What’s in a Logo
Mon, March 2, 2020 
What do you see when you look at the head tube logo on my custom frames?
Many people see a tic-tac-toe or the pound symbol you see on a telephone keypad.
If this is what you see, you are looking at the blank space inside the logo.
It is simply four lower case letter “m” placed north, south, east, and west in the form of a cross.
During the 1970s in England there were strict rules regarding the amateur status of athletes, especially Olympic athletes. No sponsorship was allowed, and I could not advertise the fact that a few 'World Class' cyclists were riding my bikes. One way around this was to have my name prominently displayed on the frame.
I did this in a simple typeface similar to that used on British road signs, easy to read and distinctive in my name being spelled out in all lower case letters.
A picture of a leading cyclist riding my bike on the cover of the British "Cycling" Magazine (Like the one on the right of Paul Carbutt.) would result in a huge boost in sales.
Sometimes a photo would be a head on shot and all that could be seen was my logo on the head tube. The logo was simple and instantly recognizable.
Paul Carbutt at the 1976 Olympics held in Mantreal, Canada.
When I resumed building my own custom frames in California in 1981, while still working for Masi, I used the old stock decals I had brought with me from England. This included the logo with the words “Worcester England” underneath. (The address of my English frameshop.) I felt somewhat justified because after all the Masi frames said “Masi, Milano” on the head tube even though they were built in California.
I later added a decal that read:
FRAME GUARANTEED HANCRAFTED
BY DAVE MOULTON
IN CALIFORNIA USA
This was placed at the top of the seat tube, under the seat lug where the tube manufacturer’s decal would normally go.
I followed Masi’s lead and left the tubing decal off my custom frames because they were prone to bubble and fester in the heat of the paint-curing oven.
To my chagrin there was resistance to the ‘dave moulton’ name on my frames when I first started building in California. “Not exotic sounding enough” was the excuse I usually heard. Some wanted to order a frame without decals for that reason, which I refused to do.
It was traditional for English framebuilders to have their full name on the frame, usually with an abbreviated first name; Bob Jackson, Ron Cooper, Harry Quinn, Stan Pike. To the ear (Or is it the eye?) of the American cyclist these names were not as appealing as Colnago, Cinelli, Pinarello, or Pugliaghi.
When I decided to bring out a line of production frames in 1984 my main competition was these Italian import frames, so I looked through an Italian/English dictionary for a suitable name. I ended up choosing a word that did not sound particularly Italian.
I came across the word “Fuso” Italian for molten metal. It was a play on words on my name.
I sketched out the logo of a crucible pouring molten metal into a mold, and the Fuso brand was born.
I did not know at the time that Fuso was also a Japanese word and there was a famous Japanese battleship named Fuso during WWII.
There is a subtle difference in pronunciation; my frame is pronounced the Italian way, Fuse-oh. The Japanese pronunciation is Foo-so. Mitsubishi has a line of commercial vehicles with that name.
If you can believe this also, when I brought out the Fuso frame, many of my customers protested and wanted ‘dave moulton’ on it. By now, I my reputation had grown, and no one cared if the name sounded exotic or not.
However, to put ‘dave moulton’ on a line of production frames, even though the quality was high, would have been unfair to those who had paid top dollar for individually built custom frames. So once again, I had to refuse.
I am reminded of the old adage, “You can’t please all the people all the time.”
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Reader Comments (11)
Interesting post Dave.
NCU in England in the 1940s 1950s did not want even the name of the bike shown. Also in the TDF in the 1930s 1940s they all rode the same brand bikes. NOW its all advertising, as you have benefited from over your years making frames forks. Hetchins and Bates Flying gate Paris etc plus several other British frame builders even made their bikes with a different look in order to attract buyers some worked other did not. There are some collectors, that collect only the head badges off bikes why? I had to laugh at Greensboro, when YOU corrected ME, on my pronouncing the word FUSO. HaHa. You are pretty FUSO about that Eh!
I don't know, Dave. To me the builder's name on the frame meant much more than some company or brand name. That's why my first "good" bike in the 1950s was a Claud Butler. It was only many years later that I learned Claud didn't actually build the frame himself.
That FUSO badge, top notch.
When I'm on my '86 Fuso and anyone comments on it I always point out the details on the head badge and tell the story of the name, but I think I've been pronouncing it like the battleship.
Dave
I know Carbutt rode in the team time trial in the '76 Olympics; curious if you built his bike differently than a road race bike - were there any nuances worth noting that you might recall (tubing, geometry, etc)?
Ted,
In the days before areo bars, Paul like most riders used one bike for road and time-trials.
As for the pronunciation of the name FUSO I care more that people still ride the bikes rather than the way they say to name.
Dave
John B. I also had Claud Butler build me a frame and forks in 1949 I even sent him a drawing of what I wanted, the angles measurement's etc I also, thought he built everything himself. No matter, I was pretty proud and pleased as punch, with what I got, Kept that bike for years, used it in massed starts at the local aerodromes, around Birmingham England. Pranged at Ansty aerodrome in 1950, broke both my wrists from going over the top and landing with my hands, a real no no for a junior 17 year old rider like me, but I got back on me trusted Claud Butler and finished 2nd by inches!!! Had my wrists in casts for weeks but still rode my bloody bike. Dave, bet you could tell some tales of your racing and prangs you had HUH? John Crump
Interesting that the CLAUD BUTLER head badge from the 1940 1950s has the Olympic rings on it. BUT the rings are wrong and the wrong colour and order.The Olympic org would not let Claud Butler used them the correct way
John C, according to Wikipedia, Claud Butler bikes competed at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932. Perhaps that was the only year he could use the official Olympic rings.
I was working at I Martin Imports at Beverly Hills in 1988 when a white Fuso mountain bike with a Dura Ace rear derailleur popped up! Wow! I was drawn to that thing like a heat seeking missile! It just stood out like something special in a sea of otherwise very nice bikes!