I once judged at a local concours d'elegance and classic bike show. Indeed, people felt slighted afterward, even though the choices were clear. One guy, whose 1973 Schwinn Paramount was equipped with cork tape and modern aero rims with clincher tires, could not understand why we gave the award in his class to a 1980s DeRosa that was all original down to the leather-wrapped TTT handlebars. One problem may have been that the judges' bikes won quite a few awards that day.
I feel it is important to state beforehand what is being judged. Are you looking for original condition and parts? Accurate restoration? Historic significance? Rarity? Cool parts? Prettiness? Beauty? Pristine condition?
Then the judges should get a sheet where they can award points for each criterium, and the bike with the most points wins. This is better than asking the judges to pick a bike out of the crowd without evaluating it in detail.
Once you make it clear what you are judging, few people will be upset. But if just out of the blue, some bike gets an award and another does not, then people begin to wonder.
Another good idea is to have judges who are both knowledgeable and impartial. That means they cannot enter bikes themselves...
It helps to publish both the categories and criteria beforehand. "Competitive collectors" then can decide what bikes to bring. (One of my bikes once won best French at a local show simply because it was the only French bike there! And because "Best of Show" was awarded based on how many votes a bike got in its category, the bike got "Best of Show," too - it probably had a 100% rating in the French category.)
Finally, "people's choice" awards can turn into a farce. Like Italian bikes winning "best French" or something like that. If the awards are there to show exemplary machines, they should be judged by educated people.
The alternative is not to judge at all. Vintage Bicycle Quarterly makes a point of not reporting on which bike won awards at bike shows, because the results often appear so subjective.
One other idea is to give the awards to bikes without mentioning the owner's name. After all, a collector isn't a more important person because they are the temporary custodian of a special bike. -- Jan Heine Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com