Head tube badges
Brand image is everything in head badges
Fabulous graphic design in these badges
The craftsmanship and pride of a bicycle brand really comes through in the label. Head tube badges are the brand logos, the coat-of-arms of the bicycle world.
Around the turn of the last century, the brass
ornaments on the front of bicycle frames tended to be overly ornate and grandiose. Bike builders of the era would hire artists to create an image for their label, something to bring customers to their door and differentiate their bikes. These early graphic designers would try to infuse their clients’ bicycles with all kinds of different qualities. Images evoking regal lineage, pictures of birds in flight, gods on high, industry and weaponry were all popular. Mercury’s winged feet showed up on a few early head badges.
President and Senator models from Wasington Cycle
Emil’s Wastyn head badge
The head badge lists the shop address
Some brands were more practical than others. Wastyn Cycles, for instance, didn’t go in for fancy logos or images of arrows in flight. They just wanted everyone to know where to get one of their bikes, 2629 Fullerton Avenue in Chicago.
In the 1920’s through the mid-century Art Deco style took hold, as did imagery borrowed from comic books. The Monark Silver King badge is a cool one, evoking images of skyscrapers and the machine age. The Ludwig badge made it look like a bi-plane was bearing down on anyone too slow to get out of the way. The Paris Cycle badge features the Eiffel Tower (of course). The French Rochet badge has a lion sitting proudly on top of the Earth. The Armstrong brand also features a globe, and it looks like it was taken from the top of Clark Kent’s Daily Planet office building.
Monark head tube badge
I think that’s a lion on the headbadge
Lincoln head badge
Beginning in the mid-century, it seemed that bike brands were trying to convey a modern image above all else. Simple and clean lettering, badges and brand logos that featured rockets and evoked the space age were not uncommon.
Late 1950s Frejus headbadge
Champion stripes on the Eddy Merckx badge
Armstrong head badge
The Olympic Rings and World Champion stripes show up on a number of bicycle badges. Bike builders have been generally pretty honest, using these easily recognized symbols only if an athlete had actually won a gold medal on their bike.
Economics probably played a role as well. Early on, Schwinn had fairly intricate badges, and had different ones made for different models in their line-up. Over the decades, those badges got simpler and standardized somewhat across the line as they sold more and more bikes.
Head badge or a coat of arms?
A bit modern, a bit of history
Sometimes a bike brand will reinforce their building style and image with their head badge. The British brand Hetchins often utilized curvy tubing and intricate ornate lugs when building their bicycles. For a busy design like a Hetchins, a simple logo with block lettering just wouldn’t do. If the Hetchins badge looks like a royal coat of arms, it should. Hetchins incorporated the seal of the city of London in their logo. Dario Pegoretti, a gifted modern craftsman, is known as much for his abstract paint jobs as he is for custom steel bikes. When the paint on a bike has more in common with Jackson Pollack than with Schwinn, the badge needs to preserve that vibe. Pegoretti’s modern stainless-steel badge is edgy and elegant. A perfect fit.
Badges that wrap around the head tube
Badges with flight motif
Overly ornate head badges
Modern, carbon-fiber wonder bikes still employ head badges, but in decal-form to save the weight.
Want to admire this bicycle jewelry in person? One of our showcases is full of bike badges from famous and historic brands.