When I first started following cycling in the late 80s, more and more pro bikes were receiving large block font branding on the front-facing of forks and seatstays to better get in that advertising. I know it crossed over into mtbs of the early 90s as well, but it seemed to be a short run fad. This Lemond (not mine) has them on front and back, but I remember some that looked much more amateurish in execution.
