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Fausto Coppi didn’t mind the conversion look:
http://bicicloide.blogspot.com/p/questa-bicicletta-e-stata-trovata-nel.html?m=1
Sig_Arlecchino-
I wouldn't trust someone with tyres like that...
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Coppi and the 'conversion look'
Coppi was the master of looking cool and stylish on a bike - you might almost say he invented the concept.
I was aware of his choice of ends for track. I will admit I was surprised the first time I saw one, which was in the bike museum in Novi Ligure. That machine also had campag q.r, skewers with the release levers cut to about half their normal length; track regs? look, if you've paid a big chunk of start money to Il Campionissimo you're not going to tell him he can't start because of his bike!
I'm not sure where I heard this, but there is a story that Coppi's track bikes are more common than you might expect. This is because when he went to a track meeting (outside Italy, at least) he would take a spare bike 'just in case'. Being a thrifty (and shrewd) Italian peasant, he would sell the spare bike before returning home. I guess Bianchi winked at this, thinking the publicity was more valuable than the bike.
kjlem
clubman
The benefit is that track drop outs look better and that it doesn't look like you ride on a converted old road bike:)
Also I think the amount of people who use track ends with mudguards is negligible for bike brands.