To surpass the master is to repay the debt atmo.

There is not much I can write about Richard Sachs that hasn't already been written. Out of all the exhibitors at this year's NAHBS he is perhaps the most well known and widely respected of the builders. The Sachs name has become synonymous with quality. You say Richard Sachs and I think 'Top of the Line'. It doesn't get any better that this.

So of course I was excited to see what was in store at the Richard Sachs booth. I wasn't disappointed. The bikes were exquisite in their signature red/white/yellow colourway, standing as flawless examples of hand made bicycles. What impressed me the most however, was how complete a brand 'Richard Sachs' has become. Everything from the RS logo to his 'The Tao of Framebuilding' poster fit into a well conceived and flawlessly executed package. What Sachs has done is managed to transform himself from an artisan builder into a full fledged 'brand'. Not only that, but he has positioned that brand at the top of an industry that is, judging by the popularity of NAHBS and blogs such as this one, experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. I know that Richard prides himself on being a one man operation, but it's hard to imagine one person doing all of this on their own, to single handedly produce such high quality writing, graphic design, and apparel, while building some of the best luged frames in the world. Of course I realize that's not entirely the case, that there are others involved, that there have to be others involved. Or maybe I'm wrong. Regardless, looking at the overall cohesiveness of the brand, I have to applaud Mr. Sachs for not only being one of the best frame builders, but also one of the best brand managers in the world. Take note everyone, this is how it's done.

I wish I had taken more shots of the products Richard had on display to better illustrate my point, unfortunately I was too caught up admiring everything to be thinking about pictures. If interested, his website has extensive info on both his products and his shop. It can be seen here.

Fortunately I didn't come home entirly empty handed, here are some shots of an unpainted Sachs.