Renold Yip and Erik Noren are among the nicest bike builders you’ll meet, but they’re so very different.

Renold Yip is the Asian guy to the left in this photo. When you pull up his website you hear mellow and slightly corny Mexican Cuban polka. He’s unfailingly polite and deferential. His bikes, which are among my favorites in the world of custom steel, are works of art.

Erik Noren is the guy with the Peacock Groove tattoo, piercings and wife beater shirt. I normally dislike overly profane people (I know, it’ a personal thing), but you cannot dislike Erik. He’s outgoing and one of the funniest guys I know.

He got into a little trouble a few years ago with his “Appetite for Destruction” bike with scenes of pornographic violence painted onto a wheel, so this year he scaled things with his blood spattered “Evil Dead II” bike.

He even tacked cutting chain from a chainsaw onto the bike chain.

And check out his fork crown.

Visit Yipsan at booth 505 at NAHBS today in Sacramento. And then go another row toward the back wall and admire a wholly different type of artistry at the Peacock Groove booth. Use the huge numbers up by the ceiling as your guide.

After the show, enjoy this (f-bomb free) video of Noren’s craft and philosophy.