Oh Jaja, why so French? photo: Eric Houdas
Like the Spinaci bars, the headband was cool, effective and disappeared quickly. While the Spinaci was outlawed by the UCI for being too radical, the headband couldn’t co-exist* with the newly arriving hard-shell helmet and it said arrivederci, I’ve heard something about this ‘step aerobics’, I’ll go there.
Headband crossed national boundaries: Jean-François Bernard, Roberto Visentini, Dag Otto Lauritzen and Davis Phinney all engaged them with aplomb. It was form and function. Who doesn’t want to keep the eyes clear of sweat and who doesn’t want to look more awesome? Who, damn it?
This was more than a sweatband, for sponsors it was a chance to increase the billboard surface area. For certain riders it was also fashion statement, like extra wide bell bottoms were a fashion statement. Pulling off the headband required having good hair or at least high hair. One would think Super Mario should have killed one (hair and Italian) but no, headband would interfere with his succession of perms and hair gels festivals. Even Mario realized he could have too much going on up there. On the other end of the spectrum, Sean Kelly would never have worn one, (god, please don’t let someone here find a photo of this). In the middle of the 1980’s spectrum, experimentation was rampant, they were rocked by Hinault and Fignon. It was a crazy world back then.
*Gert-Jan Theunisse somehow made it co-exist, as only he could (see below).
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I think Fignon looks awesome in a headband. I tried to get hold of one of the Renault-Elf headbands for a fancy dress costume (yes, I went out dressed as Laurent Fignon. No, no one got it), and they are like rocking horse shit.
While I don't think I'd leave the house wearing them, I do have a fine use for headbands/sweatbands - on the turbo/rollers. I have them on wrists and head every time I go on the turbo and it drastically cuts down the amount of sweat sprayed around the kitchen and onto my bike.
@RobSandy
Agree! Although I do not have a headband anymore, I dislike this even more:
So I usually have a towel in my neck. Right now, the garage is quite chilly so roller-sweat is rare anyhow.
@wiscot
I think they were actually 3ttt Superleggero 'bars - those are Modolo Speedy levers too which had lever blades that came out too far so you had to run them lower just to get your fingers on them.
That whole bike was chucked together out of whatever I could get my hands as I scrambled back to cycling life after five years of bikeless smokin' and drinkin', but I've probably never done as many miles on any bike since. It was a terrible mess of Sante derailleurs and brakes, 105 chainset and hubs, heavy FIR rims and a freaking Vetta saddle, of all things. I loved that bike...until a better one came along. (It's not a De Rosa, by the way, it's a Ferrari :winking emoji: )
Haha, and a frame pump wtf! In my defence, this was 1992 - mini-pumps weren't proven technology back then and this was a 160km event!
Vetta. Oh, how I hate them. I have around 4 of their computers that no longer work. What bugs me is that I have older computers than these that work just fine. I've been trying to get customer service to do something, anything and they won't. Jerks.
@HigherGround
I have proof positive Sean Kelly wore a headband but will leave them unposted out of respect for Kelly
@Gianni
This past Sunday Eros Poli came and rode with my local neighborhood cycling club and I missed it. I was out on a solo ride that day. I'm still kicking myself! What are the odds?
@Jason Wright
I have a memory of him wearing one too, but there exists the possibility I've made it up. That's never stopped me from sounding completely confident in my assertion though.
@Ron
I'm still using a Cateye that has outlived a couple of Garmins. Photo proof it's still ticking.
@Gianni
Yes, and you guys keep quoting it. FFS.