Someone Else's Musings On My Trade atmo -

[charliedid]

"There's a brand new talk,
but it's not very clear
That people from good homes
are talking this year
It's loud and tasteless
and I've heard it before
You shout it while you're dancing
on the whole dance floor
Oh bop, fashion"

IMO the new niche is the $2000-$4000 compete bike.

NAHBS is a runway...

[holliscx]

I've never been to NAHBS and would like to but I've thought many times that I would love to see half the industry drawn out of a hat for one year and then the other half shows up the next year - so you participate every other year. I think each year would try to outdo the previous and this could be good for the industry if those not participating that year attended and/or collaborated and were inspired by their fellow fabricators etc. It just seems like the calendar comes around so fast that everyone hurries to shit something out right before NAHBS.

[niedz]

what really disappoints me is when you peer head on from head tube back on a ribbon winning bike and you can see how whack it is. and wonder if its gonna shift at all, let alone ride straight.

[bcm119]

The same thing has happened in industries such as craft beer and comic books. There's a small niche of fans that become obsessed with the physical product and lose sight of its purpose. There are folks who keep comic books in sealed plastic and never open them; there are folks who age their IPA in their cellar and post photos of it on beer sites; there are folks who buy frames to hang on their wall and maybe take down to the cafe on sunny Sundays in May. For people like me, who believe comic books belong on a shelf accessible from the toilet, and IPA belongs in my fridge, and bikes belong in the mud room covered in road grit, it is challenging to comment on this other sector of fans and not sound like an ass. So I tend to ignore it. Most people are riding their bikes and drinking their beer, so we're all okay I think.

[e-RICHIE]

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.

The reason NAHBS is in winter is because I race cx all fall. That's
why you don't see me anyplace all fall except at a cx venue atmo.

[John Price]

This was the first NAHBS I've been to and to be honest from past reads on the interwebs I was expecting MORE bizarre show bikes than what I saw here. From my perspective the majority of the bikes looked quite rideable and useful. Sure, there were the over the top show bikes such as the Ogre and those on display at Cherubim but then I'd see bikes such as Dave Wage's - all beautifully done and perfectly rideable. As a data point in talking to Renold Yip - all the bikes he brought to the show customer bikes, not over the top show bikes. Maybe I'm missing something but this view that NAHBS is all about bling and show seems skewed to me. There is that there, but the majority looked like quite honest and rideable bikes. Be it a Bishop or an Anderson or an Ellis or Moots or Black Sheep or Sachs or Gaulzetti...

[nahtnoj]

The reason NAHBS is in winter is because I race cx all fall. That's
why you don't see me anyplace all fall except at a cx venue atmo.

Yeah, that clicked for me 11 minutes after posting.

Still, its a cool show and I would encourage continually scorned residents of the Northeast to attend.

[Jayme]

That's why you don't see me anyplace all fall except at a cx venue atmo.

Those, along with the streets and the tracks, are the real bike shows.

[CWinters]

Hmm. The image used to illustrate Mr. Partland's post was originally taken by me, then stolen and reposted by the spammy site he lifted it from. Anyone know how I might contact the author and request correct attribution? I don't see any contact info.

[christian]

I prefer handmade bicycles to intellectual property theft. But hey, that's just me.

[charliedid]

Hmm. The image used to illustrate Mr. Partland's post was originally taken by me, then stolen and reposted by the spammy site he lifted it from. Anyone know how I might contact the author and request correct attribution? I don't see any contact info.

Leave him a comment at his site on the original post?

[CWinters]

Leave him a comment at his site on the original post?

Tumblr does not allow comments unless you've been following the account for 2 weeks. I've used the "ask a Question" form and hope the author sees it. Didn't mean to be petty or hijack this topic - was just taken aback by seeing my photo with incorrect attribution. And funny enough, the builder in the picture has never been to NAHBS.

[e-RICHIE]

Tumblr does not allow comments unless you've been following the account for 2 weeks. I've used the "ask a Question" form and hope the author sees it. Didn't mean to be petty or hijack this topic - was just taken aback by seeing my photo with incorrect attribution. And funny enough, the builder in the picture has never been to NAHBS.

Is that the Royal H cat? If so, he was in my booth on Sunday atmo.

[CWinters]

Is that the Royal H cat? If so, he was in my booth on Sunday atmo.

Ha! Well, never until now that is : )
Yes that is Bryan Hollingsworth of Royal H.
Also does carbon fiber bikes at Seven Cycles.

[davids]

My perspective as a consumer? I attended twice. The first was pretty thrilling, and I enjoyed seeing a lot of small makers' offerings in person, both the workaday and the flashy stuff. The second year I found myself unimpressed and impatient with the showy bikes, and (with a handful of exceptions) feeling that I'd already seen the offerings of less showy builders. I had a great time seeing my friends, but I felt like I'd seen what NAHBS had to offer after one visit.

At this point I'd go if the show came within, say, four hours of home. I can't see investing more time, money, or effort in getting to NAHBS would pay off for me. I also don't know how the show could be changed to make me more interested in going for the third time.

This is just my opinion as a guy who loves nice bikes - I wouldn't suggest that anyone else should feel like I do.

[pdxmech13]

"It would be like wondering what all of the "models" hanging out at interbike have to do with the nutrition of the bar samples they are pushing. "

Models have been hard to come by at Interbike over the last few years unfortunately.

[Dallas Tex]

I believe Nahbs exhibitors should aggressively grab hold of the opportunity to display wares that are representative of what comes out of their shop on a daily basis. rody

I couldn't say it better than that.

I agree with the most of the article. If some of the 'bloom' has come off the handbuilt segment, I wonder how much of that is related to price. Currently, its easy to walk into a bike shop and find several $9,000 and up bikes. To most folks, that $9,000 carbon production bike is $3,000 'better' than your $6,000 handmade bike. It used to be that if you wanted to empty your wallet that big, handmade/custom bicycle was the only option. That has changed.

I smiled when I read the part about pouring over the NAHBS photo dumps. Only one pic got me excited and made me say wow this year, and it wasn't some one-off-sculpture-'bike'. It was just a really nice bike:

[the bottle ride]

Tumblr does not allow comments unless you've been following the account for 2 weeks. I've used the "ask a Question" form and hope the author sees it. Didn't mean to be petty or hijack this topic - was just taken aback by seeing my photo with incorrect attribution. And funny enough, the builder in the picture has never been to NAHBS.

JP is one of the great ones- other than a bad book on bmx racing that he did to make schekels he is legit and decent. And he tells a pretty bitchin' story.

He is legendary around the NYC circles.


I would be happy to pass along his email address so you can email him directly.

[ron l edmiston]

My perspective as a consumer? I attended twice. The first was pretty thrilling, and I enjoyed seeing a lot of small makers' offerings in person, both the workaday and the flashy stuff. The second year I found myself unimpressed and impatient with the showy bikes, and (with a handful of exceptions) feeling that I'd already seen the offerings of less showy builders. I had a great time seeing my friends, but I felt like I'd seen what NAHBS had to offer after one visit.

At this point I'd go if the show came within, say, four hours of home. I can't see investing more time, money, or effort in getting to NAHBS would pay off for me. I also don't know how the show could be changed to make me more interested in going for the third time.

This is just my opinion as a guy who loves nice bikes - I wouldn't suggest that anyone else should feel like I do.

i can relate to David's comments, having been to four --- i enjoy the multi-marketing and displays, but in many ways my attention span diminishes relative to the building and/or mechanical aspects -- i am very limited with my mechanical ability and what goes where..
i appreciate the hand-craftsmanship, especially -- "built to race, but just happens to be beautiful too.."
without a pal or buddy to tour the isles, my attention/knowledge, up/down/around & back & forth, -- diminishes..
what keeps me smile'n is the reassurance of/from the "time n grades" & what the "newbies" take from the seniors and build upon..
the comradery with old pals & meeting new pals, along with the brothers & sisters at friday and saturday evening retreats & breakfast too..

just hang'n on & around with a smile and hope'n i'm not in your way --- see ya in charlotte,

ronnie

[XJBaylor]

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.

My point was that more people would get use out of the two road bikes he displayed, but they received no coverage. I know what that bike was designed for and I can't wait to see how it performs. It is simply awesome. I don't begrudge the coverage it got, I applaud it. In fact, Stinner may have been my favorite builder at the show. My only point was that the beautiful bikes behind it were only going to be seen by those perusing the internet slideshows as grey and white bokeh, not the simple works of art that they are. Again, I found the GDMBR bike amazing and stated as much, I am just saddened by the lack of coverage of the "bread and butter" bikes of the custom bike scene.