NAHBS 2014 Builders and Bicycles
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The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) is an annual event that showcases the world’s finest handmade bike builders and serves as a forum where they can meet and share ideas. Since starting in 2005, the event has grown to be one of the leading handmade bicycle shows in the world, exhibiting builders from the US, Australia, France, Germany, UK, Japan, and more. NAHBS aims to be a platform for sharing ideas and passions while promoting an industry that is rich in history.
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Photography by David Niddrie
davidniddrie.com
Dario Pegoretti Cicli Dario Pegoretti YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
39 years. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
To raise a little money. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
20,000. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
The design started from the Brooks C17 Jeans Saddle and the rest emanated from there. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
Listening to music or reading a good book.
dario-pegoretti.com
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Peacock Groove Erik Noren YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
20 years. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
I started building because it paid well plus had full benefits and I got to weld and build bikes! I was already riding mountain bikes like crazy. I loved it. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
I don’t really know anymore, but I have built a lot of bikes. Somewhere between 1,500 - 1,750. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
This is the first of, hopefully, many cargo bikes that we have made in our signature purple and pink polka dot color scheme. I think that every cyclist should have one. They are so useful, time saving, and “gas” efficient! The HIGHLANDER bike was made for my sci-fi, fantasy movie loving customer, Laura. Our conversation started by talking about building a bike that was one of a kind, so we chose to tip our hats to the movie Highlander. I heavily modified 30-year-old lugs by cutting windows into them along with various other modifications, bringing in a rare Colombus MS tube set and S-bending the chain stays to give more clearance for the 650B tires. There can only ever be one of these bikes! WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
Teaching English at a school, running a kitchen at a comfortable restaurant as head chef, telling stories and lame jokes on a stage, but one thing’s for sure, I’d be riding my bike around because there’s nothing much better than that.book. peacockgroove.com
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Alternative Needs Transportation (ANT) Mike Flanigan
YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
12 as ANT, 25 in the business. WHEN DID YOU START BUILDING?
2001 as ANT [1989 in the business]. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
475. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
This bike was inspired by a bicycle called the Iver Johnson Truss bar bike made by the Iver Johnson bicycle company of Fitchburg, MA, that was known for building bicycles like this from 1890-1940. The truss was for added strength at the turn of the century, but is added for style nowadays. The bike is a road design, but fixed for simplicity and smoothness. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
Designing tiny homes or urban planning for transportation. antbikemike.com
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Don Walker Cycles Don Walker YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
23 years. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
I wanted to stay with the sport after I felt my racing “career” was over. It was a way to give back to the sport I love. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
Somewhere in the high 600s. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
I’ve wanted to build a Stayer bike for a long time. I’m an old trackie and find the Stayer to be one of the coolest events on the Velodrome. I decided to build as much of a replica of a circa 1950s Stayer bike as I could. Curtis Odom made some custom hubs and cranks for it, the bars are vintage and found online, and I fabricated the stem, struts, and saddle support in house. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
For a living? I have NAHBS, and that’s a full-time job in itself. In my spare time? Riding my bike and hanging out with my kids and having fun in some way, shape, or form. donwalkercycles.com
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Shamrock Cycles Timothy Patrick O’Donnell YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
Since 2004. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
I always rode and raced and had been working on old British motorcycles, so thought I would combine the two passions; framebuilding was my answer. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
Not really sure, but the number is in the 200s. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
Rob (the owner of the bike) is a freelance journalist and racer. His job takes him around the country and globe and often the easiest way to get around is by bike. Having something that can be a commuter and part-time race bike while at home and a travel bike when he is on the road was priority number one. Styling aspects were left largely to me and Rob was thrilled with the final product. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out too. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
I’ve always had a rooting interest in Socially Responsible Investing. My previous life I spent my time educating not-for-profit institutions on the benefits of having their investments match the mission of their organization. So I’d probably be doing that. Well, that or barber college. I bet I’d be a demon with a pair of clippers. lugoftheirish.com
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Bilenky Cycle Works Stephen Bilenky (left) Thomas Faust (right) YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
31. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
The limited range of bicycles available to smaller riders. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
Thousands upon thousands. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
This tandem was built for and is powered by Andy and Sandi Bezanilla. It was built to be an expedition touring bike that will allow them to go anywhere they can imagine and take the path less traveled should they come upon one. It has 10 couplings in the frame that allow it to break down into 7 frame pieces so that it can be packed into two airline legal cases. The aesthetics were inspired by their background and interest in drag racing and hot rods and was a collaborative effort between the customers, Stephen, and Tom. The front and rear racks were designed to compliment the aesthetics and also come apart so that they can pack down flat with the rest of the WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
Steve: Farmer Tom: Aerospace machinist bilenky.com
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Victoria Cycles Dave Hill YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
I have been building bicycle frames for almost seven years but have been wrenching on bikes for more than 35 years. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
I started building frames because I always wanted to, and had a lot of ideas about design that could only be fulfilled by doing it myself. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
I have built around seventy frames, utilizing the techniques I learned at “United Bicycle Institute” in Ashland, OR, in 2007. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
This bicycle was commissioned by a female tourer/ commuter and has classic-looking 650B wheels while using some of the latest technologies, like disc brakes, to make it perform like any new bike. Form and function is something that I strive for in all of my bikes; it can’t just look good, it has to excel at what it was designed for. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
I am not sure what I would be doing because building bikes has always been my dream. victoriacycles.com
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Sunrise Cycles Yu Takai / 高井 悠 YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
5. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
The one and only reason, I wanted to build. I wanted to build the [bike] I really wanted and have them made by myself. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
130. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
This is my one, and absolutely my most wanted bicycle [right] now. When I think of one complete bicycle, I don’t get ideas of what it should be from anything. Of course, there is a concept of what it should be, but it is something that is hard to describe. Like at NAHBS 2014, I repeated many times that this bike’s theme is Japanimation, (Japan + Animation) but it is not [just] that I have built and brought the “animatic” bicycle all the way from Japan. In Japan, there are a lot of Anime and Manga masterpieces, which inspire me as a basis of what I like in meaning of “favored form”. I have grown in that environment; grown to learn the idea of how the bicycles and I should be expressed. This bicycle expresses what I have grown up with and my background. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
Maybe [making] eyewear frames or something that is made out of metals and is also something that expresses my philosophy, like [constructing] mobiles, kinetic sculptures, 3D art, or artisan furniture. Imagine, plan, and do. sunrise-cycles.com
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Cykelmageren
Rasmus Gjesing YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
27 years. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
My passion for bikes started as a child probably because of the feeling of independence when you suddenly transport around fast and accurately, while [still] a technical challenge possible for a child, which since has, of course, evolved. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
Approximately 2,000-3,000. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
This bike is our idea of a great ladies’ bike for city riding. The bike is elegant, practical, and offers great rideability. The frame is made of Columbus steel tubing and fitted with 1 gear, integrated LED lights, integrated lock, mahogany handle, kickstand, and more. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
Something similar. Great craft, nice design, good for the environment, all in all something that makes my future and people in the world more happy! cykelmageren.dk
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Kish
Jim Kish YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
23. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
I had a lot of time to think about bikes and their design while working my job as a bicycle tour leader. When I was looking to get out of that line of work frame building seemed like a reasonably logical step. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
~1,000. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
I build a lot of off-road road bikes, now people call them “gravel grinders.” This one was built for a very loyal customer, filling the gap between his 29er and his road racer. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
Woodworking, building banjos and fiddles.
kishbike.com
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Independent Fabrication Gary Smith YEARS BUILDING BICYCLES:
19. WHY DID YOU START BUILDING?
IF was founded in 1995 by a group of six former Fat City Cycles employees after Fat City ceased operations and the brand was sold off. This group was still passionate about making bicycles, so they formed Independent Fabrication, and almost 20 years later the brand is still driven by a small group of dedicated makers and riders. HOW MANY BIKES BUILT?
We’ve built as many as 1,000 in a year, and as few as 300, depending on mix and global demand. So, while I’d have to check the records to be exact, probably somewhere in the range of 10,000 by now. WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THIS BICYCLE?
This bike was commissioned by the folks at Gates Carbon Drive and Shimano to showcase the combination of Alfine Di2 and the Gates belt drive system. We like to think of IF riders as unique individuals, so we always try to put a little attitude into our bikes, even the most utilitarian ones. In this case, for an urban commuter bike, we built it to be nimble and athletic for ease of maneuvering in congested city centers. To give it some IF swagger, we painted it in one of PPG’s yet-to-be released Crystallance paint series colors, “Reddy Or Not”. With some subtle panel and logo finish details, this paint scheme is not in your face, but when the sun hits it, or someone stops and takes a closer look, it comes to life and demonstrates that this is more than just an ordinary commuter bike and its owner has a unique sense of style. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF NOT BUILDING BICYCLES?
I’d probably be the CEO of a global outdoor brand. sunrise-cycles.com
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From modest beginnings in 1866 as a horse harness and general leather goods business under the name of JB Brooks & Co., Brooks England has firmly established itself as a company setting the bar for elegant bicycle saddles, bags, and accessories. Using proven construction techniques and premium leather, Brooks England constructs their famous saddles for new, vintage, and handmade bikes. Bicycle stores in major cities around the world strive to be honored as one of Brooks’ Dealers of Excellence; an honor that is a commendation to dealers that not only sell Brooks products, but who are deeply in love with them as well.
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