[CR]NAHBS observations.

The wire wrap at the tube junctions was not structural. It was by Villin Cy cle Works http://www.villincycleworks.com/about.cfm Their "hammered" lugs look fantastic in person, and are a nice departure fr om the usual aesthetic. They're actually carved out little dimples, as the builder wasn't sure how the lugs would hold up to actual hammering. Had a g reat conversation with him on Sunday, those types of conversations were hal f the fun of going! There were some absolutely beautiful bikes there. I especially enjoyed what I would call "concept" bikes, where a builder can show off what they're ca pable of. If they're capable of such flights of fancy, surely they can buil d you a standard lugged frame to a very high standard. In some ways these K OF style builders are reaching back past what we might consider standardise d good design to the times of experimentation and craftsmanship (yes, and d ubious claims of benefit)that seemed to be the norm as bicycles were still a new and novel thing.

Signal Cycles had my personal best-of-show, with superb detailing of their racks (lugged rack ends) and beautifully curved wooden slats that matched m itred tubing of the racks. Numerous builders had clever little touches for cable routing and things like seatpost binders and stems, and I've never se en as many snowflake-laced wheels under one roof.

The best of show bike by Naked had some wild detailing, but managed to pull it off. Far from just throwing every idea at a single frame, he managed to somehow make them seem to go together.

It's too easy to forget that beauty is a functional aspect of design, thank s to NAHBS for reminding me. I'm excited to see builders building and custo mers demanding bikes whose goals are far broader than winning any specific type of race. _________________________________________________________________ Need to know the score, the latest news, or you need your Hotmail®-get yo ur "fix". http://www.msnmobilefix.com/Default.aspx