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Monday, February 11, 2008

Bicycle magazines

By Yokota Fritz

Bicycle trade shows are fun because of all the free magazines that are available. The usual crowd were at the 2008 Handmade Bicycle Show including VeloNews with a free bicycle giveaway, Dirt Rag with their Sock Guy socks, and Road Bike Action with free magazines.

Momentum Magazine is a two year old Canadian publication that made it's first foray into the U.S. market with the January/February 2008 issue. Momentum is distributed for free at bike shops in New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Momentum focuses on the everyday riding of "urban" cyclists who ride mostly to get around. The tech tips are things like how to install fenders, and product reviews are on the latest in longtail bikes.

Embrocation is a gorgeous new quarterly featuring high quality bike porn and other cycling photography. It's like a coffee table book that you can subscribe to, printed on high quality stock. Read the Embrocation blog to get a feel for this publication. The current issue highlights Cyclocross racing and racers.

Labels: nahbs

Sunday, February 10, 2008

NAHBS Sunday news

By Yokota Fritz

2009 venue announced

During the award ceremony Sunday afternoon, Don Walker announced that Indianapolis will be the location of the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. “It’s a great venue, plus I live there,” said Don Walker.

Record year

This fourth NAHBS has been said by many to be a coming of age year for the show, with exhibitor and attendance records shattered and an amazing excitement and buzz on the show floor. The standard of bicycles presented at the show seemed to have taken a step up from last year in San Jose, with many builders going the extra mile with their show bikes. The result was a feast of creativity, craft work, and healthy doses of humor and soul.

More than 6800 people streamed through the doorways of the show, which at one point on Saturday exceeded capacity, forcing the city fire marshal to order the doors closed to keep people out. In addition to the usual array of builders who've supported the show along with component suppliers such as Chris King and White Industries, industry heavyweights SRAM and Shimano also had booths to display their wares. Shimano also provided important sponsorship along with Chris King and Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams.

Suppliers used the show as an opportunity to meet with the builders. SRAM OEM account manager Mike Stejskal said, “In one day here yesterday I had more valuable customer interactions than I have in a week at Interbike.” Linda Brown, representing the U.S. distributor for Continental Tires, Fizik and other European brands, also told me she received valuable feedback on the U.S. bike market that she forwarded back to Europe.

2009 2008 NAHBS Awards

Watch this space for followups from the 2008 NAHBS.

Photo Credits: Hummingbird saddle/Independent Fabrications by Cecil Reniche-Smith; Sweatpea chainstay by Gino Zahnd; Thien Dinh of Road Bike Review by me.

Labels: nahbs

Shimano introduces 29er wheel

By Yokota Fritz

Shimano displayed their new 29 inch wheel today at NAHBS. Guitar Ted will provide more details at Twentynine Inches.

Labels: nahbs, shimano

Brano Meres bamboo composite frame

By Yokota Fritz

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Road frame made with bamboo fiber composite material

Brano Meres is an engineer in Slovakia who first built a carbon / bamboo composite bike four years ago. He continues to dabble in new materials. His latest innovation is this frame made from a bamboo composite material.

This frame looks and kind of feels like a carbon composite frame, but the material is made up of bamboo fibers instead of carbon fiber. Like carbon fiber and fiberglass, the bamboo fiber is embedded in a plastic polymer to create a strong and lightweight composite material.

Brano tells me this bamboo fiber composite bicycle is currently too flexible for it to ride well, but he continues to investigate its properties. The other builders at the show who work with carbon fiber tell me that carbon fiber is getting to be almost impossible to obtain, so perhaps we'll see some more work in new alternative materials like this.

Labels: nahbs

Saturday, February 09, 2008

NAHBS: Saturday night photo dump

By Yokota Fritz

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I've dumped several photos from NAHBS to my Flickr account.

Some highlights:

The floor was so crowded that the fire marshall ordered NAHBS staff to limit entrances because the hall had exceeded its limit. People were lined up 50 yards waiting to get inside the hall this afternoon.

Tyler from Delta 7 Sports explains that mud doesn't collect within the truss structure of his Arantix truss design. He told me that it was a concern, but in real life the mud doesn't compact inside the tube, but just pass through and doesn't stick.

This fat tire Moots features interchangeable front and rear tires. There are cogs on the front hub so you can switch the front out to the back. 165mm hubs mean no dish in either wheel.

Brano Meres displayed this carbon fiber truss structured road bike at the show.

Black Sheep Fab in Fort Collins, CO had this beautiful long tail bike. $5,000 for this configuration.

More later!

Labels: nahbs

NAHBS: Renovo wooden bicycle

By Yokota Fritz

I've seen bikes made from steel, bamboo, carbon fiber, titanium and aluminum at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland this weekend, but something that really caught my eye was this monocoque wooden bicycle from Renovo Bikes of Portland, Oregon.

Renovo's builder, Ken Wheeler, said he researched the use of wood in airplane design. A solid wood bicycle frame would be too heavy, so Wheeler designed a hollow monocoque frame, precision jointed and bonded with epoxy. He starts with hand selected hardwoods like Jatoba, hard maple, ash, hickory, Douglas fir and cuts them to size. A CNC woodworking machine shapes the tubes, then each piece is bonded, detailed, sanded and finished to create something with the grace of a handmade wooden boat or a fine article of furniture. These bikes glow -- they really are amazing to look at. Complete bikes weigh 17 to 20 lbs. According to Wheeler, the bikes give a magically smooth yet stiff ride with crisp, responsive handling.

Wheeler says that impacts that might dent and ruin a metal frame will bounce off of Renovo frames, leaving inconsequential dimples. Unlike carbon, cracks don't propogate from scratches or chips and wood doesn't conceal hidden damage.

Because wood's fatigue life exceeds that of metal and rivals carbon's, the Renovo bikes are heirloom quality bikes that will last multiple lifetimes. Wood doesn't rust, and the wood is sealed inside and out. Wheeler points out that wooden boats live in water and wooden airplane propellers fly through it. Renovo uses the same epoxy construction and finishes used on boats.

Labels: nahbs

NAHBS morning report

By Yokota Fritz

I'll begin uploading photos from the North American Handmade Bicycle Show to my 2008 NAHBS set on Flickr in a couple of hours, hopefully.

In the meantime, I invite you to view the photos from my Flickr friends Yohei Morita, Walter B Grundle, Bike Hugger, and Jonathan.

See more NAHBS coverage at Bike Portland, Urban Velo Magazine, Bicycle Forest, Velo Review, and Bike Hugger.

Photo Credit: 333 Fabrications top tube by Dontbecreepy in Portland, OR.

Labels: nahbs

Friday, February 08, 2008

NAHBS: Friday photo dump

By Yokota Fritz

Brad of Urban Velo is in Portland at the 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show with all of his camera gear. Builders are taking their bikes to his ad hoc photo studio so Brad can take lovely portraits of their creations.

This first is Calfee's latest bamboo creation, in which he's gone whole hog on the bullhorn theme. Not only are the handlebars real bullhorns, but the fork is also fashioned from horns. Hemp fibers and resin holds the whole thing together.

Calfree bamboo and horn bicycle NAHBS 2008 Portland OR. This photo Copyright Brad Quartuccio and used with his permission. All Rights Reserved.

Calfree bamboo and horn bicycle NAHBS 2008 Portland OR. This photo Copyright Brad Quartuccio and used with his permission. All Rights Reserved.

This custom titanium bicycle from Roark is a children's bicycle! An internally geared hub inside the machined rear wheel with butterfly accents everywhere make this an extravagant gift for a special daughter.

Roark titanium children's bicycle with butterflies at NAHBS 2008 Portland OR. This photo Copyright Brad Quartuccio and used with his permission. All Rights Reserved.

Roark titanium children's bicycle with butterflies at NAHBS 2008 Portland OR. This photo Copyright Brad Quartuccio and used with his permission. All Rights Reserved.

See more photos of amazing hand built bicycles at Urban Velo magazine. Photos are Copyright Brad Quartuccio and used with his permission. Please remember to hit those social networking site buttons down below if this article is worth sharing; thank you very much!

Labels: nahbs

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Lynskey to intro bikes with belt drives, first steel bike

By Yokota Fritz

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First ever titanium belt drive bicycle?

Lynskey Performance Designs of Chattanooga, TN will introduce what they believe to be the first ever belt driven titanium bicycles at the 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland this weekend. Here are some preview photos of the 12 pound singlespeed road bike and the 17.5 singlespeed mountain bike.

Lynskey titanium singlespeed WITH BELT DRIVE

Lynskey titanium singlespeed mountain bike with BELT DRIVE

Lynskey will also introduce this candy green with shamrocks beauty: their first ever STEEL bicycle. This 17.5 lb bike is fabricated from True Temper steel. The top and down tubes have been specially shaped to enhance some performance attributes, and Lynskey's builders butte the heck out of the tubes to lighten them up.

Props to my buddy Guitar Ted @ Twentynine Inches for this news. Watch this space for more from the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Please remember to punch the Stumbleupon, Facebook, Digg, del.icio.us, Google bookmark and CycleCluster buttons down at the bottom of this post if you believe this article is worth sharing. Thanks!!

Labels: nahbs

NAHBS 2008 preview

By Yokota Fritz

Remember, I'll be at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland this weekend. Look for me carrying this "Seven Cycles" messenger bag from Bailey Works and with the Zero Per Gallon patch on it.

Mention "Cyclelicious" and you just might earn yourself a Kryptonite New York Chain, a pair of Swrve Dynamic knickers (30"), or some "53 Mile Per Burrito" stickers (if I can find them!), along with a photo of you here on Cyclelicious.

NAHBS preview

Check out this lovely 650B bicycle from Yipsan Bicycles in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Labels: nahbs

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Look for me at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show 2008

By Yokota Fritz

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I'll be in Portland this weekend at the Oregon Convention Center to report on the latest in handcrafted bike goodness. I've already spoken with a few of the builders who will be there and there should be some interesting goodies.

I haven't quite figured out yet how I'll do it, but I'll have some goodies to give away: a Kryptonite New York 3.5' chain lock (new - courtesy of Kryptonite), Swrve Dynamic pants (new, 30" size), and various stickers. I'll also bring a well used REI/Kenda 26" studded MTB tire, because I have no use for said tire in California.

I'll also have a handful of these goat free "53 miles per burrito" stickers from Zero Per Gallon to hand out. Comment here if you'll be there and I'll look for you.

I plan to mostly cover utility type bikes, but I'll post plenty of fixed gear porn for you to lust over, as well as fun race worthy road and mountain bikes. Watch also for developments in the 29er world as well as 650B mountain bikes.

Look for me on Saturday and Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center. Consider subscribing to my Twitter feed if you want to find me and win stuff.

Also this week...

Friday 2/8 Love on Wheels San Francisco: The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition plays cupid for another round of Love on Wheels, the dating game exclusively for two-wheelers. See why Love on Wheels won the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay — watch hot cyclists pair up and win fabulous date-y raffle prizes. Real-life bike bachelors and bachelorettes quiz a blind panel to select a date and roll romantically to some hip local spots, courtesy of our fabulous sponsors. See San Francisco Bicycle Coalition for details.

Friday 2/8 Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance Banquet: Support Mountain Biking in Boulder County by joining us for a regal evening at the St. Julien Hotel and Spa. The evening will include a 3 course meal, silent auction, live auction & a door prize for a beautiful room at the St. Julien. We are gathering to celebrate BMA's achievements in 2007 and to get charged up to for 2008, which is shaping up to be the best year ever for mountain biking in Boulder County. For more information visit www.boa-mtb.org.

Saturday 2/9 Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia. UCI sanctioned 9 day stage race with Pro Tour and Asian cycling teams. See tdl.com.my for details.

Labels: nahbs

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2009 venue announced

Record year

2009 2008 NAHBS Awards

Road frame made with bamboo fiber composite material

First ever titanium belt drive bicycle?

NAHBS preview