I just scanned a couple of old issues of Bicycling recently. I'm browsing through those looking for prime examples.
'fer instance.. a lesson could be "shorts can be too short"...


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bb112bd414.jpg

Steve in Peoria

another warning?

you might want to skip the first, or even the second, generation of a new technology....


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5481b8887f.jpg

Steve in Peoria

Ahhh, in the days before chlamydia.....

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Now you will always think of this image every time you see this type of bike frame.

And with a chuckle!

Oh man. Here we go again.

Just take a look at my bike and then ask yourself the same thing again, OP. You'll feel better. At least the aesthetics of your bike doesn't have peeling plastidip hanging off the top tube exposing rust spots.

while I was going through one of my old magazines, I was reminded of the hazards of making moral/ethical compromises, and how that can put one onto the slippery slope to infamy....


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f955ff7e8d.jpg

if that's not a warning to future generations of cyclists, I'm not sure what is.

Steve in Peoria

To quote this overview page on Doping in the TdF of Wikipedia:

And from this site:

Quote:

---

In addition, of the 81 different riders who finished in the top-10 of the Tour de France during this period, 65% have been caught doping, admitted to blood doping, or have strong associations to doping and are suspected cheaters.

More importantly for Lance Armstrong, during the 7-year window when he won every Tour de France (1999-2005), 87% of the top-10 finishers (61 of 70) were confirmed dopers or suspected of doping.

---

So clearly the lesson here is Don't get caught

Alternatively:
https://i.imgur.com/GZljvpj.jpg

I think they can be very tasteful when done right. In a RAD sort of way. Good luck ever properly repainting it though.

As for fades... some of those mid-90's fades aren't exactly my favourite colour combinations. But they pale compared to some eyesore frame designs around that time:

no question, the history of bike racing is full of folks seeking to improve their performance in whatever way they can.
It could be argued that Lance just didn't know when to tone it down a bit and avoid some of the scrutiny. You don't want to be the guy that the authorities decide to make an example of.
It could also be argued that he might not have been penalized so much if he had been a nicer guy.

To counter the "don't get caught' argument.. I think LeMond serves as an example of the right way to succeed. Like Lance, he had physical problems to overcome, but LeMond seems to have won the Tour without doping, or at least without getting caught doping?

but yeah,.. there are a variety of lessons to be learned from Mr. Armstrong.

Steve in Peoria

I found myself following this guy at a BobF ride, I think you & Mark attended.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...65fc8797e2.jpg
Ahhh there it is - Not a climbing route so, Polka Dot bike saved for later.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ae034dd14f.jpg

Hey, it doesn't always look bad.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5b647a7b8a.jpg

Yes, it does.

Seeing that pic in a magazine in the 80's of Eric Heiden on his 7-11 team bike with the first wonky looking upturned necked stem was a good warning for me on how race bikes are just going to continually get uglier and uglier in the future.

Doing it with panaché will always be in style:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f15ff18dd1.jpg
(edit: ^^^^ Not my bike, i couldn't pull it off, dressed out by a much classier Forum member)
Or alternatively
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e505bf72fb.jpg

I’ve fixed that, but you’re right.

I think so too, which is the main reason I’m reluctant to do anything about the deteriorating paint. Those shorts on the other hand... ;)

Ask and ye shall receive.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ce86a3ab1.png

This'll never go on a bike, it's worth 10x in the box. And 9x of that is the box.

polka dotted frame=awesomeness

Rossin and Faggin win the awards for “hmm...what eyesore paint will actually look really cool...in 30 years”

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3b4a0c6894.gif

Crackle, splatter, and fades are the greatest 3 paint styles ever created. Ever.


Signed,
- a product of the late 80s and 90s.

In the same vein: Every single article of clothing worn by every single model in every single photo on every single page of every single Schwinn catalog from every single year from about 1965 to about 1977. I thought the models (except for the guys on the Paramount track bikes) looked stupid when I saw the catalogs as a kid in real time. I poured over every detail of at least some of the bikes. But I, even at 8 years old, thought the humans in the pics looked like total dorks. And that was before the word "dork" was invented.

Not so much a warning as an object lesson that even top-drawer outfits can lose their way.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...04a2f4fbb4.jpg