The Radavist

There’s one thing I admire about some framebuilders almost as much as their final product and that’s their dilligence when it comes to documenting their process. Maybe it’s the Architect in me that knows the foundation of what you’re doing is just as important as your final product. Process equals the project, the ends justifies the means, etcetera. Courage Bicycles and Bishop Bikes are two framebuilders that embody this in my opinion. I just love looking at their Flickr photos that document their process and make notes on their carefully-executed designs.

Take this Magnus S. Reynolds 953 steel custom stem for instance. Beautifully brazed, hand polished to a shimmering glory. Such beauty! If you tend to geek out about things like this like I do, check out the Flickr set from this stem’s life. Be sure to check out the notes Courage makes as well. It really lets you peer into his process!

Last night was NYC Velo‘s ( @NYCVelo ) PreSpoke event. Uptown, a few miles away at the Museum of Art and Design, the opening reception to Bespoke had just finished. The crowds of people who were ‘in the know’ made it down to NYC Velo to look at some of the featured framebuilder’s previous works.

Check out more photos and a full review below.

Armando has some of the nicest bikes in Boston. Recently, he took his love of track bikes to the next level and began making frames. At Kissena Opening Weekend, I caught up with Armando and talked about his new company, Quiros Cycles. His bike is really something.

Check out more photos below.

Sure, there are tons of cargo bicycles available out in the world. Some are made in backyards or garages. Others are made by legendary builders and still, others come from that magical land in the Pacific Northwest known to the rest of the world as Portland, Oregon. Ahearne Cycle Trucks are a company that looks to the future of urban cycling in one 26″ wheel and one 12″ wheel. Oh, with disk brakes and a flat cargo bed. Why go grocery shopping with a massive backpack when you can scoot over to the co-op and load one of these babies up? Builds start at $2,710 for a Blue Collar Kit and go up to as high as you want. Or you can do the frame and fork for $1,730.

Check out more details here!

When I was in Richmond at the NAHBS, hanging out in IF‘s booth, someone said “There are no framebuilders in the South. I quickly spoke up and referenced Bishop Bikes out of Baltimore (yes, Bmore is the South). The guy quickly said something along the lines of “track bikes don’t count”. Ouch! Well, this goes to show that Bishop can really craft some beautiful bikes, including Tourers. Here’s a shot from a recently completed Tourer / Commuter for a customer. I love fastback seatclamps. Check out the rest of the detail shots here.

NY Bike Jumble ( @NYBikeJumble ) Unearths Lost History of New York’s Last Bicycle Racing Track

Strong Backs and Weak Minds: The Saga of the Coney Island Velodrome

New York’s Last Commercial Bicycle Racing Venue, 1930 -1955

BROOKLYN, NY. NY Bike Jumble, New York’s premier organization dedicated to the preservation and continuance of cycling culture across the five boroughs, and The Old Stone House, a vibrant community center dedicated to the history of Brooklyn, announce the opening of ‘Strong Backs, Weak Minds: The Saga of the Coney Island Velodrome’, a new exhibit detailing the history of New York’s last commercial velodrome in Coney Island.

There’s more from the press-release below.

Mark your calenders for this one NYC! May 11th through mid-August brings the Museum of Art and Design‘s exhibition Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle. Curated by Michael Maharam with Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles, the exhibition will feature many contemporary framebuilders in the context of the museum’s gallery spaces. 21 frames will be on display including the works of:

Mike Flanigan, Alternative Needs Transportation (A.N.T.), Holliston, MA.
Jeff Jones, Jeff Jones Custom Bicycles, Medford, OR
Dario Pegoretti, Pegoretti Cicli, Calonazzo, Italy
Richard Sachs, Richard Sachs Cycles, Chester, CT
J. Peter Weigle, J. Peter Weigle Cycles, Lyme, CT
Sacha White, Vanilla Bicycles, Portland, OR

More details are here, at the MAD press-release.

There are very few builders in the United States who can come close to the precision and elegance that Richard Sachs crafts into each of his frames. His legacy began in 1972 when he decided that, unlike his colleagues in the industry, he would build each of his frames by himself, without the aid of assistants or factories. When you order a Richard Sachs frame, you can be assured that Richard Sachs is the one who builds it.

His booth at the NAHBS displayed his intent as a man who builds precision race bikes, ignorant to trends. Check out more photos below.

It’s no secret that Portland brews a mean cup of coffee and houses some of the United States’ most talented frame builders. Vanilla Bicycles is one of those companies. Sacha White began making bicycles in 1999 and over a decade later, Vanilla is one of the most recognizable names in the handmade bicycle world. This year at the NAHBS, Vanilla displayed their true design intent through their bikes and their booth.

Below are some photos I took at the 2010 NAHBS.

Six-Eleven Bicycles is a small bicycle company owned and operated by Aaron Dykstra in Roanoke, Virginia. Aaron’s company is named after the famed Six-Eleven Locomotive, which was made by Norfolk & Western in Roanoke during the mid-20th century. It only makes sense that Aaron would look to his local town’s engineering vernacular to inspire his submission for the 2010 NAHBS.

Check out more shots of Aaron’s bike below.

2010 North American Handmade Bicycle Show from Michael Wendell on Vimeo.

Here’s a really great edit showcasing the 2010 NAHBS. If you missed out on the exhibition, you missed a ton of really great frame-builders and bicycles. Well worth the watch!

VANNI PETTENELLA GOLD AND SILVER MEDAL 1964 TOKYO from camilla candida donzella on Vimeo.

Camilla Candida has been interviewing renown framebuilder Vanni Pettenella for 5 years. Last weekend, he passed away, leaving only his legacy behind. On top of all his racing accomplishments, he also copyrighted an aero frame design that was used by many frame builders. Eventually companies used his idea and began to make their own proprietary aero shape. Once this started to happen, they stopped paying Pettenella for his design. Colnago was the only company who continued to support him. Watch this brief interview Camilla put together to commemorate her longtime friend.

Rest in Peace
Vanni Pettenella
1943 – 2010

Photo by Bishops Cycles

People often forget the ingenuity of early frame builders. Take this BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) Shortbase Speedy for instance. Pathracers were predominately British-built bicycles used in track and grass track races. They’re characterized by a longer, stable wheelbase and the forks usually had a double or triple crown to dampen the rough-ride to and on the track.

These were track bikes in the earliest form; bikes used to race. They were still ridden on the streets; racers would ride their bikes to the track to race. Sometimes with a single caliper on the front wheel attached to the bars with a toe strap; that was about as minimal of a brake as would pass by law.

Independent Fabrications, creators of everything that is right with American frame-builders, have posted some sneak peeks of an unnamed collaboration to their blog. The only details given, other than the photos, are the file names to the cropped photographs; Duck Hunter, Mellow Fellow and Fixie. There’s also a 1/15 mark on each NDS chainstay, alluding to only 45 completes being made; 15 in each style.

Come on guys, you can’t tease us like that! If anticipation and wonder is your thing, check out the IF Blog for more photos.

I have to admit, this shit looks awesome.

Photo by Sasha E

This Merckx Mondays post has been growing peace-meal over the past few weeks. I really wanted to try to compile a good amount of information on Eddy Merckx’s MXL tubeset that he developed with Columbus. Merckx wanted to design a bike for his professional racers; made out of a tubeset that was stronger and suited for the workhorses of stage races. It had to be stiffer than anything else in Columbus’ arsenal. After working with Columbus and consulting his racers, they created Columbus MAX and later, MXL. Using Nivacrom chromoly, Columbus began to develop a new and unprecedented over-sized steel tubeset for Merckx.

Read up on how MAX evolved to MXL and see some gorgeous photos below.

Photo by Harry Schwartzman

New York City has a long legacy of bicycle frame builders. Even though it wasn’t always, and still isn’t, a very cycling-friendly city, people have been making frames here for decades. One of those framebuilders was Alvin Drysdale. At the last NY Bike Jumble, Harry picked up one of these highly sought-after framesets in great condition. The Reynolds 531 frame has never left NYC and Harry plans on keeping it that way.

For a great little read about Drysdale frames, photos of Harry’s bike and what’s become of the Drysdale legacy, head over to NY Bike Jumble.

Thanks for sharing Harry!

Photo by Takuya Sakamoto

Here’s another peek into the new Loop magazine. Vol 3 is out in stands today in Japan. I’ll try to track down a copy and take some shots because it looks really rad. The issue will have two Brooklyn stories. One will be on Post Bike Shop and the other on local frame builders like Trackstar, Coast Cycle, Rosko, and Squarebuilt. From the first feature, here’s Edwin hitting a wall ride and Ed Wonka mid-bunnyhop barspin. Tak calls this the “Double Ed”. Not bad for a cover and inside cover.

The last issue of Loop had Nate, Willis and me on the waterfront in Greenpoint. That shot is below.

Speaking of 14 Bike Co., the London-based shop and frame company just posted a pdf catalog to their blog. It explains their design philosophy and profiles their framebuilders, riders and bikes. Check it out over at the Shop 14 blog!

Lookin sharp guys.