Vintage Bicycle Advertisements; good, bad. ugly...

[bagpussctc]

I am off out....
filename-1 - Copy (22) by rebalrid, on Flickr

[francovendee]

This thread just gets better and better .

[bagpussctc]

Tea break before out pedalling. An all time favourite cycle poster of mine.More race related/travel.I have a cycling top with this design on it

bicycle-race-catalonia-vintage-travel-poster- by rebalrid, on Flickr

[bagpussctc]

My tyres are going without me......

filename-1 - Copy (20) by rebalrid, on Flickr

[Brucey]

out of this world...

[Brucey]

ride by yourself? This seems reminiscent of the "you're never alone with a Strand" cigarette ads, widely regarded as an object lesson in how not to advertise your product; to empathise with the character in the ad, you have to acknowledge that you are a lonely so-and-so. Not overly appealing then.... Not exactly the same meaning here but close enough...?

[Brucey]

a dodgy bird, carrying a falcon. Nothing to do with the Falcon cycles latterly seen the UK, I think.

[Spinners]

out of this world...

That's the third poster now to show the Parisienne address "Avenue de la Grande Armée" it must have been a cycling manufacturer's hotspot (I only noticed because that's where my last employer was based).

[bagpussctc]

ride by yourself? This seems reminiscent of the "you're never alone with a Strand" cigarette ads, widely regarded as an object lesson in how not to advertise your product; to empathise with the character in the ad, you have to acknowledge that you are a lonely so-and-so. Not overly appealing then.... Not exactly the same meaning here but close enough...?

These two are relly nice. The second is off the wall.
What I like about all the old posters ,adverts is the fact the proofs were hand drawn works of art .Not a computer programme in sight , no CAD systems just an idea and a steady hand ,maybe a photograph .

Cyclo components got in on the act , dressing up their packaging in fine style. I copied a box I had.before it finally fell to bits some years ago.

Cyclo Components , Benelux gear by rebalrid, on Flickr

[Brucey]

'Gitane' means 'gypsy woman' so what better model for your ad.? Although having a similar name, 'Gitanes' cigarettes are unrelated to the bike brand, which was founded subsequently. Gitane bicycles were successfully used by Jacques Anquetil (amongst others) and the brand was effectively wholly owned by Renault from about 1975 to 1985, before then becoming part of the same conglomeration as Peugeot bicycles. In recent years steel and aluminium Gitane bicycles were still built in France, but if you bought a carbon one it came from Asia.

[Brucey]

from the mid 1930s

[Brucey]

Art Nouveau with a slightly baroque twist; this bike came with both a plunger brake and a coaster brake (as used by cherubs, no less). What a choice; on a long hill you would surely be putting your life in the hands of guiding angels either way. Bikes (even bikes of good quality) with this arrangement were still being sold in some European markets (eg Miele bicycles in Germany) until about 1960 at least. The only concession to the pneumatic tyre (indeed progress or any kind) was often the use of a rubber block in the plunger brake instead of a metal or wooden one; presumably the rubber block overheats and stinks the place up before the tyre melts...?. Maybe the idea was that two brakes (of any kind) were better than the alternative of one brake, but at least with only one (coaster) brake (as commonly found to this day in the flatlands of northern Europe) you would probably know to avoid big hills...… wouldn't you...??

There is a reaction arm of course, for the brake, but the other sticky-out bit on the hub is a 'mounting peg'; a bit of a hangover from the ordinary perhaps, but still a common fitment in Edwardian times. The plunger brake looks as if it is operated from the centre of the handlebars (e.g. by the toes of cherubs), rather than via a lever under the grips, but this (the brake at least) might be artistic licence.

Not sure quite what I'd make of it, if a stern-looking teutonic lass with dubious dress sense came at me with a bike and bits of gilded foliage....takes all sorts...

[Sweep]

This thread just gets better and better .

Yes it does. And am still loving these over optimistic lighting graphics.

[bagpussctc]

Some people joined a club . This one had its own enamel signs outside various establishments....






2007_1109OLDC0015 by rebalrid, on Flickr

[Mike_Ayling]

What a great thread!

Mike