Congratulations to Don Walker and team at the second annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show. This year’s resoundingly successful event featured over 60 frame builders and 20 other exhibitors who were visited by thousands of gleeful attendees. Held in the cavernous South Hall of the San Jose Convention Center from March 3-5, the show also offered a dozen seminars hosted by industry luminaries like Brian Baylis and Jan Heine that provided welcome respite from an active exhibit floor. Selecting the Bay Area for this year’s event seemed a good decision judging by the robust numbers of exhibitors and attendees.
Exhibitors at NAHBS 2006 represented all corners of independent frame and component building and supplying. Bikes and parts with fabulous artistic value were everywhere and usually accompanied by their sterling makers. From the husky Iditabike dominating the Peacock Groove booth to the engraved Sheldon Brown flask devotedly crafted by Joseph Ahearne, little in custom bike trappings went unimagined.
Case in point: Sacha White’s tricycle for kids in the Vanilla Bicycles booth, or the one for adults in Don Walker’s. Or the twin chrome rollers from Columbine Cycle Works, oozing with style. Or the Bruce Gordon randonneur stolen from The Jetsons prop department. The hits just kept coming.
Indeed the craftspeople represented at NAHBS 2006 brought an appreciation for meticulousness seldom seen on bicycles today. The work of every last frame and component builder at the show was worthy of high praise. Vintage lightweight enthusiasts were particularly well served by perennial notables including: Columbine Cycle Works, Bruce Gordon, Richard Sachs Cycles, Spectrum Cycles, Vintage Cycle Studios, Waterford Precision and J. Peter Weigle.
Similarly worthy of mention were: Della Santa, Longstaff Cycles, Lyonsport Cycles, Nobilette Cycles, Strawberry and Jamie Swan. Quickly gaining prominence among younger riders, next gen retro standouts included: ANT, M. Feeney, Jonny Cycles, Pereira Cycles, Mauricio Rebolledo, Sycip Design and Vanilla Bicycles.
Special thanks to Don Walker for his support of EBYkr.
View the Full Set of Photos (266 Images)
Visit the Official NAHBS Web Site
(Please forgive all omissions and misrepresentations in advance. Suggested edits gladly accepted.)
[...] If you want to see some really beautiful bicycles, check out the wrap-up by Eric over at Ebykr.com of the “North American Handmade Bicycle Show”:http://www.ebykr.com/?p=49 If you have the time, check out the full set of pictures. It took me a little while to load them over the cable modem, so consider yourself warned. But, either way, he’s go the highlights in his post. I only wish I could’ve seen them in person. [...]
[...] EBykr has some good words and a large number of photos posted. [...]
Umm, is that weaponry of some sort on the non-drive front of that bike?! Almost looks like a gattling gun or a mini rocket launcher!