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PiNP 2012: A Year in 55 Photos

In 2012, PiNP’s content was like a pinball machine. It seemed like every other month, I’d find myself in another city. Some familiar, some new, but I traveled everywhere with my bike and camera in hand, ready to see what was out there. Throughout these travels, I formed a lot of strong friendships with a lot of incredible people. Some of which have become my best of friends. We rode hard, we partied harder and somehow, I managed to keep the year in focus.

Here’s the PiNP 2012: A Year in 55 Photos…

Reportage By: John Watson

Moth Attack

Moth Attack is one of the most unique builders I’ve ever met and not just because it’s owned and operated by a woman. I spent a few hours visiting Megan in her commercial live work space in Los Angeles, touring her facilities that are literally feet above where she sleeps at night. This is the ultimate bike apartment, where everything from racing bikes to commuters and mountain bikes hang from the walls but to add to the mix, Megan designs and fabricates custom bicycles inside the space.

Sharing the loft is Jack, a track cyclist and mechanic. Both Megan and Jack have seperate, lofted studio spaces where they work. See for yourself below…

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

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Brooks B17 Select World Traveller 2012 Limited Edition Saddle

This just in from Brooks:

“Brooks England is pleased to announce the release of the Brooks B17 Select World Traveller 2012 Limited Edition Saddle. This saddle celebrates our deep historical associations with the sporting heroes of the previous London Olympiad, as well as our rich relationship with devotees of Long Distance Touring, during the inaugural WCR Grand Tour (www.worldcycleracing.com), a competitive circumnavigation of the Earth by bicycle.

The leather surface features a restyling of a piece by Frank Patterson, artist and illustrator of the Brooks catalogues of the 1920’s, realized by Richard Phipps. All saddles have been made using Brooks Select organic leather tops, fixed to a chromed copper steel frame and finished with hand hammered copper rivets.

The B17 Select World Traveller is available at chosen Brooks Dealers Of Excellence from May, and production of the Brooks B17 Select World Traveller has been capped at 2012 pieces.”

Check out more photos below.

Reportage By: John Watson

I Couldn’t Resist

So there I was, looking at the Jack Brown tires, thinking I wanted some gumwall action on my Geekhouse Woodville touring bike. Because, you know, nothing’s classier on a purple touring bike than gumwalls. The only problem is, I have this bike, with all this clearance for tires and fenders, so I wanted to go bigger than 33c. I looked over in the corner of my office and there were the two Resist Nomad skin tires I had on my Bruiser. 45c, big, fat, round, gumwall tires. I couldn’t Resist.

Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.

Reportage By: John Watson

Pereira Cycles, Steve Rex and Ira Ryan

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.

Gallery

Reportage By: John Watson

Paul Components, Burro Bags and Brooks

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?

Gallery

Reportage By: John Watson

2012 NAHBS: Bruce Gordon, Ahearne, DiNucci and Vendetta Cycles

This year, more than any other year at NAHBS, I got to talk face to face with the builders and their assistants. I took more time listening to their process and their pains. It’s not easy building bicycles in the States and sometimes, things get a little rough financially.

Earlier this year, Bruce Gordon put out an SOS (shop on stress) and the framebuilding world responded. Now, I’m not saying their shop is slammed, but business picked up and Bruce has some new products on the way. Cantis, toe clips and even a nice, 700c gum wall touring tire, made by Panaracer in Japan. It looks like Bruce Gordon is doing a lot better. His booth’s pride was a carbon road bike with details for days.

The townie and commuting bike contingency was rather large this year. More and more people are ditching their cars for handlebars and Ahearne Cycles showed off a few recent builds. My favorite was the blue townie, complete with bamboo lock box and rotating child seat. It even has foot pegs. Other goodies included his Sheldon Brown flasks and shirts.

DiNucci Cycles‘ bikes included a raw road frame and a classic road bike with Curtis Odom tri-arm sport cranks. Sharing the same booth was Vendetta Cycles, who returned with their ever-so-popular Columbus MAX track bike. This bright green beast had everyone drooling. I always love seeing how people use MAX on track bikes and this bike’s custom pinstriping just takes it over the top!

See all this in the Gallery.

Reportage By: John Watson

Winter Cycles

Ever since last year’s NAHBS, I’ve been watching Eric at Winter‘s brand grow. I’m not exagerrating when I say that his bi-lam head tubes were some of my favorite details at this year’s show. His Jack Taylor-inspired, Keith Anderson-painted and box-lined touring frame was completely stunning. Other bikes in his booth included a simple, yet elegant road frame, a charcoal and mint track machine with a seat tube cleave and a killer commuter, ready for night rides through the Portland streets. All of which you can see in the below Gallery.

Gallery

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Keith Anderson Cycles: Winter Tourer

Please let purple be the color of choice this year at NAHBS! One day, I’d love to have a frame painted by Keith Anderson. Why? Just check out that Jack Taylor-inspired box-lining on this Winter touring frame. I love everything about this. The lavender (mauve) frame and the purple head tube is right up my alley…

Someone’s got their mind right.

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Prolly is Not Probably’s Year in Review

Well, I hope you all had a great New Year. I’m assuming most of you are back to work now and probably have some time to kill today during your lunch break so I invite you to check out a year in review. 2011 brought about a lot of traveling for me and like the increase in frequent flier miles, the site’s content continues to rack up. International, cross-continental and bi-coastal travels brought me to shops, events and in front of Beautiful Bicycles.

Check out Prolly is Not Probably’s Year in Review below!

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Day Labor

All of the videos that were previously touring with the Bicycle Film Festival are now live on Vimeo. This one was one of my favorites, centered around the ambiguity of the word “day labor” and what it means to every industry. Thanks for the heads up Zlog!

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2011 Philly Bike Expo: Circle A and Chapman Cycles

A lot of the builders at the Philly Bike Expo this year shared booths with each other. For example, Bishop and Mooney shared a booth with Fresh Frame, their painter. Circle A shared space with Chapman Cycles, their other in-house company. Brian Chapman and Chris Bull have quite the eye for bicycle design and painting. Both offered up a unique approach to frame design but Chapman really gained a lot of attention with their brightly colored mixties and touring bikes.

Check out more from Circle A and Chapman Cycles below!

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Two Slick 650B Tourers

I came across two 650B touring bikes recently that I felt like needed some exposure. The first is this Map Cycles tourer. The details on this baby are so clean. Bi-lam front end, flat stock fender bridge, custom Map stem and one slick drive-side profile.

Next up is Blakey’s Rawland rSogn. This all-rounder, low trail 650b beast will accompany Blake during his Gravel Grinders rides. Check out a lovely full-bike shot and the new Gravel Grinders flier below!

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Bruce Gordon Cycles Needs You

I received a rather troubling email from Nick at Bruce Gordon Cycles. It seems that after 35 years of building absolutely beautiful bicycles, Bruce and the gang might have to close their doors. The orders have stopped coming in and with no work, they can’t keep their business running. With the economy getting better and more and more people getting into bikes, why not consider them for a custom frame? If you call now, they’ll have you a tig-welded bike in 3-4 weeks. For something nicer, 4-6 weeks. Bruce’s work is impeccable and to see him go through this is saddening. But the good news is, for $1800 you could walk away with a custom Bruce Gordon. Even I’m salivating at that! This is a once in a lifetime deal and one you won’t regret.

Check out more photos and their pricing info below.

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Soma: Rivendell San Marcos Frames Have Arrived

Soma‘s collaboration frame with Rivendell Bicycle Works has finally arrived. This is a rare bird in the sense that Grant Petersen designed it specifically for Soma, using Rivendell lugs. Grant describes it as a “sport tourer”, ideal for asphalt with road slicks, dirt with bigger tires or just cruising the city. While it’s not a dedicated touring bike it does have the following provisions:

-rack and fender braze-ons
-kickstand plate
-pump peg
-longish wheel base

While Soma’s first run has already been sent out to shops, if you pre-ordered yours it should be on the way shortly. Head over to the Soma blog for shops in your area that will be receiving their orders shortly.

What do I think of it? I think it’s pretty damn cool.

Previously:
Rivendell Collaborates With Soma on Frame Project

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Tokyo Fixed Gear: Philosophy Bags in Stock

Like Max from Tokyo Fixed Gear, I first saw the work of Philosophy Bags at this year’s NAHBS. Their handmade in the USA panniers and bicycle bags are elegant and just what you need to class up that rando or touring build. But as Tokyo Fixed Gear shows us, they look great on a Tokyo Fixed Bikes Dream Machine! The thing I love about their panniers is the use of the modern rack mounts. No one wants to use buckles and straps anymore, so why bother with an antiquated technology on such a classy bag. These panniers are simple and clean.

Pick these up at TFG if you’re in London!

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Product Review: Zambale 7 Litre Saddle Bag

Hey, that’s not a saddle bag! Technically it is, but the folks at Zambale designed a full line of saddle bags to fit on either your handlebars or your saddle rails. I picked up the 7 Litre Saddle Bag from this year’s NAHBS. At the time, I was stoked to find such a nice bag with a DSLR case integrated into it and the reps (who at the time I mistook for the owners), were extremely helpful. It wasn’t until the past few weeks that I finally got around to installing it on my Merckx road and while it doesn’t match the aesthetic of the bike, I found it to be a highly useful accessory to accompany me on my rides.

Check out more below.

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SF Shop Visit: Box Dog Bikes

Box Dog Bikes‘ reputation precedes itself. Before I even booked my plane ticket to go to SF, I always wanted to do a Shop Visit on them. Everything I’ve seen and heard about the shop just stuck out to me as being my kinda place. From the super-chill staff, to their in-house rando frames and even the location, Box Dog Bikes is the shit!

Check out more photos from my Shop Visit to Box Dog Bikes below!