NAHBS. Wow. It was indeed an overload, but my goodness, what an overload. Way different than Interbike overload. 50 percent or more of Interbike is simply not worth the time, but at NAHBS, everybody was there because they wanted to be, and the passion was tangible. Literally. Ther were four rows of booths, and it took me 3 hours to see just the first two rows. I stopped at EVERY booth because the bicycles were fantastic, and the builders interesting. Saw some old friends and met new ones.
Favorites?? Man, this is a tough one. Bayliss? Gordon?? Columbine? Sachs?? I think it would be unfair to choose one over the others. Everybodys work was simply outstanding!
Brians bike was indeed a beaut, and I was staring and absorbing detail after detail for close to half an hour. My god, talk about detail! You have got to see the photos, and if possible, the bike in person to understand what I'm talking about.
Bruce Gordon has added new goodies to his already overflowing options. Beautiful curvy Ti racks and sculpted canti brakes in Ti. The headlight and tail light....sweet!
Tom Oswalds downtube "OSWALD" in stainless was outstanding as were the other details of his frames.
John Murphy had a couple of stunning stainless bicycles in his booth that were jaw droppers. Every part polished up so brightly that sunglasses would have been required if the lighting was any better.
I finally got to meet Richard Sachs. Didn't get to spend much time with him as his admirers were constant, but I must say that his work is impeccable. His frames are sleek, refined, and if I was going to contract with a builder for a race machine, he would be the one. And he's a great guy, on top of it all. Hope I get the opportunity in the future to spend more time talking with him.
One guy, John Norstag of Thursday bicycles deserves some recognition. He is Old School gas welding his frames. With cro mo rod. I don't know if any of you has attempted this, but it is more difficult than using brass. He is making bicycles for real working people, native american rancher / herders who have traded in their horses for bicycles so they can add a few more head of sheep to their flocks. His bikes are utiltarian to the core, not glossy beautiful but beautiful in a real down to earth way.
What can I say about Don Walker.....he has a wicked sense of humor that is apparent in his paint and decals. I'll bet he's a hoot to hang out with.
Then there's the Co-motion tandem out of chair legs and bed posts....in steel of course. Amazing.
Craig Calfee is doing some incredible bicycles in bamboo. The lugs are epoxy re-inforced with strips of bamboo specifically oriented to strengthen the lugs. Bamboo.....I think he's on to something. A renewable resource.
Greg Townsend was there helping out wheelbuilder.com, but had brought his very first bicycle to show off. His enthusiasm was apparent and infectious. He was stoked, to put it mildly. And his bicycle was very very nice, and very clean, for a first effort. He's only going to get better.
Oh, the whole camera thing is totally overblown. In my attempts to respect Don's wishes I left my camera behind but regretted it after I saw how many cameras were there. Geez. Kind of pissed me off actually. Now I don't have my own record of what I saw. Oh well.
That's it from me. ya shoulda been there.
Jay
Lots of Ti, carbon, mountain bikes, which are off topic, but I swear, I am really hopeful after leaving this show.