:59:43.677-04:002014-10-10T08:59:43.677-04:00+1 on wanting to see that bike. Those 30s and 40s ...+1 on wanting to see that bike. Those 30s and 40s trackbikes have a aura all their own and Dick Power frames have even more than most (plus an interesting back story including National Championships, personal tragedy and lots of stories of his bikes turning up in odd places like this one). <br /><br />An early Bruce Gordon frame (50cm) turned up at my house last year with damaged top and down tubes, the guy wanted me to silver solder an extension to the fork so he could put it on his 58cm Fuji garage sale special. I sold him a used fork with enough steerer for $20 and connected him with someone who instantly gave him $150 for the frame and plans to see if Bruce will repair it for his sister in law, That frame had evidently made the rounds of several bikeshops without anyone ever thinking about having it repaired, this guy picked it up for nothing just to see if he could get a cheap fork for his Fuji with the suicide brakes and quilted vinyl saddle. The paint wasn't even that bad. I hope that bike lives...<br /><br />Spindizzy <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-14580613552141508532014-10-10T08:52:19.380-04:002014-10-10T08:52:19.380-04:00>>Is [the old Soma Smoothie ES headbadge] it...>>Is [the old Soma Smoothie ES headbadge] it the one with red enamel and white clouds, or did they make others?<<<br /><br />The one you're thinking of immediately followed mine, and it was lovely too. Now most of them seem to be a monotone steel or say aluminum-colored bas-relief of the sun-stream motif, though the funny thing is, it's really hard to tell what most of the headbadges look like now at their website, unless I'm missing something.<br /><br />Mine is painted on (or decal?) that I don't even know how to describe, so instead <a href="https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=B9469AC8AF22E619!8176&authkey=!AP9QsXyJPMSsJnY&v=3&ithint=photo%2cjpg" rel="nofollow">I'll just link it.</a>Christopher Fotosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-27783413886890636442014-10-10T08:17:08.273-04:002014-10-10T08:17:08.273-04:00heh. A while back, a tough hard fast old man on a ...heh. A while back, a tough hard fast old man on a gorgeous Rivendell Bleriot told me "a bike is the only vehicle weighed without it's motor." <br /><br />Decals. Hmmm.Corey Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15381826721030941179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-1064973080100038812014-10-10T07:21:52.154-04:002014-10-10T07:21:52.154-04:00The overheard dialog at the end makes me want more...The overheard dialog at the end makes me want more. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-27207680123340479612014-10-10T06:48:46.485-04:002014-10-10T06:48:46.485-04:00I'd love to see a picture of that bike. And I ...I'd love to see a picture of that bike. And I like the idea of Saint Christoher medal as headbadge. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-39119783101486126682014-10-10T06:39:04.204-04:002014-10-10T06:39:04.204-04:00I don't think Laura does that anymore, at leas...I don't think Laura does that anymore, at least not on a regular basis. She shut down Tangerine Treehouse a couple of years back. But there are several other great headbadge makers around, including a couple in the Boston area. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-78600241392301111842014-10-10T06:34:29.861-04:002014-10-10T06:34:29.861-04:00I'd probably use a decal style badge. You know...I'd probably use a decal style badge. You know, for weight saving reasons. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-76426835831731810142014-10-10T06:30:57.703-04:002014-10-10T06:30:57.703-04:00Is it the one with red enamel and white clouds, or...Is it the one with red enamel and white clouds, or did they make others?Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-25275769187396598382014-10-10T06:26:39.089-04:002014-10-10T06:26:39.089-04:00Rivendell headbadges are always nice. And it's...Rivendell headbadges are always nice. And it's interesting how some companies make them for every model, rather than using the same one for the entire brand. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-23394710772464820182014-10-10T01:18:51.897-04:002014-10-10T01:18:51.897-04:00I recently purchased a late '70s Emory frame, ...I recently purchased a late '70s Emory frame, largely b/c of its exceedingly rad headbadge. The badge looks like most Emory badges, with the image of the Evil Galvanized Stallion, and the "Jacksonville, Florida '76" at the bottom BUT, in between, where it usually says "Hand Made", this one says "MADE BY ROBOT." Had to have it. I put an aftermarket fork on it, and I'm gonna get a Bender decal to put on the fork, to compliment the headbadge. I need to take a good pic of the headbadge, but here's a link to a picture of the frame: http://d36mgel2479174.cloudfront.net/2014/09/6156_3f84badbb1e29cd6fc0a764eddd7b297.jpg?Expires=1412918246&Signature=SJLz6bqtG1oKUGlyPmZ-JjPlJ7KMKMUvLJ5QoWd2uQDG0W-4zrhIKi4PLjbuKCnoWtFGdYj9CHtZzNAQiEiO6YnewULIHnEKzVCk7u0p7~ZlOfGJgoAOg~nf4wA1sQhM6uCDjQlvI0cEwFF48AJbz49H3KjKXxhe1WIC9eCkr50_&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJAEWQS67IP4XHE3A<br />-RobScreechhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15397676711365438175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-68760682239089625642014-10-10T00:51:29.194-04:002014-10-10T00:51:29.194-04:00I have a Devinci bike and it's a great bike, t...I have a Devinci bike and it's a great bike, the logo is so boring. They make great bikes but really should work on the logo and maybe think of a "real" head badge that's riveted on and be something to show off.<br /><br />The Eiffel Tower badge is great! Makes you want to wear a beret while riding it to the patisserie to get a baguette.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com