NAHBS Brings the Bling

By Bill Schieken, Cyclocross Editor

The 2010 Shimano North American Handmade Bicycle Show took place February 26-28 in Richmond, Virginia. The show featured 150 exhibitors and was seen by more than 7200 attendees. Visitors were treated to so much bling that it would not be a surprise if XXL or Vibe magazines ran a spread on the show. From lifestyle and commuter bikes, to top-end time-trial rigs, NAHBS had something for all comers. Lawn-mowing bikes, zombie bikes, bikes with bayonet-like handlebars and award-winning road-bike tandems were all on display. Below is a small sample of the eye candy from NAHBS.

In addition to the images, GamJams was able to spend some time at NAHBS with Paraic McGlynn, Director of Applied Cycling Science at Serotta Competition Bicycles. McGlynn showed some of the new fitting tools Serotta developed and gave a run-through of their state-of-the art fitting and video analysis process. Although Serotta has amazing equipment, the GamJams field unit does not. The microphones used in the interview were not operating as intended and the audio in a few places is less than perfect. But the information is top notch and worthwhile viewing. 

Paraic McGlynn of Serotta Competition Bicycles from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

If you want to go to the 2011 NAHBS, reserve your flight now or plan for a bit of a road trip. Next year's show is in Austin, Texas.

NAHBS Jury Awards:
Best in show: Ellis Cycles
Best Road Frame: Bilenky Cycle Works (the winning road frame was a tandem!)
Best Track Frame: Richard Sachs
Best Carbon Fiber: Crumpton Cycles (Yes, there were carbon bikes at this show.)
Best Titanium: Kent Eriksen Cycles
Best Fillet Brazing: Dave Kirk
Best City Bike: YiPsan (Renold Yip made the trip from his Hong Kong shop worthwhile.)
Rookie of the Year: Aaron Dykstra/Six Eleven
Best Off Road: Engin Cycles
Best Tandem: Calfee
Best Steel Frame: Spectrum Tandem (2010 was the year of the tandem.)
Best Lugged Frame: DiNucci
Best TIG Welded Frame: DeSalvo Custom Cycles
Best Paint: Llewellyn Custom Bicycles
President's Choice: Cherubim (Japan-based builder.)
People's Choice: YiPsan

For more information on the show and these builders, visit www.handmadebicycleshow.com.

Now, for the bling:

Velocity Wheels displayed an array of colorful hoops for your next fixie or city bike.

A Cielo road bike that sports a first generation (1993) Chris King bottom bracket.

The lug work on Llewellyn Custom Bicycles' frames can take hundreds of hours to complete.

This Vanilla Workshop Speedvagen features Shimano Di2 electronic shifting.

Vanilla teamed up with Rapha to outfit the Speedvagen race team.

Brains!! ALAN shows off its zombie paint scheme.

Mike Zanconato finished his modern steel road racer in classic Molteni orange.

VeloColour exhibited beautiful paint schemes.

Buying a custom handmade bike means being able to pick every part, down to the lugs.

Shamrock Cycles road bike with rear rack and amazing paint.

It's anybody's guess how Banjo Cycles came up with their name.

Bilenky Cycle Works also spent many hours creating intricate lug designs.

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photo credits: Bill Schieken. More at www.cxhairs.com/photos.

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GamJams Cyclocross Editor Bill Schieken races for Route1Velo/Arrow Bicycle. He is also the editor of In The Crosshairs.

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