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North American Hand Made Bicycle Show -
San Jose, California, March 2-4, 2007
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Part 3 - Handbuilt for the road
By James Huang in San Jose, CA
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Road bikes and their associated relatives (touring and randonneur) are arguably the most classic genres of the handbuilt bicycle world, and their rich history strikes a perfect fit with what is often the traditional aesthetic of the handbuilt industry. The timeless appearance of some of the works shown at the NAHBS conjures up images of days gone by; intricate lugwork, delicate pinstriping, and heaps of chrome and polished stainless steel marked example after example this year, especially from industry icons Bruce Gordon, Brian Baylis, and Sacha White.
That being said, 'old school' looks may be the stereotype of the handbuilt world, but it is far from the only type of bikes being built. Lugged construction was used on thoroughly modern machines as well that would not look horribly out of place among the most advanced carbon or titanium models. Also, a number of TIG-welded machines easily held their own amongst their esteemed colleagues with creatively curved tubes, deep lustrous paint, and other bits of brilliant design. As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and any number and variety of elements can add up to a spectacular bicycle.
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Regardless, even classic-looking bikes don't have to be classic-feeling. Steel was still the predominant material at this year's NAHBS, but metallurgical advances from the likes of Reynolds, True Temper, Columbus, and Dedacciai have enabled ferrous bikes to remain competitive on a performance level. Builders such as Richard Sachs still utilize the material exclusively and sponsor racers with steel frames, and many will still argue that no other material can match its ride quality.
Will steel ever return to its former position of glory atop the frame material food chain? Not likely, but that won't necessarily stop me from owning another steel bike someday…
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
- Classic Brian Baylis styling as seen in this classic road bike.
- Intricate lugwork and amazing attention to detail are Baylis hallmarks.
- Beautifully capped seat stays.
- It's been years since that classic photo was taken of a young Greg LeMond, but Della Santa is still going strong.
- Drilled 'lugs' add a nice touch.
- New builder Engin Cycles showed off a neatly done steel and carbon road bike.
- Cleanly done pinstriping on this Engin Cycles road bike.
- Brett Horton commissioned this stunning Llewellyn for his collection.
- Brett Horton gave Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles a blank canvas for his bicycle, and this is what he delivered.
- Bay Area builder Nelson Titanium offered up a classic example of a TIG-welded titanium road bike.
- Pegoretti is known as much for his paint as he is for his frames, and these are good reasons.
- Dario Pegoretti is best known for steel, but this Love #9 also shows off his aluminum work.
- Pegoretti dropouts offer lots of weld surface area to meet with the large-diameter stays.
- Pegoretti's beautiful Marcelo frame, dressed in black and white.
- Pegoretti's new Responsorium wears his typical extended head tube.
- The Responsorium is Pegoretti's new top machine.
- It would likely be safe to say that this paint took "a long time".
- Large diameter stays help retain rear end stiffness for good drivetrain response.
- Classically-styled front bag on this Pereira randonneur.
- A Pereira randonneur, ready to explore.
- Tony Pereira crafted this 'suicide shifter' himself.
- Clean lugwork from Peter Mooney.
- Peter Mooney in baby blue.
- Stunning lug and paint work by Peter Mooney.
- Peter Mooney built this frame for inventor Joel Evett.
- Evett's bike incorporates unique paired cable routing for his proprietary shifting system.
- These dual pivot brakes look modern, but were actually handmade by Evett decades ago.
- Inventor Joel Evett modified this Campagnolo Record front derailleur to work with his unique integrated shifters.
- Evett's shifter is operated by simply rotating the wheel with your thumb. Shift action was impressively light.
- Rear derailleur was similarly modified for use with Evett's shifters.
- A display from Peter Mooney with just a small sample of what's possible.
- Somewhat nicer looking than the dropouts on my bike…
- Exquisite detailing on the seat tube of this Peter Mooney bike.
- Stems such as this one from Peter Mooney can easily require multiple days to fabricate.
- This Rebolledo randonneur wore a rare chain catcher from Columbine Cycles to speed wheel changes.
- Classic styling from Rebolledo.
- Elegant seat lug from Rebolledo.
- Richard Sachs before and after.
- Richard Sachs before and after.
- Richard Sachs is known for his craftmanship but his bikes are just as much about performance.
- Classic red, white, and yellow colors of Richard Sachs.
- Clean and purposeful Richard Sachs bottom bracket shell with just enough shaping to draw the eye.
- Few do red, white, and black as well as Richard Sachs.
- Classic road racer performance.
- This decal is found on some of the finest frame finishes in the world.
- Subtle and beautiful.
- Sachs has a long history of racing, both in a personal sense as well as his sponsorship of other racers.
- Interesting control layout on Soulcraft's unique ride.
- Soulcraft built this bicycle for the folks at Formula Brake.
- Brake lines on this Soulcraft are routed internally, with brazed-in connections at the chainstay and down tube.
- Integrated bottle opener on the rear end of this custom Titus Solara.
- A NuVinci shifter graces the end of this Solara handlebar.
- Titus' National Sales Manager Matt Lambert built this unique custom Solara for himself.
- NuVinci's CVP internal transmission rear hub is big, bulky, and heavy, but still holds lots of performance promise.
- Tom Oswald uses only hand tools in constructing his frames.
- Carved lugwork like this takes hours of labor.
- A finished product from Tom Oswald.
- A small display from Vanilla Bicycles catalogs the steps in lug carving.
- Brooks saddles graced numerous bikes at the show.
- Sacha White adds a bit of leather embellishment to a classic spoke holder.
- Mmm… Brooks leather handlebar tape.
- Raised stainless steel logo and highlighting rings.
- Vanilla Bicycles touring bike in stunning burnt orange paint.
- Sacha White provides yet another example of why he currently holds a four-year waiting list.
- Double-stacked rear rack from Vanilla Bicycles.
- Cleanly fillet brazed Vanilla stem.
- Waterford Precision Cycles carried the flame motif to the extremes with this one.
- Even the fork tips get the flame treatment from Waterford.
- Waterford's Reynolds 953 frame is on fire!
- Wild-looking head tube from Waterford.
- Not much to say here but 'wow'.
