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At this point, I had traveled from Australia, to NAHBS, to NYC and had maybe slept in my bed in Austin two nights in three weeks. So what did I do? I went on a bender, starting with Benders, the best bar in SF. Then the rest of three days I was in town just got melted into half of a Recent Roll.
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Let’s just say, I met the Cedar Cycling guys after chasing them down, ultra hungover at NAHBS. Neil and Jeremy have both been around the industry for long enough to know what they wanted in a cycling line. They wanted to create simple, classic cycling apparel, made to be worn everyday and they wanted to make by hand it in California. We got to chatting and immediately, I knew these two meant business. They showed me some samples of their merino garments and I was sold on the quality, right off the bat.
A couple of emails back and forth and the word “collaboration” was tossed around, so the last time I was in SF, I sat down with Jeremy and Neil to discuss a run of jerseys, all made in the USA and designed to be your go-to kit for year-round riding.
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Tracko paid me thousands of dollars to shoot photos of the Tanner Goods “bike line” at the Ira Ryan booth during the 2012 NAHBS. When he texted me my contract to submit photos, I didn’t think it was that Tanner. I’ve got a belt and a wallet from them, both are top-notch. We’ve already seen the Ned Ludd cargo bike, sporting a few of these products, but Tracko’s got the EXCLUSIVE on the rest of the line. Head over to check the rest out.
I just wanted to add that I think cycling-related overlap with solid companies is a good thing, especially from Portland. If these bike accessories are anything like their wallets, they’ll be a worthy investment. Stay tuned.
Where do I even begin with this bike? At the 2011 NAHBS, I spent the afternoon with Chris Bishop, after all the madness of the show had subsided. We rode around Austin, soaked up the sun, got lunch and chatted bikes. That’s when he asked if I would want to have a road bike in the 2012 NAHBS. Of course I wanted a Bishop road bike but I was torn. Since Chris was mostly known for lugged frames, would he want to make a modern, light, fillet frame? Hell, I didn’t even know what I wanted to be honest.
But first thing’s first. I had to get fit by Chris. After the Philly Bike Expo, I headed to Baltimore with him and Tommy, where I stayed the night and got fit in the morning. We began with what I knew, my Merckx road bike and some standard body dimensions. These became our starting point. From there, we tweaked the fit based on what kind of riding I do. Everything was dialed in on the fit bike: head tube angle, fork rake, seat tube angle, etc. Chris asked what I liked and what I didn’t like.
After some back and forth, we had a geometry and finally, a tubing selection: the downtube and chain stays are Columbus Spirit. The head tube is True Temper OX Platinum, Seat tube NOS Columbus MAX, seat stays, top tube are Dedacciai Zero. I wanted the bike as light as possible but not getting into weight weenie status so we went with an ENVE cockpit and a ENVE 1.0 fork, along with an ENVE post, which was made in the States a week before the show! Other tidbits include a Chris King No-Threadset headset and a Fizik Kurve saddle.
Since I love SRAM, a mix of Force and Red was used (not showing the Red Cassette) but I’m most stoked on the wheels. I went with Pewter Chris King R45s laced with Sapim spokes to HED Belgium Rims. Tommy built the wheels with CX Rays up front and Race spokes on the rear. But the frame is what makes the bike. Chris went to town on every single detail here. The cable stops were machined, the replacable, 7075 Paragon drop outs were machined, the pressfit 30 BB shell was hand filed and the fillet construction is pristine. So pristine that it won best fillet construction at the 2012 NAHBS. To top it off, Bryan at Fresh Frame and Tommy concocted one killer paint job, using my logo colors and my love for chevrons as a precedent.
There, enough talking, check out the Gallery by clicking the above photo or click here to open a new tab.
Photo by Jake Ricker
I was talking to a few people at NAHBS this year about how Seattle doesn’t have many builders, especially when compared to Portland, its arch enemy. There’s what? Davidson and that’s about it? Then I saw this beast. Todd Hunt Bertram builds custom bicycles under the name Viana Cycles. His shop is based in Seattle and this particular frame utilizes a rather unique wishbone seat stay bridge. What else would you call it? Take note of that downtube diameter, the sleeved and cleaved seat tube and the bright-ass color. The list just goes on. Check out more at Jake’s Flickr!
For more information on Viana, head to their site and their Etsy profile. That’s a first!
One of my favorite projects at the 2012 NAHBS was this Ira Ryan-fabricated Ned Ludd Market Bike. I met Jason in Sacramento and heard most of what he says here in this video over tacos at Steve Rex‘s spot one night. Jason’s a passionate individual and seeing this project get some much-deserved attention has got to be inspirational. Exceptional!
More on those Tanner bags tomorrow.
You can’t beat black and white night shots from a point and shoot 35mm camera. This Recent Roll is from various cities, over the course of a few months time. Most recently, from the 2012 NAHBS. Here’s to all the nocturnal animals.
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Basket? What basket? All I see is some great lug lining and buttery smooth brass-filled lugwork. Map Cycles is back at it, unscathed by NAHBS. See more at their Flickr. I love the front rack BTW.
As you can tell, I’ve been holding off on posting a lot of my Australia content for the recent torrent of NAHBS coverage. We’ve seen this bike already, a few times on the blog but Eirlie’s Clamont pista definitely deserves its own post. On a rainy morning in Sydney last month, I caught up with her and shot some photos of it while she ate her breakfast. This bike is the love of her life and while it’s got some chrome plating chips on the crown and various other little imperfections, its webbed bottom bracket, cleaved seat tube and history make it one unique ride. Check out more below.
I don’t usually shoot bicycles in direct sunlight for a few reasons. One of which is chromatic aberrations, or the silvers blowing out with a magenta outline. This is a real pain, especially on spokes and chrome parts, resulting in having to considerably stop down a nice, fast piece of glass. Shooting in direct sunlight also means you have to plan out the shadow placement and deal with the resulting high-contrast. Diffused light brings out colors and small nuances in the frames and components in an even, predictable way.
While I was shooting the Bishop NAHBS track bike, I tested out some shots in direct light and these are the only two that I ended up liking. The first one is nice because the radial spokes are light and dark, depending on which side they’re laced and the blue nipples really pop out. Something about the curvature of the track drops in the second screamed “don’t trash me!”. Some people prefer direct light, I like to keep it in the shade…
I am beat and tired of NAHBS coverage, as I’m sure you are. This year’s event was lot of fun but still, I need to find a better way of cataloging it. Already, I’ve got new ideas for Denver. While I recover from this coverage, here’s the last group of builders, beginning with Ventus and their polished and engraved modern Campy group. DeSalvo‘s nice road bike, Peacock‘s booth and a few shots from Ellis. I wanted to get more from Ellis but every time I went by, his bikes were being photographed or the booth was swamped!
This grouping just worked itself out without any planning on my part. Turns out, I met all three of these builders when I was in Portland attending the Rapha Gentlemen’s Race and Steve Rex isn’t even from Portland. You might recognize Tony Pereira‘s magenta machine from this year’s Oregon Manifest. He took home first place there, partially due to his use of an electric-assisted drivetrain and at the 2012 NAHBS, it was the center piece of his booth. Tony had a great point, saying most electric-assisted bikes aren’t designed by bicycle designers, so it leaves a huge gap in the industry. Also on display was a touring bike, a MTB (which won best MTB I might add), new lights he designed and a raw frame. Overall, it vibed!
Steve Rex‘s booth had the fortunate location of being right by the front door. Good for him, bad for me. I could barely get enough time with a bike without someone coming up and squeezing the brakes, dinging the top tube or lifting it up to see how light it was. This one guy must have been squeezing the brakes for 5 minutes straight on Steve’s gorgeous touring bike. Meanwhile, I was trying to get a shot of his shiny stainless track bike with front AND rear brakes. It’s not every day you see something as practical as that displayed on a track bike.
Ira Ryan‘s cargo town bike for Ned Ludd was insane. I counted four Chris King headsets and four Chris King hubs. It was detailed everywhere and took up his whole booth. I couldn’t stop staring at it and had to force myself to look elsewhere in his booth, particularly at his cross and road bikes. But still, just check out the cargo bike already. He won best city bike with it and I still can’t stop thinking about it. See for yourself below.
I’m always interested in seeing what the component and accessory crowd is like each year at NAHBS. When it comes to made in the USA parts, Paul Components have doing their thing in Chico, California since 1989. This year, their line had a few new additions, including their new assymetrical MiniMoto v-brakes. These are perfect for cross racers who may not want to run cantis. Another long-awaited product were their road hubs, which are now slated for summer orders. More information on those as events warrant.
Burro Bags returned for yet another year of mayhem. I am still amazed that other messenger bag brands don’t show up to NAHBS. But I doubt they’re complaining, because they cleaned shop. This year, the guys killed it with the release of their Grinder and a 6-pack carrying strap dubbed the Party Belt. Also on display were their new strap models, the Mudflaps and Santos Straps. When I needed an extra pocket to carry a lens around in, their Gordo hip bag proved to be the perfect size for my 24-70mm.
Over in the Brooks booth, there was quite a bit of attention being given to the 611 Bicycle Co touring bike, built with Brooks bar tape, B-17 saddle, bag and the new Brooks panniers. Aaron lent it to them for the show and between the bike and the gorgeous bags, it became the booth’s center piece. Of course I don’t need to mention that just about every city or touring bike in the show had a Brooks on it. Why bother with anything else?
How about a nice change of pace? Let’s leave NAHBS for a second and travel to OZ. Melbourne is a cyclist’s haven for rich, vibrant culture and South Yarra seems to be the epicenter. You’ve got Shifter Bikes, FYXO Hub and Northside Wheelers all in the same area, running completely different businesses and yet, they’re all contributing to the greater good. With big-brand concept stores everywhere, it’s hard to find a shop that shows cycling history and sells part of the insignia that goes along with it.
The golden age of cycling is still alive, but in small circles. Northside Wheelers is a shop that sells cycling apparel and goods. Think of it as a clothing shop for the bike fanatic in your life. From Creux to Rapha, books, magazines, goods and even some vintage apparel, Malachi Moxon over at Northside Wheelers has everything you need to get you styled out for a ride.
Year after year at NAHBS, one of the crowd’s favorites is Independent Fabrication. Since leaving Somerville for greener pastures (literally) in New Hampshire, the crew at IF has been busy setting up shop and settling into their new digs. This year, they displayed the same caliper of bicycles as they had in years past but I wasn’t interested in the flashy MTB, road and cross bikes. I wanted to check out the porteur that was getting swarmed with people every time I walked by it. How funny is it that the porteur and city bikes ruled so hard this year? See for yourself below.
Mitch from Map Bicycles‘ work was some of the nicest at the 2012 NAHBS. Every last detail on all of his bikes was well thought out and constructed with care. My favorite was his French-fendered, triple triangle, porteur city bike. I could spend all day with out outdoors, giving it lens love but unfortunately, every time I went by the booth, it was being swarmed with people. Other bikes in the booth included a full-loaded touring bike and a gorgeous road frame, complete with barcons and Mafac-brakes. It was great to finally put a face to a name and a company. Next time I see Mitch, hopefully it’ll be on his home turf. Till then, be sure to check out the gallery.
Nate Meschke and Matt Cardinal are Signal Cycles, a framebuilding company, nestled in Portland. Their booth was filled with all kinds of brightly-colored eye candy, right down to their incredible bike stand, holding a shiny red Di2 road bike. Others included a step-through city bike with racks, a fendered road bike and probably my favorite, a commuter with a Edelux lamp and robin’s egg blue paint.
Chatting with and hanging out with Nate and Matt just solidifies their company for me. It’s easy to support a company when it’s backed by two talented, humble people. Check out more from the 2012 NAHBS Signal Cycles booth below.
I’ve already established that Winter makes Beautiful Bicycles. This new video from Bespoked Bristol simply justifies that even more. It’s a shame they didn’t get video of him working. Maybe I should get my ass up to Portland again.
