There are moments in design history when something is developed which changes the face of technology as we know it. There are cars like the Volkswagen Beetle or the Mini, and planes like Concorde or the Boeing 747, which stretched the boundaries of what these methods of transport could be.
Bikes are no different. Ever since the early days of bicycles, especially once they began to be raced, there have been design moments when a huge change has occurred, and evolution has given way to evolution. There was the Legano Team Bike ridden by Gino Bartali in the 1940s, the first to be fitted with a derailleur. After this, there were incremental changes, with different materials being employed, aluminium and carbon-fibre being the biggest differences, but bikes were largely the same shape.
The classic straight-lined triangle of the frame was the standard, with all road bikes looking very similar. In fact, most bicycles looked the same, from the one used by your local postman to
