The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) was held at the Sacramento Convention Center, March 2 - 4. This show featured 171 exhibiters from North America and 18 countries. Over 70 of the exhibiters were custom bicycle builders.
NAHBS is the largest gathering of custom bike builders in the world and the show in Sacramento was it's 8th annual event. The popularity of this event has grown exponentially with pre-registration up 40% from last year. The event set an attendance record with 8,100 enthusiasts over the 3-day period of the show.
Custom bicycle building and design has been elevated to high art and this weekend the convention center was transformed into a museum of fine art. The buzz among the attendees was with the exquisite craftsmanship and sheer elegance of design of the bicycles on exhibit. The creativity and attention to little details were stunning.
There is a new generation of bike builders pushing the envelope of materials, technique and design. It appears that many of the builders are relatively young . . . and incredibly talented. More over, I was impressed with the enthusiasm and camaraderie among the builders. They were all eager to show and talk about their bikes.
The following are some highlight pics.
I use a quote from the greatest innovator of all times - Steve Jobs - to describe the show, "it was insanely great!"
Note: Click on photo for enlarged view
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A macabre attention getter!
Don Beebe of SABA parking bikes in the Convention Center
Mike Broderick volunteering as a photographer's assistant
Dennis and Jim Bob quaffing a couple brewskies
Builders are more than happy to talk about their bikes
Hey Bob Tribe, is that you?
Attendee getting into the spirit
Sacramento's Steve Rex was one of over 70 frame builders participating.
Steve has been building bikes for 25 years. His entry won the best road bike category.
Above and following pics showing detail of racks
Cool retro fenders
Bamboo and wood have become popular frame materials
Frame made of plywood
Following are some of the non-builder vendors
Brooks saddles
Exhibiter of custom machined tools and bike parts
Catchy way of displaying oranges
Cargo bikes are the rage. With the skyrocketing price of gas, these could become even more popular
Ira Ryan bike from Portland OR.
This bike won the Best City Bike Category.
Custom built trailer to go along with the custom bike above. This beautiful combo built for a Portland restauranteur who will use it to go shopping at farmer's market.
A series of custom head badges
Swoopy top tubes is the rage (above and next 17 pics)
This zoomy bike (and next 2 pics) from Cherubium of Japan won the Best of Show Category
Click on "older posts" below to continue to Part 2 of NAHBS
