The Radavist

Finding out that your product has been knocked off is a huge bummer for a small business owner. Much less, a small frame builder! When Greg and Marty first discovered the Indonesian bootleg Geekhouse Rockcity track bikes on the internet, the guys were super bummed but that made them realize something: people in Indonesia want Geekhouses!

So from that moment, arose the opportunity for a distributor in Indonesia to carry a few Rockcity track bikes and here’s the first baby the guys in Allston cooked up!

Check out more below!

When you think of the term, frame building, what kind of connotations arise? Shavings, mills, flux and steel right? As commonplace as steel framebuilders are nowadays, there are very few that are still making aluminum bikes, much less aluminum track bikes. That’s where Low Bicycles comes in. Andrew Low began building track bikes in 2010 after a he got tired of making roll cages for off-road vehicles in Colorado.

Now he’s got a small shop in the Mission in SF where he designs, fabricates and even heat treats his frames.

Check out more photos from my Shop Visit to Low Bicycles below!

Kyle at Trackosaurus Rex knows the best way to save the track bike is to sell the stickers here on Prolly is Not Probably. Show your support for Tracko with these vinyl-cut stickers. Made in Los Angeles county, USA.

SOLD OUT

I’ve been chatting with Tom at Donhou Bicycles over the past few months. Originally they were supposed to come to the NAHBS but visa problems got in the way. Well, the guys are still kicking and are ramping up for the Bespoked Bristol show. Tom shared with me their most recent work, Sparky’s road bike.

Check out more below.

NYC can support an almost unlimited amount of bike shops. Even to the point where specialized boutiques can thrive. That’s where GRIME Bikes‘ storefront comes in. They won’t fix your flat or adjust your derailleur, but they’ve got everything you need to get your fixed freestyle bike rolling and more. I wasn’t around for the grand opening of the store, but I caught up with Mike and Joey on Saturday to take some photos of their space in Chinatown.

Check out more photos from my Farewell NYC Shop Visit to GRIME Bikes below.

Chris Bishop has completely murdered the competition in the 2011 NAHBS. His track, road and rando bikes stand out from many other builders and once again, I did my best to document his lovely bicycles.

Check out more photos of Bishop Bikes’s 2011 NAHBS offerings below!

Today I snuck into the 2011 NAHBS to grab a few teaser from everybody’s favorite builders. First up is Chris Bishop from Bishop Bikes. Chris’ work is covered here extensively and he’s one of my favorite builders in the US. I love Bishop and his bikes at the 2011 NAHBS are ridiculous!

Check out a Teaser of Bishop Bike’s 2011 NAHBS offerings below!

I have a feeling that Chris Bishop is going to be breaking necks the entire weekend at the 2011 NAHBS. Granted, it’s just a feeling but with previews like this, who’s gonna argue with me? Remember those elegantly-carved head tube lugs I posted before? That was just a preview of the Horton Town Bike that Bishop was building. Here’s a preliminary photo showing the master painter, Joe Bell‘s work.

For a detailed, in-progress photo of Joe Bell’s masking, check out one more photo below.

Framebuilders take note. This is some Weigle shit right here:

“I was going to do a fillet stem originally then Brett sent me a pic of a Rene Herse stem and asked if I could do one like it. I have had a block of 6061 around that I was planning on using for a stem some day. Well It is a LOT more work than I ever thought. Especially on my little Linely Jig mill. Making this stem reminded me of a three pitch rock climbing trip I took with a friend to Seneca rocks. The farther you went up the higher the stakes were and the more careful you had to be.

By day four of the machining I knew one wrong move would set me back that much further. I had another stem ahead of it that I would use to test each set up with, but early on I messed up the drop angle, so it was like a track stem. After the machining I hand filed all the edges to give it a more organic handmade feel, which definitely transformed it from the downhill stem it was looking like during the machining process.”

Bishop Bikes is going to be huge in 2011. Chris’ work just keeps getting better and better! I can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for NAHBS dude! Check out the entire process, from billet to beauty here at the Bishop Flickr!

Maybe you recall a man by the name Christopher Robin that I’d posted about before? During the long winter months, he spends his free time making bicycles in what most would consider sub-standard conditions using implemented tools and techniques. For his latest endeavor, he decided to construct a replica of Graham Obree‘s hour-record breaking track bike. In a word, the outcome is immaculate!

You have to check out the rest of the photos and a video below. It’s insane!

Dan, or better known as DSG is the genius behind Geekhouse‘s brand identity, web and graphic design work. Earlier this year, Marty and the Geekhouse crew took their Chris Chance worship to another level with this stunning Fast Chance Road. Painted by Circle A and photographed by the lovely Heather McGrath, this bike is sure to stop onlookers in their path.

See more from Geekhouse, including my Woodville at the 2011 NAHBS! Go check out some more of Geekhouse’s beauties Geekhouse NAHBS page!

With the The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show approaching, many have asked the question: “When was the last time there was a bicycle show in NYC?” In 1976 New York hosted the NY International Bicycle Show. While there’s not a whole lot of information on the show, Cicli Devotion shared this Flickr link to Oroboyz’s photos from the show. Kinda rad to see the track bike’s presence at this showcase. Makes you kinda think that Tracko‘s “Save the Track Bike” campaign is kinda moot. There’s no need to save it, it’s been thriving just fine all along and it will continue to thrive.

Get psyched for this year’s NAHBS! For the first time in a long time, cycling is at an all-time high and I’m stoked to see framebuilder’s displaying their work. Kinda makes me want to get a custom track bike.

Here it is, your 2011 NAHBS promo video! I’ll be there with the Geekhouse crew!

So it looks like Bishop Bikes isn’t closing shop to make guns afterall. The Baltimore-based framebuilder just posted some teaser for the forthcoming 2011 NAHBS. It’s a bi-lam lug day baby! Check out more photos here.

Back in November I mentioned that Marty and the Geekhouse crew are designing and building me a Woodville (huh huh he said wood) touring bike for this year’s NAHBS. Today we had a little Skype conference call and all the major decisions were made. Since it’s a show bike, we want it to be extra special so we took a bunch of old amulets and melted them down to form the tubing and stole the saddle from Eddy Merckx’s hour record bike.

This thing is going to be sick! Unfortunately, that’s all the news I have for you. But stay tuned for future updates as events warrant.

As the 2011 North American Hand-Built Bicycle Show approaches, all the builders are scrambling to not only pull together their bicycles but also to pull together their PR. Luckily Geekhouse has Gregory pushing full steam in that department. So much so that I think Geekhouse are one of the builders on the list right now that has all their social media links up. Crazy! Those tech nerdz! Anyway, I’m pleased to have one of my photos included in their profile page.

Check out the Geekhouse NAHBS Profile Page right here!

Everyone knows buying made in the USA goods ain’t easy, or cheap and buying a handmade in the US frame is even harder. That’s why the crew at Milwaukee Bicycle Co. wanted to try something new for 2011. They reached out to Waterford and designed their own road frame. Here are the details:

Features and Information:
• Frame is made in the USA by Waterford Precision Cycles!
• Built with True Temper Verus Tubing!
• Designed for use as a geared road or cyclocross bike
• Set-up for a long reach (47-57mm) brakes
• Down Tube Shifter Bosses!
• Chainstay Bridge
• Down tube AND Seat tube mounted water bottle braze-on.
• High quality Ritchey road dropouts!
• Seatpost Clamp INCLUDED!
• Designed to fit up to a 700x32c tire – take it Cyclocrossing if you wish!
• 1-/8″ head tube, 27.2mm seatpost, 130mm rear spacing, 68mm bottom bracket shell.

You pick the color, the decals and the build, all starting at $609.99 for the frameset. Can’t beat that can ya? Get one right here!

The first stop I made during my Boston trip was Geekhouse bikes. Known mostly for their curvy-tubed, triple triangle Rockcity track bikes, Geekhouse has come a long way since Marty first learned to build bikes. Now the brand offers a wide-variety of bicycles. From 26″ dirt jumpers, to touring bikes, to cross, to road and track bikes.

Step inside the shop as I show what goes on behind the scenes at Geekhouse!