Evolve

Evolve
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

The evolution of a Thompson.

Velocolour

Velocolour
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This beauty was painted by Velocolour in Canada.

Tom Smiling!!!

Tom Smieling!!!
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

I am posing with MY new bike and the frame builder Renold Yip. I can not wait to ride this machine.

Engin

Engin
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Engin 29er single speed at the Ergon booth at the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

2 Girls

2 Girls
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Chuck Schlesinger of SadiLah handmade framesets named his company after his two daughters. The frames are made in CA.

Zullo

Zullo
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Tizano Zullo of Verona Italy showed this wonderful city fixed gear.

Every Kid's Dream

Every Kids Dream
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

I could not take my eyes off this Keith Anderson 20" roadster.

Dingle Speed

Dingle Speed
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Igleheart built this 650b mountain bike with a HammerSchmidt two speed crank.

Signal

Signal
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Signal Cycles townie.

K.B. Customs

K.B. Customs
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Kelly Bedford is a true master frame builder. He worked for Serotta for over a decade before starting his own line.

Groovy

Groovy
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Groovy 650b single speed mountain bike.

Retrotec 4" Tires

downsized_0228091601.jpg
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

This Retrotec mountain bike can tackle any challenge with its 4" tires. The company is based in beautiful Napa, CA.

Vanilla Workshop

Vanilla Workshop
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Vanilla Workshop road bike with integrated seat mast.

Black Sheep

Black Sheep
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

This super cool Black Sheep fixed gear was photographed at the Cane Creek both at the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

DeSalvo

DeSalvo
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Desalvo townie 8 speed with wooden fenders. Mike DeSalvo has been building frames for 10 years.

Bilenky

Bilenky
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

PA based Bilenky shows off a beautiful road frame with S&S couplers.

Dual Chain Fixie

Dual Chain Fixie
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Broakland bikes out of Oakland, CA. They make fixed gear frames and are 100% solar powered.

SS Belt

SS Belt
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Belt driven Dean 29er mountain bike photographed at the 2009 NAHBS.

Dean

Dean
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Dean fixed gear road bike.

Renova

Renova
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Renova Italian made cool stuff.

Pegoretti

Pegoretti
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

I have always loved the artsy finish work on Pegoretti frames.

Aero

Aero
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

This crazy aero bike was made by Cherubim.

Cherbubim

Cherbubim
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Cherubim road bike. Wow

Bicycle Parking

Bicycle Parking
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Tons of locals pedaled to the show. They have indoor bike parking. I wish this service was available everywhere everyday.

Sillgey

Sillgey
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

The Sillgey booth is overwhelming. Tons of colorful fixed bikes both big and small. Their production bikes seem to be great values. All of their frames are SS/fixed.

Hunter Cycles

Hunter Cycles
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Hunter Cycles tucked the rotor behind this neat frame design.

36

36
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Black Sheep 36er. When 29 just ain't enough.

Cicli Repo

Cicli Repo
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

This track bike is a reproduction of a 1950 Jack Taylor. The tubing is new old stock. The bike was made by Dan Polito of Cicli Polito.

Copper

Copper
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Peacock Groove Bicycles pushed the limits on cool with this copper plated fixed gear.

Have Courage

Have Courage
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Jonathan, at Courage, has a passion that is contagious. The 16 lbs. cross bike is functional and beautiful.

Carbon Fiber IF

Carbon Fiber IF
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Independent Fabrication is now producing FULL custom carbon fiber road bikes. Unlike other builders the lugs are created specifically to match the needs of the bike's owner. This makes the custom options even broader than a lugged steel bicycle. The lugs are formed by Edge in Utah and the frames (of course) are built in house.

ANT

ANT
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Frame builder Mike Flanigan (one of the founders of IF) continues to build beautiful frames under the name ANT, Alternative Needs Transportation.

Geekhouse

Geekhouse
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

This bmx influenced fixed gear by Geekhouse has cool integrated chain tensioners and a through axle up front. The builder Marty even has connections to Frederick, he used to work for SIC.

Get Naked!

Get Naked!
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Wow! Mother of Pearl inlay on the pedals and more bling than you can imagine. This Naked bike brings a tear to the eye.

Don Walker

Don Walker
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Don Walker road bike with integrated seat tube mast.

Shamrock

Shamrock
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Tim O'Donnell of Shamrock Cycles built this city bike for his wife Jill. The wood is recycled from furniture.

October Cross Bike

October Cross Bike
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

October has been around a year and a half. Frame builder Andrew Frasca learned the trade working for Dean.

YiPsan 650b

YiPsan 650b
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

This YiPsan 650b mountain bike turned quite a few heads. Tons of tire clearance and tons of style. The perfect bike for someone a little too short for 29" wheels.

Lock to Bike Ratio

Lock to Bike Ratio
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

We landed in Indy an hour ago and this is the first bike we saw. It is a beautiful Moots secured with a $5 lock. I already LOVE this! So far there are tons of sites like this. Fun and funky bikes are in front of every pub, bar, and brewery. Check back tomorrow to see the sites from the inside.

The YiPsan Super Commuter

I will kick off my North American Handmade Bicycle Show blog fest with an extra special post. The bike pictured is special for many reasons but to me the most important point to mention is that this bike is MINE! When I placed my order for this custom YiPsan the frame builder, Renold Yip, asked if I would mind if he displayed the bike at the NAHBS. Of course that would be an honor but it also caused me to give extra consideration to every aspect of the bicycle- from paint to component spec, everything was scrutinized.

The Concept:
This bike was spawned by my chaotic life. I love commuting by bike but far too often something gets in the way. I get up late. The bike isn’t ready. My batteries are dead. The bag is on another machine. Enter the YiPsan Super Commuter, my perfect commuting bike.

The Basics:
The lugged frame is a fixed gear/single speed bicycle designed primarily to get me to and from work. The bike has all the trimmings: fenders, racks, generator lights and comfortable geometry.

The Nuts and Bolts:
The bike is built up with a Chris King Head set, a polished Shimano crank, a Salsa chain ring, and Paul Racer stoppers. Since I am the bling king of bikes I had the brake pad holders polished as well. The shiny bottom bracket was manufactured by Phil Wood and the Nitto bars are wrapped with Brooks tape that match the Brooks saddle. The Honjo fenders are painted to match the frame while the front and rear racks are Velo orange. My YiPsan rolls on a front wheel built from a Sun 20R Generator hub, a Phil Wood rear hub, DT spokes, with an EAI Super Star cog threaded on and Pannaracer Tserve Protex tires keep the bike glued to the road. Soon I will add Supernova lights front and rear and a Gilles Berthoud front bag.

Special Thanks:
Thanks to Renold of YiPsan for accommodating all of my requests. Thanks to Maili for helping me visualize the color scheme. And thanks to my wife Danielle for putting up with me asking her “Hey how do you think this would look…?” at all hours of the night.

I am sure you can read more about this bike in the coming months as I break it in. Until then stay tuned for more pics and words from the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

Orbea Orca

I just finished building this dream bike for Curt. The Orbea Orca is decked out in the new Shimano Dura-Ace shifty bits and rolls on Zipp 404s. The 14.8lbs racer is built for speed. Complementing the Shimano equipment is their own ‘Pro’ brand seat post and handlebar/stem. Long live nice bikes!

North American Handmade Bicycle Show

I am very excited to announce that Danielle and I will be attending the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Indianapolis on February 27 - March 1. While at the event we plan on blogging more than a teenage girl who scored tickets to a Jonas Bothers. I am talking multiple posts per day people! So if you haven’t already...favorite us, RSS us, or just downright check on us habitually to get the latest and greatest NAHBS info.

Here is the monthly crew of frame builders etc. in attendance this year:

Ahearne Cycles, Alchemy Bicycles, Alternative Needs Transportation (ANT), Baily Works Inc,Bicycle Forest, Bicycle Times, Bilenky Cycle Works, Black Sheep Bikes, Broakland Bicycles, Highway Two,Caletti Cycles, Calfee Design, Campagnolo North America, Cane Creek Cycling Components, Cantitoe Road CCP Ltd, Cherubim by Shin-ichi Konno, Cicli Polito, Co-Motion Cycles Inc, Coho Bicycles, Columbus, Continental, Courage Bicycles, Crumpton Cycles, Cyfac International, Dean Titanium Bikes, Dedacciai, Della Santa Cycles, DeRosa Ugo & Figli SRL, DeSalvo Custom Cycles, Dirt Rag, Dominguez Cycles, Don Walker Cycles, Ellis Cycles, Engin Cycles, Ergon USA, Fizik, Form Cycles, Geekhouse Bicycles, Ventana Mountain Bikes USA, Curt Goodrich Bicycles, Groovy Cycle Works, Hed Wheels, Henry James Bicycles, Hufnagel Cycles, Hunter Cycles, Igleheart Custom Frames, Independent Fabrication, Keith Anderson Cycles, Kelly Bedford Customs, Kent Eriksen Cycles, Kimori Co. Ltd, Chris King Precision Components, Kirk Frameworks Company, KirkLee Sports, M.A.P Bicycles, LLC, Momentum magazine, Moots, Naked Bicycles and Design, National Insurance Professionals Corp, Nobilette Cycles, Nova Cycle Supply, October Hand Made Bikes, Paragon Machine Works, Parlee Cycles, Inc, Paul Component Engineering, Peacock Groove Bicycles, Pro Bikes, Ltd, Sell Italia-ProNet, Renova, Retrotec/Inglis Cycles, Reynolds Technology, Rich Adams Custom, Fabrication, RR Velo, Richard Sachs Cycles, Sadilah, Screen Specialties, Selle An-Atomica, Serotta Competition Bicycles, Shamrock Cycles, Sheila Moon Athletic Apparel, Shimano, Serotta International Cycling Institute, Signal Cycles, Sillgey cyclery, Inc, Snappy Caps, Southwest Frameworks, Spectrum Powder Works, Sputnik Tool, SRAM, Strong Frames, Inc, Suzanne Carlsen, Sycip Design, TANGE, L.H. Thomson, Tiemeyer Cycles, Inc, True Fabrication, True Temper, Urban Velo, The Vanilla Workshop, Velo Orange, Velocity USA, Velo Colour, Vicious Cycles, Villin Cycle Works, Waterford Precision Cycles, White Brothers, White Industries, Wipperman, Yipsan Bicycles, Zipp Speed Weaponry, ZR Cycles, Zullo Tiziano

Stop, Swap, and Save 2009

This year’s swap meet was pretty fun. We were there with the ‘Wheel Game’ for the fourth consecutive year. Lots of bottle caps found good homes and it was good to catch up with people we don’t get to see very often. Special thanks to SSO’s Maili for her help and support once again.

Sunday Ride

Sunday Ride
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

This past Sunday was a true treat. I hope all of you were able to enjoy the day as I did. Roger aka Dad and I road through the covered bridges. The pace was casual and relaxing . The picture was taken at Catoctin Furnace.