Una Mas

'Backstage' at the NAHBS.

Emerging Bastions

This will be my last NAHBS related post. Maybe.

By far the most thought out and thematic booths at the NAHBS belonged to Vanilla/Speedvagen Bicycles and Bilenky Cycle Works. Located almost directly across from each other, both companies displayed their bikes in a faux shop setting. Bringing everything from vices to a full-scale drill press, the two companies competed for best 'set' design. It worked. They blew every other company out of the water when it came to presentation. By creating immersive environments, Vanilla and Bilenky found a way to offset the drab of glass cases and heavy plinths that usually dominate the trade show circuit. The result was a more engaging and enjoyable interactive viewing experience. Of course it helps that the items on display were from two of the powerhouses of the ‘hand made’ bike scene.

On a side note, I really enjoyed seeing people rocking looks that don’t fit the stereotype of the ‘cycle enthusiast’. There were several people hanging around the Vanilla booth looking more like they belonged in a rock band than a bicycle atelier. Same with some of the MASHSF guys that were lurking around - bringing street-wear culture to cycling culture. It reminds me a bit of what skateboarding went through in the nineties when the culture started to segment into different parts. At some point it became ok to be a skateboarder and wear tight jeans, or be a skateboarder and wear baggy jeans. The important thing was to have style, whether it was Jamie Thomas style or Stevie Williams style didn’t matter. It’s cool that people are into bikes and don’t feel the need to wear grease covered Campagnolo cycling caps. Can’t wait to see what this means for the apparel market. Outlier I see you. Rapha, you too.

I should have better pictures to accompany these ramblings, but again I have none. I did however include several nice shots of Vanilla Bicycles to make up for my shortcomings.

Mel Pinto Imports

Lily and I rolled up to last year’s Cirque de Cyclisme on a last minute whim. We arrived to the event two days late, didn’t know anybody there, and had no idea that it cost money to attend. Needless to say we had a great time.

It was on this trip that we first met John from Mel Pinto Imports. The three of us sat by the hotel pool and shot the shit over a couple of beers. John gave us the low down on the event, explained the structure and history of the Cirque, and talked a bit about Mel Pinto Imports. He made both Lil and I feel welcome and a bit less like the misfit party crashers that we were.

Last week, again on a bit of a whim, I decided to make the drive to Richmon VA to attend the NAHBS. This time I went by myself. I wasn’t thinking much about seeing friendly faces, so it was with great pleasure that I ran into John at the Mel Pinto Imports booth. Once again John was welcoming, jovial and cheerful. He offered the same type of insight about the NAHBS as he did about the Cirque the previous summer. It was good to see him. As an added bonus, I got to meet MPI owner and Cirque organizer Wayne Bingham. Wayne, much like John, was knowledgeable, engaging, and lacked any sort of pretension. We had a chance to discuss my favorite brand of tools - VAR, as well as some of the other products MPI distributes. Talking to John and Wayne was the kind of experience that justified making the long drive to Virginia, and the kind of experience I look forward to when planning for this year's Cirque.

Check out the Mel Pinto Imports web site here, and hunt down VAR tools wherever you can - you won't regret it.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

Building a bike by hand entails making a series of decisions. The builder faces practical challenges - i.e. geometry, size, and parts integration, as well as aesthetic challenges - i.e. lug work, dropout treatment, and paint scheme. These decisions, combined with the skill of execution, dictate the final quality and beauty of the bicycle. The trick to seeing a bike, instead of just looking at a bike, is to identify each of the decision made by the builder. The secret to appreciating a bike however, is to take it for a long ride.

Unfortunately I didn't have the honor of taking this DiNucci for a spin, but judging by its impeccable craftsmanship and flawless integration, it is a perfect example of what a hand built bicycle should be.

The Strawberry of My Eye

Being at the NAHBS is comparable to ingesting too many psychedelics at once, it is sensory overload, there is simply too much for the brain to absorb. It takes time before the body regains its equilibrium and the mind is able to make sense of the world around it. At least that's how I felt. I was bouncing around like a pinball from one booth to the next unable to draw a line of reference. The bad things were easy to spot. There were a surprising number of bikes set up with awful fenderlines, as well as a few overweight sales reps who had a hard time speaking from experience. But the good was harder to see. I think instinctively people are attracted to things that glimmer and shine, so, there were a lot of things that glimmered and shined. Richard Sachs combated this phenomenon by displaying two mud covered Cycle Cross bikes - a nice touch I thought. I tried to take pictures with my 35mm camera but there wasn't enough light. ISO 160 wasn't going to get it done. Camera one scrapped.

I slowly made my way through the show both blown away and underwhelmed. I know that's a contradiction and hard to understand, but despite all the beautiful machines I had a feeling of emptiness, like all these great bikes were lacking something. I didn't quiet know what that 'something' was, I just knew that it wasn't there. As I was thinking this I turned a corner and spotted the Strawberry.

It's no secret that I'm attracted to objects from the past, objects that possess beauty that can surpass the instant gratification of 'shiny' by trumping it with history, quality, and craftsmanship. The Strawberry had these attributes in spades. It stood out of the crowed like a french curve stands out in a drawer full of straight edges. The bike had soul, and plenty of it. And I loved it.

I think Bryant noticed me first, he came over and we chatted some about the stunning beauty of the lugs. He told me that the bike, along with the two others in the booth, was made by Mark Dinucci, a Portland builder. The longer I looked at that bike the more I felt like I had found the SS Central America, a hidden treasure lost amongst the many wonders of the sea. I just couldn't believe how well made the bike was. Eventually Mark came over and we made introductions. I don't know how it is, but once in a while you meet a person and you feel like you've known them a lifetime. That's how I felt meeting Mark. Talking to him was like talking to an old friend, he was genuine, gracious, and above all sincerely appreciative of my many complements of his bikes. I stayed in that booth for a good while and felt like I could of stayed there a good while more.

Of course, as I later discovered, Mark Dinucci is one of the most revered builders in the world and Bryant Bainbrige just happens to be the Spokesniffer of flickr fame as well as long time Specialized top dog (one of them anyway). Two guys not entirely without acclaim or recognition - and most definitively not hidden treasures. Credentials aside, I have nothing but praise for both Mark and Bryant, and I couldn't be happier that I had a chance to meet them.

The following pictures are of the Strawberry. I tried to capture as much of the beauty of the lug work, the dropouts, and various other details of the bike that I could - I didn't get everything. I'm sure other pictures of the bike exist and I'm certain that they are well worth searching out.

I hope you enjoy this bike as much as I did.

You can visit Mark Dinucci's blog here and Bryant Bainbridge's Flickr Photostream here.

Finding New Angles

Ellis BB Cable Routing Detail

The first thing that I noticed upon entering Hall D of the Greater Richmond Convention Center, this years venue of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, was that seemingly everyone there was walking around with camera in hand. In fact, some people were walking around with multiple cameras in hand - I know this for fact because I was carrying three. The cameras came in all sizes and makes, some large, some small, some with fancy flashes and lenses. All in all I'd say more cameras passed through that hall in the span of three days than there were bicycles at the show.

Ultimately, the presence of the cameras resulted in ubiquitous, wall to wall coverage. I don't think there is a single square centimeter (or square inch for american readers) of area that didn't get photographed. All this made taking pictures a rather challenging enterprise, finding new angles became next to impossible.

I'm not a professional journalist by a long shot, but I now see the challenge that journalist face trying to find different angles or unique perspectives when covering an event that multiple media sources are reporting on. It's hard.

I don't know what the story of the weekend was. I didn't stay long enough to find out. Nor do I really care. My intention is to present to you, my readers (yes, both of you), what I found to be interesting at the show. Hopefully it'll be different enough from other blog coverage to warrant a read through this self indulgent dribble I call writing ;D

I Made It!

After two harrowing drives I made it to Richmond VA and back in one piece. The NAHBS was awesome and well worth the anguish experienced on the epic journey. By now there are thousands of pictures on the web of the show and I'm sure most of you have had your share of eye candy. Regardless, I am dedicating the rest of this week to post-NAHBS coverage. Again, stay tuned.

The Road to NAHBS

Stay tuned.