Continuing our 2024 Philly Bike Expo coverage with more Reportage with words and photos by Brad Quartuccio, featuring Fine Bikes, Royal H Cycles, and La Marche Bike Co. Let’s get to it!
Fine Bikes
Fine Bikes hails from Raleigh, NC, and is a new entrant to the landscape, having just truly opened doors beyond family and friends in the fall of 2023. Builder Charles Thompson learned from BREW back in 2020 and has been honing the finer points of the craft before the Fine Bikes launch in the intervening years.
Pictured is Charles’s personal short track one-speed. The non-suspension corrected segmented fork is a real looker, and the pass-through seatstay bridge is a builder’s only type of touch. This bike is a prime example of how high the bar has been raised in recent years — this is the work of a new builder! The amount of knowledge and networking going on at custom shows has elevated the entire craft.
La Marche Bike Co
Look at this bike and try not to imagine yourself ripping it with an ear-to-ear smile—I can’t. Bikes should be inspirational, and this one has it. Tom La Marche gained his bike fame during the fixed freestyle boom, pushing the limits of the niche sport at its onset. Through connections made during the filming of Premium Rush, he turned his riding abilities towards Hollywood stunt work.
The truss top tube on this frame is a nod to Iver Johnson and, more recently, ANT Bike Mike, and while a century ago it may have provided extra strength today, it is simply a style nod to the past. Steel BMX-style forks really give a look at what the bike can handle, and I just love the rust and baby blue powder combo.
Royal H Cycles / Hollingsworth
When the doors open to the Philly Bike Expo, year after year Bryan Hollingsworth’s bikes end up as personal favorites. Royal H Cycles is the overarching brand, with the Hollingsworth name reserved for lugged bikes using Bryan’s own lug designs and castings.
This Hollingsworth show bike is actually a daily driver for a car-free customer, all cleaned up after some commuter miles. With a great mix of classic styling and a currently serviceable drivetrain for putting on the miles, it is great to hear when bikes like this are rolling through it all.