Beyond the tangibles, everyone I met was very friendly and eager to chat. Many times I was five, ten minutes into a conversation about nuances of a bike on display or talking riding style and local trails, then finally stumble on the question of, "oh, where are you from?" I was always amused to learn my new bike friend was from Fort Collins, Southern California, Idaho, Atlanta, and beyond. I quickly learned I was the local guy who only traveled about five hours to the show. No matter, we were all there for the same fun and passion of two wheeled, hand crafted machines.
Now the final batch of pictures...
I lined up to head down an outer aisle and found
this tough looking 29er from Savvy Cycles.
With thoughts of wood framed bikes brewing in my head
from stops at previous booths, it was good to talk to these
guys. "It's strong as any bike, I huck it off jumps all the time!"
There's some CNC work going into these frame members.
A fat tire bike completed their wood frame collection on display.
Following are some bikes from the New Framebuilder tables. These are single bikes on display from builders that are not yet making a large volume of frames. Next time I attend the show I plan to spend more time researching the new builders before attending, and it will be interesting to talk with them and understand how they got started and where they think they're headed.
A very well executed fattie from Wiseman Frameworks.
The Kansas City Bike Collective had a cool booth
with several artisans displaying goods, including
Andrew and his custom frame bags.
One of my favorite bikes of the show is this
one from Vibe Cycles of Boise.
It was a pleasure talking to Dave and hearing his path
to becoming a frame builder. He was eager to explain the head tube
junction, paint, and other fine details on this bike, the Knarr.
Julie of Pedalino Bikes and here fillet brazed frame on display.
Lots of artisan touches on this bike,
an impressive display of craft and function.
Here's some more fun from Peacock Groove.
Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to talk details.
Matter Cycles had some really nice bikes
on display in the back corner of the showroom,
including this blacked out cross bike.
I enjoyed talking with Collin about the development
of this bike, the SlayRide. This bike just calls to be
ridden... slacked out and short chainstays.
Another one of my favorites from the show is
this Black Cat Bicycles cross bike.
I have followed Todd's builds the past couple years and
I favor his understated yet intricate graphics as well as
the matching forks and stems on his builds.
I enjoyed talking with Todd and learning more about
his approach and inspiration for bikes like this.
A great display of his stem work.
A KickStarter campaign has brought back
Another Yo Eddy on display, this one with some
squish up front and a dropper post.
Four posts and nearly 100 pictures later, I've failed to capture the display that is NAHBS. Sorry, you're just going to have to attend in person. Even then, you will wake up the next morning, like me, thinking "oh man, I missed checking out Alchemy and ___ and ____ and ___... and I never looped back around to talk to Eric Noren!"
It was a grand experience and I look forward to another show within reasonable travel distance for me. Next time I will research the builders even more before attending and have a little more of a game plan before walking in. Ah, it's going to be the same overwhelming experience no matter what. I'll call that part of the fun!
And a final thought for next time... I will save up and bring at least $100 to blow on t-shirts. ;-)
Nearly everybody had decals and soft goods. I bought
a Shamrock Cycles shirt for my Irish wife, a NAHBS jersey
and shirt for myself, coffee for my buddy Ryan, and a bunch
of decals for my basement workshop sticker door!
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