Fans of the classic lugged steel bike need look no further than Ellis Cycle’s booth. Fortunately for builder Dave Wages, he’s been near the front the past two years I’ve covered the show. His designs are traditional, but that hasn’t stopped him from winning for Best Touring Bike or doing some sick Di2 road bikes. And it doesn’t mean he can’t make things fancy when the customer has the budget…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

DAVE: Thankfully, this past year I’ve been working hard on orders I took at last year’s NAHBS! One of the newer styles of bike that I’ve been doing quite a bit lately is my DRB, or Dirt Road Bike. In most cases, this is very similar to my standard road bike, only with extra clearance for long reach brakes and tires up to 32c or so, but in some cases folks go with cantilevers or Paul’s Racer brakes so they can run extra fat tires or fat tires and fenders too.

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If you subscribe to the ‘Steel is Real’ mantra and appreciate a little design flourish on your bicycle, Vendetta Cycles could be for you. Builders Conor Buescher and Garrett Clark hand polishes the lugs and shapes them into true works of art, giving an already custom made frame that little something special to set it apart from any other build they’ve done.

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working on since NAHBS last year?

CONOR: At Vendetta, we’ve been doing pretty much the same thing that we have always done – beautiful and functional lugged steel frames. All of our bicycles are custom, and we tune every bicycle for the specific customer, so our ‘model year’ only lasts for one bike! That being said we have been doing some exciting stuff this year, including race winning track bikes, and a city bike with extensive lug carving and a slick and functional design. Of course, as you would expect, we’ve also been spending a lot of time polishing stainless steel lugs.

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Every year, Tim O’Donnell’s Shamrock Cycles collection spans the gamut of bicycle types, from road to ‘cross to touring to mountain. And every year, he’s got a plethora of fanciful features adorning each one. This year looks to be no different, and apparently his show bikes are no different than the everyday builds he’s been doing for customers between shows…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

TIM: I have been concentrating pretty heavily in supporting a cross team for the past two seasons and that has really paid dividends. It is way more work than I initially planned but is worth it. I also support a smaller mtb team but that is largely for my own fun reasons.

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Avid readers may remember Kirklee more for their $8,000 full carbon kid’s tri bike (here and, amusingly, here) or the faux wood painted carbon road bike from last year’s NAHBS that got quite a bit of attention. This year, it looks like they’ve been busy doing some more detailed custom paint jobs and are broadening custom offerings to include updated standards…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

BRAD: It has been a busy year. As you may know about two weeks after NAHBS I had my personal KirkLee’s stolen out of my home (none have been recovered so keep your eyes peeled), which was strange to go from daily rides to nothing. The good out of the situation is it forced me to think about what I want on my bikes. Out of that thought process, expect to see a new KirkLee mountain bike in 2012. The road bikes will receive small tweaks as the year goes on; with my personal road bike being a test mule for some of these changes. It is exciting times for a bike company right now. There is talk of disc brakes on the road, 130mm or 135mm rear spacing, and customers are asking about BB386evo.

Business-wise it is like you sometimes fall in love all over again. This year we have done quite a few repairs, but in 2012 we will only do a few each month to make more time for the KirkLee’s, which have always been our first love. Since last NAHBS we have brought more tooling into the shop, and have been prototyping molding for new bike designs and our existing bikes. It is an arduous process, with many late nights talking about design, tooling, and molding. We could order it or have it made for us, and we all know that sometimes it would be easier, but we love building KirkLee’s.

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While some builders focus on a particular type of bike, others, like Jeremy Sycip, build the gamut from road to cyclocross to full suspension mountain bikes. On occasion, they even build something wild. For Sycip, the latest big crazy project was the three-wheeled cargo bike  (and here, too) with integrated front lock he submitted and rode in last year’s Oregon Manifest Builder’s Challenge.

His creations for last year’s NAHBS included a mixte and a single speed disc brake cyclocross bike, among others. Here’s what he’s been up to since…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

JEREMY: I have started offering Inset 44mm headtubes as well as Pressfit BB options for all my bikes. I also did a collaboration with Fuse Project for the Oregon manifest. It’s a 3-wheel cargo bike. Might try to bring one for this years NAHBS. Also, I am trying out some new KVA stainless tubesets.

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Winter Bicycles‘ founder/builder Eric Estlund has shown us some pretty wild bikes over the years, and it looks like he’s been up to more of the same since last year’s show.

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

ERIC: Winter Bicycles specializes in made-to-measure custom bikes. I’ve had a great year working with clients on bikes built for their needs, fit and aesthetic tastes. Just like the customers I work with, each one is unique. This year I have also started to formalize my “After Hours Specials”- essentially builder project bikes I use to work through ideas and concepts I want to develop, or that I use to highlight specific attributes for shows. These are built as time and inspiration permits, and are available alongside my built to order offerings.

Lastly, my stand alone stems and forks are picking up. I offer these as upgrade items to address fit needs or cap off that special build with a personalized finishing touch.

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Signal Cycles is always one of the first booths I seek out at NAHBS. It’s not that they’re building anything wild, it just that the colors, the bikes and the booth are always so well put together into a tidy, calming package. It starts my show off right. The Saltzman “production” model they introduced last year seems to be progressing with an updated version heading to Sacramento. Can’t wait to see it. Until then, here’s what Matt Cardinal and his business partner, Nate Meschke, have been up to:

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

MATT: Since the show in Austin, we have been keeping pretty busy. We moved our shop into a new space that is nearly 4 times as big as the shoe box we were working in. The move made it easier for both Nate and myself to become full time at Signal and to quit the bike shop jobs we were hanging onto for the past 4 years. We launched the Saltzman bike project (a Signal-made production fendered road bike in stock sizes), and learned that we still have a bit or refinement to do to make that project as successful as we believe it can be. We also spent a good deal of time working with world class design firm Ziba on a bike for the Oregon Manifest. My wife and I had our second child in September, and Nate found out that he is going to be a dad this spring. A busy year!

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Our pre-NAHBS buildup continues with John Caletti of Caletti Cycles. Until now, he’s been all about steel bikes, but that looks to be changing…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

JOHN: I’m continuing to refine my process, both in office type work as well as in the shop. I’ve been developing some new finish designs with a graphic designer. They are fitting with my style and offer a bunch of cool and fairly unique choices for my customers, which will hopefully make the finish planning and selection process more fun and easier. It seems choosing color(s) is the hardest part. I’ve had people go round and round with elaborate designs before settling on solid black.

Also, I’m using more U.S. made parts on frames, including a cool light and compact dropout for most road and cross bikes, and I’m moving towards more stainless steel for the small bits like cable guides and bottle bosses to add to the longevity of the finish and frame. I’m doing 29ers with larger head tubes (as an option) to allow for tapered steerer bikes and I’ve been working with Titanium, which I’ll soon be offering in addition to steel.

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Our pre-NAHBS hype continues with all-carbon-all-the-time frame builder Matt Appleman of Appleman Bicycles.

As you may recall, Matt’s the guy that even cuts his logo out of carbon fiber and does some pretty unique layups and aesthetic finishes on his frames. Let’s see what’s he’s been up to:

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

MATT: Appleman Bicycles has laid down quite a bit of carbon since NAHBS last year! Options for frames have expanded since last year. New options include: full internal cable routing (cable or hydraulic), Di2 ready frames, disc brakes, and 1.5 inch tapered forks. Most of these options will be seen this year at NAHBS.

The largest change in business is that I started taking on carbon fiber frame repairs. There are so many busted frames out there, it’s a shame if people throw them away or have to pay for a high dollar crash replacement. Top tube and seat stay damage is the most common, but I’ve specialized in carbon dropout repair, extreme damage, and replacing missing tubes. I’ve repaired frames from as far away as the Philippines and Singapore! Doing repairs is also a great way to study how frames get damaged. I’ve been able to tweak the designs of custom frames to make them more damage tolerant.

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Don Walker's sponsored rider, Gian Dalle Angelini, tests the goods. Photo: Kayla Dantzler.

It’s that time of year again…the lead up to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. And time for us to pester the exhibitors for info and photos of their bikes to whet your appetite for the big show.

This year, we decided to see what they’ve been up to since last year’s show in Austin, plus a sneak peek of what they’ll be busting out at this year’s show in Sacramento. And, per usual, a little something fun thrown in at the end.

This year, we’re starting off with the man behind the show, Don Walker:

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working on since NAHBS last year?

DON: I have been trying to get my shop set up, again! We moved to Louisville, KY in October and its been a few months since I have been in the building. I have talked to several of my colleagues and they all said something to the effect of “It’ll take you a few months to get your shop in order once you have moved” and I didn’t believe them at the time. Here we are, over two months later and low and behold, I am just about ready to make bikes again. I don’t wish relocating on anyone, especially a framebuilder! But prior to that, I made several track and cross bikes with a few road bikes thrown in for good measure. Since The Ville (as the locals call it) is Cross centric, I will have an opportunity to refine my cross bike skills.

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• Press Release: “88bikes Foundation – a foundation that gives bikes to kids in developing countries – will be making their first endowment in the United States this fall when they will present 50 bikes to young people of the Navajo Nation in Montezuma Creek, Utah. Additionally, they will be unveiling the organization’s first sustainable bike shop.” For more info on 88bikes, click the link above.
• Kat Fowler’s “Thank You For Seeing Me” Campaign addresses the “Can’t we all just get along?” issue on LA’s streets. (thanks, Brooke)
• NAHBS 2012 show in Sacramento, CA, will showcase the recent overhaul of the awards system.

Watson Cycles brought out the big bike with their all-terrain snow bicycle. Complete with integrated flask holders on the fork legs, custom wood racks in the front and rear and some other trick touches, this one would be right at home on social rides where the roads are fine but you still get plowed.

We’ve got some other bikes from them and Sycip and Threepenny’s unique bamboo/carbon/mesh frame after the break…

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