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Just for balance...
Who doesn't like a head tube badge, who is entirely indifferent?
I had to really think about what my bikes have.
Santa-cruz. headtube badge, has a scuff already, not sure where from.
Bird. decal under clear coat. looks nice, bigger logo than would be possible with a badge.
but when do you ever look at them? mtbs look good from the side, and slgihtly offset from the side. head on is not their best view, and the headtube gets obstructed by cables anyway.
I wouldn't own an ugly bike, but for me, headtube badge or not has no impact on that.
Santa-cruz. headtube badge, has a scuff already, not sure where from.
Bird. decal under clear coat. looks nice, bigger logo than would be possible with a badge.
I don't think you are meant to actually ride the SC.
Bird Forge has a cut steel headtube badge...
I wouldn’t own an ugly bike, but for me, headtube badge or not has no impact on that.
I wouldn't buy a bike based on looks.. really couldn't care and they are covered in dirt 364 days a year anyway.
but when do you ever look at them?
You don't need to look at them, you can feel a proper HT badge, it's a tactile experience.
Well I feel I'm in the minority here. The other thread is doing much better.
Well I feel I’m in the minority here. The other thread is doing much better.
That's because complete indifference needs no input. I think you've gained a moral victory here with the lack of effort that's been put in by those of us who know that a shiny badge makes no difference at all to the ride. We have better things to do. (I've gone on far too long here!)
I wouldn’t own an ugly bike
TTIUWP!
I wouldn’t own an ugly bike, but for me, headtube badge or not has no impact on that
Is your Bird a hardtail then?
(Speaking as a Bird owner. Love how it rides, but it's a _long_ way from being something I'd hang on a wall...)
I don't care about headtube badges, or whether my bikes are ugly. I can't see them when I'm riding. I don't like other people riding ugly bikes though.
Well I feel I’m in the minority here. The other thread is doing much better.
Nobody wants to admit there's no tangible performance benefit to a fancy head badge. Its far harder to justify it for other reasons, hence silence!
That’s because complete indifference needs no input.
that was the point of this lighthearted thread, nobody is going on the other thread to call everyone on it an image obsessed tart. I like my frame functional, which doesn't include fixing a chunk of metal to the front of it for no real reason.
Which does bring me to
Is your Bird a hardtail then?
(Speaking as a Bird owner. Love how it rides, but it’s a _long_ way from being something I’d hang on a wall…)
yes, currently.
But I did have a 120LT. It wasnt perfect aesthetically, but it did, for my eyes, hit/exceed a minimum standard of attractiveness. But beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that.
MTB's and modern road bikes are fugly anyway. Why worry. 80's road bikes, then there is pretty.
Disks etc argh - there to do a job, and that's how I see MTB's. At least the logo on the underside of the down tube is a good idea. For the pro's when they fly over your head, for the rest, when you are upside down in a ditch - genius advertising.
I do appreciate a good head badge but you'd be mad to let it factor in to your choice of bike.
If I bought another BMX I'd be paying extra for the S&M shield though!
I dont tike them.
I think bikes look better with no decals, all my forks, rims etc are de-stickered, unfortunately most frame decals are under the lawyer and won't come off without a respray. My Ti Salsa has it etched which doesn't show up much, that's OK.
And metal headtube badges are just unnecessary Wright and are always removed.
Meh, I guess I would say I'm indifferent at best.
When you're riding the thing you can't see the front of the headtube (unless things have gone badly wrong) So it's essentially just superfluous decoration, and I'm not enough of a aesthete to really care about "colourways" or the visual appearance of something that I'm going to cover in crap and drop on rocks, certainly not to the extent that a headbadge would concern me.
Plus given that we live in the age of the 3D printer and the waterjet cutter it's no big deal, for those that like to masturbate over such irrelevant visual touches, to acquire a "Custom" badge to ogle and stroke.
For everyone else it's just another minor waste of money, a component that adds zero functionally to a bike...
Feel free to go nuts with stickers though, stickers are just good clean fun, cover everything in stickers if you like....
80’s road bikes, then there is pretty.
No! Modern HT’s in steel just look how a bike should look to me. Old stuff looks old and outdated. Road bikes look like insects 😂