The Radavist

NAHBS. For some, it represents a culmination of a year’s efforts and creates unbearable stress and deadlines. For others, it’s a place to see all your friends, have a drink, or twenty and dork out over bikes. Then there’s the media, scrambling around with mini recorders, LCD lighting for their DSLR rigs, flashes, notepads and sweaty brows. Somewhere in between all of this, I fall into place.

Over the years of covering NAHBS, I’ve gone from taking it very seriously to finding a middle ground (thanks to Tracko for always talking some sense into my bull-headed mind). Halfway between the all-nighter, hot tub hopping, bourbon binge fest and the casual conversation in a pizza restaurant is where NAHBS fell for me this year. I didn’t stress about how to cover what, I just showed up and went with what I felt was right.

This Recent Roll is an amalgamation of my time in Denver. Mixed in are some convention center shots, some party pics from the #OutsideisFree event, a few from the Mile High Messenger Challenge alleycat and some around the town photos.

I already can’t wait until next year! Again, this photoset is a little long, so I narrated each photo.

Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM
Neopan 400

Yashica T4
Neopan 400

“builder’s hands are always dirty…”

NAHBS is always a difficult event to cover. There’s no feasible way for me to go to every booth and talk to the builders, or select one of their frames to shoot, so I tend to just walk around, aimlessly and stop to shoot when something catches my eye. This Photoset is filled with randomness from the show, check the captions for more information and check out my other NAHBS coverage here.

The guys at Alchemy began their operation here in Austin and last year the company relocated to Denver, the home of the 2013 NAHBS. Since relocating, the team has pulled together an empire of steel, carbon and titanium bikes all of which were displayed in their booth. My favorite was the stainless road with Dura Ace.

I didn’t get the chance to visit their facilities in Denver, but all the more reason to return to that awesome city in the spring.

Eric Estlund of Winter Bicycles like many builders, is beginning to step into the production / semi-custom market. While he’s still making fully custom frames, his recent Pelican rando project for Box Dog Bikes marked a new direction for Winter. At his NAHBS booth this year, Eric displayed two semi-custom production bikes. One of which is en route to Texas now. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off this track bike…

When I first walked into the Six Eleven Bicycle Co booth at this year’s NAHBS, I immediately was drawn to this purple machine, like a moth to the flame. Like many people, all I saw was a 3 Rensho track bike. That is until I spotted the very clever 6 Eleven decals. Aaron went overboard here and I’m still dumb-founded that it didn’t win best track bike. It’s so good! Even to the point that a certain Japanese builder asked why he had a 3 Rensho in his booth!

Don’t miss those Sugino-branded Suntour cranks, either! Congrats to Aaron for doing a stellar job on this beauty.

Going into the 2013 NAHBS, I wanted to find a way to capture the personality of the builders and the bikes they create. Headshots, especially when the subject is comfortable around you, is an easy way to do so. As I was halfway through this shoot, I realized something: the builders look a lot like their frames. Drawing that comparison is easy enough, shooting portraits in convention center lighting is not. That said, I’m pretty stoked on how these came out.

I wanted to thank these men for what they do and I wish I could have gotten around to shooting everyone but this selection is pretty spot-on.

Yeah, I know, there’s already been a ton of Bishop NAHBS love here on the site but I was very impressed that with all the bikes Chris has been building, he brought two track bikes with him. My level of respect for Chris and Tommy only increases each year and I know the owner of this bike is beyond stoked on how it turned out. Full Campagnolo C-Record Pista, Cinelli heritage saddle with matching bar wrap and those fillets! This frame will be getting a coat of wet paint from Bryan Myers of Fresh Frame before it leaves for China. Have a napkin ready, this one’s a drooler.

It was hard to miss Festka’s mirror-like finish on their track bike. These Czech builders brought a little something for everyone. If their Motol Chrome track bike isn’t your thing, maybe their neon pink carbon Zero road or razzle-inspired XCR Pablo road would do it for you? I didn’t get a lot of time to chat with two of the builders, so check out more information at Festka and see more in the Gallery.

It should be no surprise that Chris Bishop won an award at NAHBS with this bike. For the third year in a row, this full time framebuilder and part time bike messenger brought an incredible fleet of absolutely stunning bikes with him from Baltimore. I was able to shoot three out of the four bikes, the first of which being the Drillium Revival track and now, this reverse bi-lam road.

Originally conceived by Ian Sutton of Icarus Frames, the reverse bi-lam head tube was a show stopper. When the client requested the detail from Chris, he called Ian, asking permission to make it, something he didn’t have to do, but Chris is a true Southern gentlemen. The end result is a tri-color jade, emerald and turquoise road bike with a modern Dura Ace group and a custom 1″ quill stem. The stainless rear triangle and Bishop-standard thin lugwork set this apart from the playing field at NAHBS.

Michael from Brooks England is beyond stoked on his new ride and as a fellow Bishop owner, I can say for sure that this bike is a life-long companion. Yes, I am very partial to Chris’ work, so I took a little more time documenting this machine. Go on and let it marinate in the Gallery.

Indianapolis’ Shamrock Cycles have been favorites of mine since they first debuted their quick-release rack system two years ago in Austin. The prize of their booth was this candy red and chrome cross bike. Clean routing, tight lines and plentiful clearances make this one mean, lean, Irish racing machine. Be on the look out for this bike tearing through the mud next season in Indy’s local cross races. I can’t help but think that it’ll look even better scratched up and covered in mud.

Fat bikes were out in full force this year at NAHBS but few had the lines and attitudes of Black Sheep. I remember seeing them their first year and asking myself “who would ever want to really ride that thing?”. Turns out, fat bikes have an incredible, cult-like following and people love the creative, sexy lines of the Black Sheep fleet. Even I was amazed at how much fun it was to just ride in circles around the vacant space at the convention center. Titanium, fat and sexy. Who could ask for more?

Andy Hampsten’s legacy is one that needs no introduction. Hampsten Cycles, however might. Columbus MAX is his first love and for the most part, all Hampstens are made from this legendary tubeset. My favorite piece at his booth was this 7-Eleven tribute track. It’s a beaut!

Themed bikes are usually hit or miss but this Groovy Cycleworks, along with the Peacock Groove I just posted were some of my favorites. With the forthcoming zombie apocalypse, it should be no surprise that a zombie bike would rear its ugly head. But this bike is far from ugly.  In fact, it probably had one of the most complex finish in the show. It’s not paint, or anodizing, it’s a masked, ceramic finish. First the bike was polished, then masked off and coated with Cerakote (I love that it’s a gun coat on a zombie bike). It’s incredibly complex and there’s practically an episode of the Walking Dead illustrated throughout the bike. The dead, I mean, end result is just groovvvvy!

I’m alive and well, but as you can tell, this year’s NAHBS coverage is being throttled a little bit. I spent a lot of time just talking to people and shooting the bikes that I truly liked, rather than scrambling around trying to get every single booth. One of those bikes was the Peacock Groove Voltron track.

I really admire Erik Noren. His work has personality and he’s the only builder I like to shoot pictured with his frames. Year after year, Erik’s themed track bikes draw polarizing opinions. You either love it or you hate it but who can hate Voltron? Also, a side note. These photos were taken yesterday, before Denver was covered with a blanket of snow. See more in the Gallery!

Ira Ryan and Tony Pereira‘s new framebuilding company, Breadwinner unveiled their full range at the 2013 NAHBS. While Ira and Tony’s own speciality approach to frame building is still present, the branding and choice paint selection unify the brand into one of the most impressive offerings I saw today. Some details from previous projects returned with new life and with a breathe of confidence, the two Portland builders have a very promising future ahead of them.