Best side to view???
 

I prefer to view a road bicycle from the drive side. But I have noticed that many people who offer their old bikes for sale on craigslist do so showing the non-drive side. Also, many people asking for advice present the non-drive side with their queries. Then I see this...

Attachment 135891

A Miele poster/advertisement/??? showing the non-drive side. And when one thinks about it, it is the non-drive side of the bicycle that offers the best view of the bicycle's frame set.

Just a strange though on a strange day of Legnano decals and a new/old Marinoni.

What the heck is "a bath and a trot"?

I'm a gear head. I like the drive side.

A swim and a run.

I asked my 'wife'(non-rider) for her opinion and she said the drive-side looked cluttered and the non-drive-side looks more elegant. Maybe we should ask our better-halves what they think.

Like you, I like to look at the components that make the bike.

I always liked this drive-side and head-on angle from the old Raleigh catalogs:

http://web.mit.edu/nlerner/Public/Bi...TouristCat.jpg

Neal

I think it's because showing the drive side, the bike appears to be going backwards, on the off-drive side, it is moving into the future.

Hm? How do you see that? I've been trying to see it, but I don't!

I must be loco or something...

hehe, who ever did those drawings for Raleigh had some issues with Perspective. My guess is this isn't an accidental flaw. Note the seat in the drawing, it doesn't line up at all with the rest of things, but it does conveniently turn what one would perceive as a brooks logo to the viewer.

Also note the placement of the crank arm they've placed it so that it doesn't obstruct the view of much of the frame and lines up with the down tube.
That's one that always bugs me, if you're going to stage a photo, you should consider the placement of things like valve stems, and crank arms. place the valve stems at either top or bottom. depending on angle of the photo, set the crank arms parallel to the down tube, or perpendicular.

I think some people perceive drive side photos as being busy simply because the crank arm is oddly positioned.

I can appreciate why owners submit non-drive pics. They simply don't think to turn the bicycle around. They've been programmed to store the bicycle with the derailleur side facing the wall, so that if the bicycle falls over or gets bumped, drivetrain damage is far less likely. Also, hiding the drive side in public is less likely to attract the attention of thieves.

As for the Miele advertising, I don't think this was intentional. They were pretty much forced to show the non-drive side Granted, it's poor marketing, but this had to be done to fit the rest of the ad. Some ad executive likely came up with the triathlon cartoon concept and hired an artist ignorant about bicycles (the left side chainwheel on the last bicycle illustrates this). The cartoon was drawn with the bicycles facing left. To flow with the cartoon, the photographed bicycle has to face left too. Facing the bicycle in the opposite direction would seriously affect the subconscious appeal. The mind would know something was wrong, but not necessarily what. That could affect sales. Yes, they could have flipped the cartoon, but I suspect by that time the error was realized, the photo session had already taken place and the reshoot would have involved extra expense and delay.

Bikes look best to me on the drive side, specally if the bike has a special component group or pantographing.
What I really like though is the rear drive side quarter view that seems to give a bit of forward movement to the bike:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44...R/DSC00114.jpg

Chombi

That is one pretty Vitus!

That's always been my favorite view as well.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...DSC_0011-1.jpg

Scott

Most of the features on a bike are utilitarian, but there are a few places where aesthetics take priority over functionality, and a photo should show these. The main ones I'm thinking of are paint and graphics, and chain ring and/or chain guard. Where the graphics are on the front of the seat and head tubes, photos from the front make sense. If the graphics are on the top of the downtube, then a photo from the back makes more sense. And unless the crank / chainring / chain guard is really ugly, a drive side photo is better than the alternative.

That's why the old Raleigh (and other) catalog images show that angle. Also, Raleighs and similar bikes often have lamp brackets with a cut unique to the maker, so the photos want to show that.

Are they really drawings? I suspect they are really photographs, retouched to varying degrees, sometimes to the point that nothing of the original photo remains but the composition.

This is one of my favorite angles though the entire bike isn't in the shot.


http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7027/dsc00096vj.jpg

Frank.
No you're not loco, I thought this was a joke thread.

Slightly different, but similar angle:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=135961

Exactly...it gives you the feel that you're sort of passing the bike in the other lane.

Dave, you're a luthier?

Oh my.... my other passion :love:

Well, not MAKING them, per se...

Me, a couple years ago at a gig:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s/P1010055.jpg