The 2011 North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) has arrived. I would like to start The Bicycle Escape’s coverage of the event with my new ride, the pictured YiPsan cruiser.
Some of you may remember the YiPsan Sunflower bike that won the “People’s Choice Award” and “Best City Bike” at the 2010 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Well that beauty belonged to my beauty (aka wife Danielle). At the time the bike was being designed there was discussion of a dude’s version of the now famous cruiser. NAHBS 2011 offered the perfect excuse for such a bike to become a reality.
The design of the bike is function forward. Racks, generator lights, fenders, a bell, and a kickstand adorn the machine. To say it is functional is not to overlook the bikes beauty. The paint was done by the skilled hand of Keith Anderson. His flawless finish is complimented by lots of high-polished bits and pieces. When polished parts were not available (they usually were not) we had them polished. The rims for example started out as a nice silvery/grey color but it was not shiny enough for this build. We could do better. The kickstand, brake lever blades, crank, ring, fenders, and Shimano Alfine rear hub all received the same treatment. We even replaced the kickstand and brake lever pivot pins with pins made of brass. So yeah, I am kinda worked-up about this bike.
One of the original motivating forces behind this bike was the transforming front rack. I wanted a porteur style front rack that could transform into a small randonneur rack. After discussing this idea with Renold Yip at YiPsan Bicycles he took the idea a step further. He designed and built a rack platform with removable left and right sides. With the sides removed you are left with a small front rack. The sides can then be installed on the fork forming a low-rider rack to accommodate side bags.
I am really pleased with the way this bike came together and am super excited to see my bike displayed alongside the best our industry has to offer. Stay tuned for more posts from Austin.
Oh, I almost forgot. The Chinese writing on the seat tube reads: "The Bicycle Escape"
No comments:
Post a Comment