Bicycle Art

[Edwards]

To counter the wet and windy weather I have been thinking of looking for pictures and drawings of bikes. The old and sometimes sentimental sort.

I have been wondering what to search for, my first thought was the term used on here "Bike Porn". Such a simple phrase and it seems to encompass the passion and feelings given by looking at a nice bike in a nice place.

But I have reservations about using that phrase and am wondering just what I might get.

So is there a good phrase to search for or is it worth the risk and just us it?

[Redvee]

I was browsing Ebay recently and hit the BIN button on this 23"x16" poster for £11.

[pedalsheep]

If its nostalgia you are wanting try this
http://www.headsetpress.co.uk/features/ ... lustrated/

[thirdcrank]

I googled old French cycle posters:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=old+f ... 14&bih=484

For some reason, when the UK cycle industry was more concerned about the technical aspects of all-steel bicycles, the Froggies were going for some artwork.

(Don't google old British cycle posters - that's us. )

[Si]

A few British ones that don't involve technical specifications (although technically the last one is a French poster for a Brit bike).









Interesting how they relate to the roles of women at the time. Wasn't too long ago that when a woman entered yer average bike shop the staff all went and hid in the back room, now they wheel out the pink bike with the flowers painted on it. But here we have female tourists leaving the men behind, and even a woman burning off a male copper (symbology or what!). But of course, the first one still suggests that if you ride their bikes then you'll met the man/woman of your dreams, and the last (French) one....well, some things never change.

[9494arnold]

Try Googling Frank Patterson Sketches

[Edwards]

Thanks or the replies, some nice pictures. I did a search for Bicycle Art and found some good pictures.

I wonder why the French seem to have more posters than the British?

[Brucey]

anyone know what is going on with the Wilberforce transmission there? Is that a derailleur, or just a tensioner?

cheers

[LollyKat]

Whatever it is, I want one....look how she has sailed effortlessly up that steep pass without breaking sweat - not a hint of lycra anywhere. I don't think much of the single brake, though.

[thirdcrank]

The George Rosey pic of the woman burning off one of New York's Finest is an ad for sheet music, rather than bikes of course. (I'm not suggesting it's not bicycle art, but pointing pout that it extends beyond adverts for bikes.)

I've a treasured copy of a French book published in 1959 Histoire du Tour de France which contains quite a few reproductions of bike posters, presumably to include some colour illustrations from the age of b & w photography. One of the posters is for Cycles Galadiator: not the widely-published one of the woman with long hair floating along behind the bike, but an M/F couple on bikes laughing as they escape from a gendarme chasing on foot.

[Dynamite_funk]

I've seen 'The scorcher' before, absolutely fantastic

[JamesE]

Not quite the nice art the OP asked for but I just discovered the sports illustrator Pellos, who did a lot of Tour cartoons. These monstrous mountains are wonderful:

[Brucey]

I've had this as a poster for some years;



I've often wondered what the bikes were like; you can't see anything of the bike in the picture. The art is splendid though, despite the washed out colours in the version above, the real thing has vibrant reds and yellows rather than subdued beige hues.

From 1899 I think.

edit; I quite like this one too;



I feel another poster purchase coming on...

cheers

[rualexander]

Some stuff available here http://www.cyclemiles.co.uk/product-cat ... f-cycling/ including this book :
http://www.cyclemiles.co.uk/product/bik ... rM_reUYbMI

Also quite a good selection on this flickr site http://www.flickr.com/groups/bikeposters/

[iandriver]

Tour de France paintings in another interesting search. Click on the images tab in Google.