Someone Else's Musings On My Trade atmo -

[EricKeller]

Stinner had two beautiful road bikes in his booth, but they only thing that got much coverage was the (amazing) OD green GDMBR bike. Not that it won't be used, but most of the people pining for it wouldn't use if for anything more than a conversation starter at a coffee shop.

I started working in a bike shop in 1974. One thing that seems to be a constant is the number of bikes that really never get ridden. Same as it ever was. It doesn't matter what it is, from a $500 hybrid on up to a Madone or a J.P. Weigle. I actually am a little surprised that there aren't more top of the line bikes in new condition from decades ago. There probably are, hidden away in basements, but their owners are intending to ride them "someday."


Oh, and can someone point me to a picture of anything Edoz displayed? Haven't seen anything, which is sad

[liberacefanboy]

What cracks me up is that in some posts here it is implied that boring looking bike are meant to ride. When I build a bike, I know I will or the customer will have it for years if not life.Why have it a boring color? Why not have it be hot and flaked out and so on? That is what I want, that is what I do.
After being in this biz for two decades, I just do what I want, and people buy it too.
I would like to think that to me a bike that is made to measure for me, would also reflect my personality.That is what I do.
This is why NAHBS is important to me, we all build differently, but we all ride.
dig it.

[jerk]

The money saved on avoiding unions is more than spent (in spades...) elsewhere trying to
negotiate a way to get yourself and your booth collection to these non-union towns atmo.

i'd give my eye teeth, the extra $500 i had to spend on bullshit shipping and set up fees, and a copy of a book by friedrich engels for the show to be in a new england union town...

[simple]

I'm an outsider here as I've only worked with two builders and I really didn't see anything at the show that made me want to order a new bike. Mostly the cost turns me off but that is because I got into motorcycles and man what I can get for my several thousand dollar investment is just mind blowing...until they close down our trails...but I digress.

What made me really happy about DeSalvo is that each of the bikes that he brought to the show was going home with its very very happy owner. Nothing too fancy, just a great bike that is begging to be ridden.

[coolberto hipsterdor]

I'm not going to comment on specifics as I am not in the industry and probably don't understand what goes on behind the scenes, however, to me NAHBS is a lot like when I would go to a hot rod show with my dad and see all kinds of dudes standing around their shiny cars talking about them except I would be more interested in checking out the beat up E30 or miata in the parking lot, imagining what I would do if I could get my hands on it. To me attainability and purposefulness are more appealing than 'because I can' types of over the top things. That being said, there appeared to be many awesome purpose built bikes at the show (we all know who they are) and it's unfair to lump everyone together like in the original article.

[theflashunc]

I'll preface this by saying this comes from someone who's only observed NAHBS virtually through the photo gallery-gasms that pop up, but will be attending next year for the first time.

Isn't there room for both of these types of perspectives at NAHBS? I agree it shouldn't be the fey/twee/bike freakshow to show what can be done just because, but isn't that a part of the conversation at least? Maybe in the ideal, this kind of stuff brings the punters in the door, and gives folks a chance to have the Gaulzetti's and Sach's and whoever else hook them on making really good, honest stuff? That doesn't strike me as all that different than the approach of many other types of conventions -- most notably auto industry shows. Here's what's coming, but here's also the wild, off-the-wall stuff that'll never leave the concept stage, but its a talker and maybe can spark some conversations about the real stuff. Maybe the best analogue is my experiences as a long-time comic book fan. Comic conventions have all sorts of stuff there from vendors and artists alike that I have zero interest in. But I ignore that stuff and focus on what I do want to see.

Maybe it comes back to, how much of NAHBS is folks coming to put cash-on-the-barrel so to speak? I know for me, my decision on my latest custom came in large part due to NAHBS. I saw Della Santa's frames with the Ossobucco stays back from 2009, I think. I called Roland up when I was in the market for a new bike late last year, and the process has been rolling ever since. I don't know if that same decision happens unless I'm trolling through the umpteen photo galleries.

Anyways, I look forward to meeting a lot of you all in person next year, with your latest collapsible ti cargo pursuit EPS-ready trike frame to show off.

[Matthew J]

... But maybe the real issue at NAHBS is the existence of $3000 cargo bikes which could be supplanted by a 7.1 FX with panniers.

Yes and no. Most people buy $3k cargo have tried the cheapies and found them wanting.

Builders such as Mike Flannigan (AntBike) and Ahearne (who were not at the show in Denver but has been at previous shows) believe that it is possible for many to actually replace cars in their lives with thoughtfully designed bicycles. If it takes pizzazz to get that concept across, so be it.

[EricKeller]

the only problem with holding the show in a union town is that there would be too many attendees so nobody would go.

Eric's comments above about flashy bikes being meant to ride reminds me of the outlandishly appointed his and hers bikes shown by Bilenky last year. They were show bikes, but the outlandishness was commissioned by a customer. To that, all I can say is "thanks for ruining it for all of us buddy"

[zetroc]

Oh, and can someone point me to a picture of anything Edoz displayed? Haven't seen anything, which is sad

I posted my shitty, awful photos of his bike here: http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...s-31728-4.html

[Matthew J]

Stinner had two beautiful road bikes in his booth, but they only thing that got much coverage was the (amazing) OD green GDMBR bike. Not that it won't be used, but most of the people pining for it wouldn't use if for anything more than a conversation starter at a coffee shop.

Don't agree.

The Stinner was made specifically for someone planning to participate in this year's GDMBR. I expect there are a whole lot more people buying off the shelf full suspended carbon MTBs only to hang them in the garage for the next 5 years than are going to go to Stinner with a request for a purpose built full rigid MTB.

[chasea]

i'd give my eye teeth, the extra $500 i had to spend on bullshit shipping and set up fees, and a copy of a book by friedrich engels for the show to be in a new england union town...

Not to mention that a show for guys trying to do the made-in-the-US/living wage thing skipping union towns just seems a bit...

[1centaur]

My advice is to read this thread and then go back to read the article. There's not a lot of there, there. His contention that the show should have bikes that can be ridden is mostly baseless, both because plenty of the builders had such bikes on offer and because builders don't get into the business to make show bikes (which is literally NOT a business). They already know about building bikes to actually ride, and highlighting bikes that ride well at a decent weight at a lower price point than mold-based bikes is done 365 days a year on blogs, websites and forums. So really, the piece is mostly a complaint that SOME of the bikes at the show are not really expressions of the riding craft. Well, duh. Exhibitors bring what they feel like bringing, and the variety is entirely predictable, from utilitarian to fanciful, with reactions just as predictable. People market how they want to market and self-define as they see fit. How much better to vive le difference than snipe the nearby continuum? If it was all art show would it be good for the industry? No. Is it all art show? No. If it was all rideable double-diamonds would people flock to see it and take as many pictures? No. Get the eyeballs, make the conversation, know what you're doing and the difference between art and craft. How many people at the show don't already get that? The original article - a lot of words to make a very small point.

[corko]

at the end pf the day......NAHBS has something for everyone, as it should. Hand built bikes of all types.....

Some people need to manage their expectations.......

[-HvA-]

I think one point people are failing to see here (as extremely valid as the opinion stated in the article is IMO), is that these show bikes are not built for the custom fan/client that is probably already familiar with the builder to begin with. It's that show bikes are for generating some buzz amongst Johny-ride-specialized on Velonews. Mainstream cycling fans will notice something that doesn't look like anything coming out a Taiwanese factory, as opposed to a steel frame that looks like something their dad rode in the 70s. Web traffic keeps reporters employed and gets a builder's name out there.

Marketing 101. Polarize to get people talking, find the people that defend your product and you found your niche.

[WadePatton]

Just to say that, reiterating what might not be clear to the "casual observer", as Erik/LFB's post implies: THAT "concept" vehicles and "fashion" clothing are things created for the buzz they might garner-and by definition aren't working/to be used items.

Although i've not done an accurate survey, i do feel my years of 4-days participation in NAHBS gives me enough knowledge to state with some accuracy that _most_ of the whacked out, pimped out, zoot stuff at NAHBS is commissioned work.

So long as it is commissioned work and the maker wants to showcase his/her work and design and take more "out there" clients on board...wtf?

I get the article, agreeing in part.

In all my years of cruising the aisles of NAHBS, i see more working bikes built for clients than anything else. But then that's all i focus on.

Perspective changes everything.

I don't use the media lens.



and this is the part of the article i like mostest:

The entire experience seems to honor alchemy over engineering. There’s the lovely smallness, the intimacy, the connection between customer and producer and product. These are great and powerful things. I’m longing for them as I write these words. My guess others are, too. But when it comes time to pull the trigger on a new frame, my guess is that very few have had their minds changed by NAHBS. Even then, those very few can mean the difference between a hobby and a job for many of the NAHBS exhibitors. So kudos to them if NAHBS makes the difference.

[amg]

It appears that there is a lot of bike fetish occuring a NAHBS. Each year some bikes have further embellishment, smoother fillets, more time consuming lug work, etc. I think the article and other here have said it right, there appears to be a distancing from what bikes are really about and that is riding. Fine details and cool paint are nice and I for one certainly appreciate them, so long as it does not come at the cost of building a straight, dimesionally correct and proper handling bicycle.

Antonio

[suhacycles]

Can't say that I totally disagree with the article but I don't really think there's anything to 'complain' about, I mean, it's a room full of nice, beautiful bikes, right!?
Here's some more perspective... go hang out at the Taiwan Cycle show next month and try to meet the guy who's actually building your next bike... and you only want one, not 500 units, I mean, bikes. You'll also get to meet plenty of vendors who actually make stuff right there in Taiwan and are happy to make those products with your name/brand on them - how inspiring and original!

[false_aesthetic]

nevermind

[e-RICHIE]

Can't say that I totally disagree with the article but I don't really think there's anything to 'complain' about, I mean, it's a room full of nice, beautiful bikes, right!? <cut>

Criticizing and having a differing opinion is not complaining atmo.
The writer was writing. Period.

[nahtnoj]

The money saved on avoiding unions is more than spent (in spades...) elsewhere trying to
negotiate a way to get yourself and your booth collection to these non-union towns atmo.

I've yet to see you at the Philly Bike Expo. Just sayin'.

Its a damn bike show. You don't need a convention center in some second tier city. A dark, damp, mid-1800s fortress seems to be working just fine.