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so i flew over a couple of days ago and now i'm in Denver, spent the first day simply in awe of the stuff on display.
first word that comes to mind is AWESOME! 😯
the bikes on display are truly epic. by comparison with the UK shows it's just amazing really. when i go to a UK show i get a bored and a bit pissed off with seeing only the basic or generic stuff so out of 200 stands i may only be interested in 20, here there are 200 stands and i'm interested in 190, and that is the difference.
there were loads of small niche brands that i had never heard of as well as the established guys like Indy Fab etc.
things that stood out to me (generally) were that fat bikes and 650c bikes were prominant, they were everywhere, internal cable routing was on many designs aswel, i think this is because of electronic gears, people hide the wires so why not hide normal cables aswel? makes sense really.
one specific thing that stood out to me more than anything was the quality of the paint finishes, i commented on this to Tom Warmerdam of Demon Frameworks and he agreed saying he thinks they are 8-10 years further along than we are in the UK, i think it's because it's common place in the US to customise stuff where as in the UK it's just not normal to do so in the same way. hopefully the pictures will show what i mean.
today i spent a good while wandering around the show, 7 hours i think! i'd find it hard to pic out something that i thought individually was the show stopper as such but the one bike i can't get out of my head was the 'Ogre', a titanium road bike monstrosity! it was so ugly but at the same time i couldn't stop looking at it! part monocoque titanium and part lattice work, weird and cool but ugly aswel.
Demon Frameworks, as you'd expect i went to see Tom, i knew he was behind building a bike for Nahbs when i went to see him 2 weeks ago and when i saw him he said he was still polishing the frame (unbuilt into a bike at that point) last night! so he really cut that fine! his bike was a 953 tubed frame with a hermes lug (like on my Demon) running campagnolo super record with Royce hubs, this is Tom's bike kit of choice.
i also met Rody from Groovy, what a cool guy! he told me a story about a certain member on retrobike (my usual home) who nearly killed himself in Moab (where i'm off to on sunday!). his bikes are really cool, one thing i specifically like is he doesn't just stick to one design, there are several choices, not to mention he is one of the very few builders who builds and paints his frames, not many people do that at all. his Zombie bike was epic, and i love the details, again you'll see in the pictures.
what i'll do now is upload a couple of pictures but if you click on one it should take you to my flikr photostream, that way you can see the pics there, there are around 160 i think! 😀
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8512/8499534110_dd427a32f9.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499534110/ ]P1090992[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
anyone recognise this guy? 😆
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8499524334_2777475f91.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499524334/ ]P1090930[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
Groovy Zombie attack!
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8527/8499523280_a1b3294c5a.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499523280/ ]P1090924[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
Moots carrying beer and a chainsaw? that can't be a good combo!
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8519/8499522374_fd5956094e.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499522374/ ]P1090919[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
had to find retro somewhere! this was spectrum paintworks, can't remember their full name 😳
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8374/8499521594_3e1076144f.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499521594/ ]P1090914[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
thought this guy was interesting, japanese, campagnolo specific B/B designed to take the campag bearings directly so no cups to go in the frame just the bearings so gives a very neat look, also behind the B/B mounted brake aswel as a very cool looking heaset/stem arrangement. Cherubim cycles.
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8236/8498415633_2f2e51dd27.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8498415633/ ]P1090905[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
forgot the ogre!! ugliest bike ever? or mad max futuristic weapon?
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8519/8499534866_e44b957a5c.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499534866/ ]P1090997[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8234/8498430247_15b4812e3e.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8498430247/ ]P1090996[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8499534552_e7eda3748f.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499534552/ ]P1090995[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing 8)
😀 😯 Love it!
when i go to a UK show i get a bored and a bit pissed off with seeing only the basic or generic stuff so out of 200 stands i may only be interested in 20, here there are 200 stands and i'm interested in 190, and that is the difference.
Then you need to get to:
[url= http://www.bespokedbristol.co.uk/ ].bespokedbristol[/url]
A younger and smaller but very lovely British version of NAHBS
[img] 
[/img]
Want that one ^
Thanks for sharing 🙂
[img] 
[/img]
Ahhh what the hell, if i want one Eriksen i may as well want the road bike as well, a matching stable.
One day, one day
Ogre - if orange made road bikes....... 😉
Thank you for that. If only I had the time, skill, imagination and aptitude....
Found the link below useful way of [s]killing even more time dreaming[/s] usefully spending time researching my next frame,
[url= http://2013.handmadebicycleshow.com/exhibitors/ ]NAHBS Linky[/url]
[img] 
[/img]
Love the ti and black paint
when i go to a UK show i get a bored and a bit pissed off with seeing only the basic or generic stuff so out of 200 stands i may only be interested in 20, here there are 200 stands and i'm interested in 190, and that is the difference.there were loads of small niche brands that i had never heard of as well as the established guys like Indy Fab etc.
Thats because the US has HUGE cities full of people, so even some buying niche bikes is 100 times the market by comparision to the UK.
I'm surprised not to see this niche custom bike builder there...
[img] 
[/img]
(from [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/what-the-hell-is-this-a-fantastic-demonstration-of-how-mad-ebay-is ]this thread[/url].)
fo the record i do go the Bespoked Bristol show, it is very good but maybe an 1/8 the size of this show, i think the americans have been doing more custom work for longer though and as such they have more options not just because of the numbers either.
if you are on facebook, do a search for the show, it's listed as North American Handmade Bicycles Show, they have been putting up loads of short videos of the various builders talking about their bikes.
extremely well organised stuff
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499522374/
Chainsaw should be on the front - that would sort the zombies out 😀
i did a little video today, nothing too special as i suck with this stuff and i only had my gopro but i thought you may be interested 🙂
Mrblobby - I had just about forgotten about that sticker collection with a bike attached, now im going to have nightmares..
Jonnyboy - am I right in thinking it was you in the pinstripe suit at mayhem last year? If so you need the moots for carrying the briefcase 🙂
yeah i was that berk 😳 was epic fun though!
back off to the show now, i've had a 2 hour break, it's 16.30 here and the aftershow party starts at 6 😀
The Eriksen workstand looks as good as the bike!
here are some more pics to keep you happy 😀
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8514/8502561062_9e5ec882a3.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8502561062/ ]P1100026[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8385/8501455629_fb3aba0e2b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8501455629/ ]P1100025[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8366/8501455411_5ddafa7413.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8501455411/ ]P1100024[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
TI cycles
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8509/8501453921_670e690562.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8501453921/ ]P1100018[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8376/8501453475_0979fa5956.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8501453475/ ]P1100016[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8502558394_9854b356f2.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8502558394/ ]P1100015[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8228/8499537556_411e813e20.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499537556/ ]P1100014[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
black sheep, the stand kept growing as alot of the bikes there were customers that were bringing them in for the show
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8375/8498432207_2ff988663d.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8498432207/ ]P1100010[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8519/8499524976_c37aa49d91.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8499524976/ ]P1090935[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8527/8498420799_3401120456.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8498420799/ ]P1090936[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
Lovely photos, thanks
I like the custom bike building scene, but after watching NAHBS for nigh on 10 years this show was full of builders struggling to outdo one another or trying far too hard and failing miserably.
Personally whilst I would part with my hard earned cash and have done several times for custom frames a lot of the stuff at NAHBS wouldn't get a look in
I visited Bespoked last year also and just found it the same old just in Bristol.
Can't wait for bespoked bristol now, it was great last year this thread has renewed my desire
That To Steve Potts looks nice, and maybe the Dean. That carbon fat bike is the most [i]normal[/i] fattie ever.
As always the good ole USofA is bigger and betterer than the UK, but the BeSpoked Bristol show is only just evolving and is rather good, wot.
I think its fair to say that you should go and take a dump on the Ogre stand.
I've been looking at pics of the bikes from this show on a few different websites...it's got to be said that while some of them look amazing, others are simply hideous. I'm not talking about the designs either, more the component choices or parts with bold, modern graphics on classic looking bikes! Don't get me started on those where the handlebars are a different colour to the seatposts either!
so today i am in Moab, Utah, i bumped in to Dave from Ti cycles in the hotel car park, he's from Portland but is riding here for a few days before heading home, we're going riding with some of his friends in a while, Dave is riding his show bike which is a Fat bike, specifically the one in the pics above so it's titanium, full suspension, 4 inch tyres and xtr with a lefty fork! pretty epic!
i'm on a rental yeti sb66 with x9 and avid brakes, fox forks, it's ok but i wouldn't buy one, the terrain here is pretty tough and i didn't realise just how high we are here, 1200metres up! i'm from sea level so it's pretty thin air here by my standards!
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8515/8512314392_2af6903b68.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8512314392/ ]P1100059[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
it's 3 miles offroad to the trailhead
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8526/8512314068_83a16e8e0e.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8512314068/ ]P1100057[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8384/8511201007_8812d74934.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8511201007/ ]P1100053[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8102/8511200423_8bc651eb2c.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8511200423/ ]P1100050[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8511201133_201e550c8a.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/82091817@N08/8511201133/ ]P1100054[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/82091817@N08/ ]Dr. Branom[/url], on Flickr
So, Merlin is making bikes again?
Their website takes you to an online shop and they only sell one (road) model...
in all honesty i haven't been keeping up with what goes on at merlin as i am a steel fan so i tend not to look outside of what i know i like, that said they only had 2 roadbikes there and i think they were both extralights.
today i have been riding with 3 guys, Eric, John, and Dave from TI cycles, having met him and had a good look at his bikes if i was looking for titanium i wouldn't hesitate to ask him to build me something, having chatted with him i like his attitude to the way the bike trade is going regarding the various sizes of b/b, headset, axle sizes and widths.
epic ride today, the Mag7 trail, if any of you ever get to ride in Moab you must ride this trail!