Hello list
I think that in the 70's and early 80's as American frame builders were creating a style of their own, they had to differentiate their product from the more obviously European stuff. In order to prove themselves better than the European builders, I think American builders took a subdued aesthetic approach to design, focusing on quality of construction, geometry and fit, thinking that was what they could do better than the Italians. I think the customers for American road bikes wanted something different when they bought an homegrown bike. Also, several key American builders we all know studied in England... maybe that something to do with it. The "bicycle guide" magazines I read growing up the early 80's certainly spun it that way. Personally, I didn't fawn over the pantograph, pimped-out stuff, it was never my cup of tea, but hey, I'm from Canada, what do I know??
Grant McLean
Toronto