The Handbuilt show, once again, did not fail to impress. As usual, there were scads of beautiful bikes to ogle, lot’s of details on those frames to examine, and plenty of assemblies and component installations to scrutinize. While I am fairly exhausted from the weekend, I can truthfully say, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of ogling, examining, or scrutinizing the bikes at this show. Keep ‘em coming.

Granted as the weekend wears on, that scrutiny of components and such diminishes a bit, but it’s one of those things I think I enjoy most about the show. Observing the sometimes curious choice the craftspeople use of components:

… a vintage XT group on this gorgeous Signal.

… unique Gipiemme shifters on this Bilenky.

… not necessarily the most up-to-date group set on Cielo.

… the pairing of XT rear derailleur, a 9-speed cassette, and Centaur 11-speed shifter at Palermo.

… Igleheart’s utilization of SunRace components was quite the exception too.

I also appreciate how cleverly the bikes are sometimes displayed. The use of one-off mounting and securing of the rig for display can be really brilliant.

… a beautifully painted old frame with mounting brackets brazed on it’s side at VeloColour.

… custom stands to clip the pedals into at Shamrock.

… elegant swoop rack at Engin. (Great paint too!)

… not to forget Signal’s custom mounting brackets.

Those that are making their own components are also not to be overlooked. High ATD (Attention To Detail) always well-received in my book.

… customizable modular hubs, brakes, etc from Cykelmageren.

… lugs and wood tubes at Sylvan. (One of my favorites.)

… sharp bullet bars at Black Sheep.

All in all, great show, greater bikes, strange town. There’s plenty more photos of items I probably missed pointing out in this to be seen on my photo set; needless to say there’s surely a ton of other photos out there of the show.

Due to the slow internet connection here at the Comfort Inn I’ll keep this brief.

Richmond, VA—NAHBS—the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. We made it to the last few hours of day one after a nine hour or so drive across the Appalachians. So far so good—nay, so great; so here are some photos of the show so far:

Sylvan

Cykelmageren

VAR

Speedvagen

Richard Sachs

Igleheart

More to come on the flickr account as the rest of the weekend goes by….

The other day I got an unexpected gift in the mail from my friend James, so excited I was I tore open the envelope to reveal a copy of Yehuda Moon & the Kickstand Cyclery (July 1, 2008 – January 2, 2009). This is a compendium of sorts of the daily comics chronicling the happenings of Yehuda, Joe, Thistle and all the other characters surrounding the Kickstand Cyclery bike shop. A book like this immediately earns a position in my bike library.

I do enjoy this comic, I make sure to check the action everyday and am usually pretty amused. Having it in print is the next best thing to having Yehuda himself visit me in person. Now I’m going to have to get my hands on the first edition. Evidently the author, Rick Smith visited the shop where James works and was signing copies—icing on the cake.

So make sure to check out this daily online comic, it’s a good one for sure; and pretty relatable if you work in a shop I think. Also to find out more info on its creator, here’s a little interview I did with him a couple of years ago—I bet he’s been up to some new and exciting stuff since then, but nonetheless….

And James, thanks for the great gift. Cottered cranks indeed!

This weekend is the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show. I’ve attended the last two years in Portland, OR; and Indianapolis, IN; for some reason to me that seems like a big deal. This will be the first year it’s not exactly geographically convenient for me to attend, but I am attending nonetheless. Ol’ Drew and I are making the trip crack of dawn hoping to make the show on it’s first day. Richmond, VA is probably a cool town, I’ve not been there in who knows how long, but I’m meeting some of my family there to show them what all this insanity for bikes is all about that I’ve developed. I’m expecting a dashingly good time; I’ve also just gotten a new digital camera (rumour has it, they’ve stopped even manufacturing film cameras!) so I’ll have, I’m sure, a ton of unique photos of beautiful bikes, components, and other cycling accoutrements.

Here are a couple pics from year’s past:

Pegoretti @ Portland, OR

Handbuilt photos in 2008

Velo Orange @ Indianapolis, IN

Handbuilt photos in 2009

Originally uploaded by prestashrader

Resistance training. I’ve been doing a lot of it lately. Is that an actual name for a style of training regimen? My version works like this: ride a cross bike all the time, heavy traction tires, with a bag full of whatever, and a set of sluggish hubs. Lately I’ve also topped it off with thicker than recommended chain lube in the winter. Fight through that and you’ve gotta be building strength, right?

Salty. Maybe this Yehuda Moon put it together for me, but don’t we have a lot of salt on our roads? My lips are not only dry, but they’re actually salty from them it seems. How’s that for the crops? My bike has seen better—less desiccated—days.

Today’s ride home however, was a champ-fest. Rocketing across and off the 2nd street bridge was exhilarating, just pushing it! Laying it down. Where was the competition? Apart from the slavish motorists, all in my head. This is my training, remember! The ride home had one further point of awesomeness to it. No hat, first time in a long time I’ve gotten to ride with nothing under my helmet! Is it happening? Probably too early, especially considering that flea-bag Phil, I’ll take Chuck’s forecast this year.

I’ve just been loaned a book. The Wonderful Ride, the “true journal of Mr. George T. Loher who in 1895 cycled from coast to coast on his Yellow Fellow Wheel”. Sounds pretty cool, might inspire me to take that first step to ride some god-awful distance this spring I’ve been thinking about. We’ll just have to see how Mr. Loher fares.

I love those little Campy part labels

My good buddy Drew over at On Your Left suggested a good idea to me that I am real excited about. I’ve sold the wheels the CAAD9 came with and was planning on, but reluctant to, buying a set of MAVIC Ksyriums. Good wheels to have, no doubt, but I’m a fan of hand-built wheels—preferably my own. There was also a financial issue buying a new set of wheels. Settling that debate was Drew’s suggestion of the brilliance of Campagnolo—or more accurately, he suggested trying a Fulcrum freehub body on my Campy rear hub. Enter the assumed Campagnolo part number 1011225. This will allow me to keep the wheels rolling I built for my recently demised Coppi. Centaur hubs on Aeroheads; thirty-two hole spectacularness!

Oh, and I’ve got a birthday coming up, was the AARP invitation I got in the mail the other day some kind of joke? WTF?