Why bike maker not mentioned?

Because in the final analysis, the frame means next to nothing when it comes to results. There are fewer differences among high-end bike frames than any manufacturer is willing to admit. Over the course of a 3 week GT like the Giro or TdF, it's the rider and team that makes the difference between the podium, and finishing well back in the peloton.

Different components can make a world of difference in the motor sports. You may not be familiar with North American open wheel racing, but back in the glory days of CART (which was the governing body of Indy car), if you didn't have access to a certain Chevrolet engine, your cars weren't going to contend.

The irony is, you can actually buy the same bike frame and components that cycling pros ride. You can't buy what the top drivers in motor sports drive. There's nothing "stock" about today's stock cars, in NASCAR.

mpre53 said:

Because in the final analysis, the frame means next to nothing when it comes to results. There are fewer differences among high-end bike frames than any manufacturer is willing to admit. Over the course of a 3 week GT like the Giro or TdF, it's the rider and team that makes the difference between the podium, and finishing well back in the peloton. Different components can make a world of difference in the motor sports. You may not be familiar with North American open wheel racing, but back in the glory days of CART (which was the governing body of Indy car), if you didn't have access to a certain Chevrolet engine, your cars weren't going to contend. The irony is, you can actually buy the same bike frame and components that cycling pros ride. You can't buy what the top drivers in motor sports drive. There's nothing "stock" about today's stock cars, in NASCAR.

And to put a sharper point on that, uhm, point, in motor sports, the car/motorcycle/truck/lawnmower/etc is a significant factor in winning. In cycling, you can arguably put the winner of a given grand tour, classic, or whatever bicycle race on just about any bicycle, and they would still win. Remember, "it's not about the bike"......er.......uhm......is there a way to excise the tumor attached to that phrase?

In all cases, it's the motor that gets the headline.

This isn't NASCAR.

oldbobcat said:

This isn't NASCAR. Â

Yes, thankfully so.

good point, marketing finishes the job because, we die hard cycling fans, know pretty well what every team is riding, framesets and gruppos, and the rest of the people see the pictures in the press and in advertissements, in fact brands like pinarello and giant have come up with really visible and creative ways of decals. Moreover, it is or was common practice for teams to use bikes of a different brand with the decals of their suppliers,