With the dawn of a new year Road Bike Action decided to take a look back, way back and review some of the technology and trends of the 1980s. Advertising often represents the ideal version of a product. This makes it a good vehicle to look back, and with hindsight see if the ideal matched reality. Road Bike Action complied a collection of ads from the 1980s to see the industry's progression from then to now.

Greg LeMond rode for Gitane Cycles in the early 1980's. Not having yet won the Tour de France, Gitane used his victory in the 1981 Coors Classic to sell bikes in the United States.

Descente was one of the premier clothing brands of the 1980s. They continue today with a full line of quality apparel.

Schwinn touts their racing heritage in this ad from 1982. The Schwinn heritage is alive today with the release of the 70th anniversary edition Paramount.

Panasonic shows their idea of an aerodynamic bicycle. The Aero Road 6000 included an ovalized seatpost and aero water bottle.

Campagnolo supplied components for the US National Team as they prepared for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

A classic steel Bianchi in celeste. Bianchi has a long history of racing, most recently sponsoring the Barloworld team.

Rossin was an Italian brand that had mild success in the early 1980s but faded from the market by the mid 1990s.

Before Garmin-Chipotle, Columbia, Discovery, US Postal and Motorola there was the legendary 7-Eleven team.

By today's standard the V1-PRO is heavy and poorly ventalted, but in 1983 the V1-PRO was cutting edge.

The Ultimate was Excel's top of the line group with polished aluminum caged rear derailluer and drilled out chainrings to save weight.

Pepsi as a sports drink.

Murray was the "official" supplier of the 1984 Olympic Team. The bikes were really built by Serotta, while gold medal winner Alexi Grewal rode a Pinarello.


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