Relocating the North American Handmade Bicycle Show to Indianapolis did nothing to hurt its popularity this weekend.
The show celebrated its fifth year — its first in the midwest — with overall attendance at 6,500 enthusiasts, nearly equal to Portland's record draw last year.
The show also drew a geographical mix of bicycle-builders from across the US. The list of winners demonstrates the widespread interest among builders, with “bests” ranging from Portland, Oregon, to Cleveland, Ohio, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Show owner Dan Walker is based in Indiana, and he says that two-thirds of the US population is within a day's drive of Indianapolis. He doesn't plan to move back to the West Coast anytime soon. Although he doesn't have a location chosen for next year, he plans to keep the bike show east of the Mississippi for the next couples of years, according to Bicycle Retailer.
People's Choice
Among those winners, the Peoples Choice award went to Sam Whittingham, owner of Naked Cycles on Quadra Island, British Columbia. Whittingham is the current human-powered-vehicle record holder of 82 mph.
The official North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show blog notes that Whittingham's HPV was designed by Georgi Georgiev…
“… who forewent computers in favor of shapes from nature, such as fish.
“Whittingham's handbuilt bikes on display at NAHBS extend this metaphor further, with the bends, curves, branches and leaves of trees — including extensive use of wood.”
More winners
- Best Lugged Bicycle : Ellis Cycles – Dave Wages (Waterford, Wisconsin)
- Best Fillet Brazed Bicycle : Nobilette Cycles – Mark Nobilette (Laramer County, Colorado)
- Best TIG Welded Bicycle : Strong Frames Inc – Carl Strong (Bozeman, Montana)
- Best Paint Job : VéloColour – Noel Rosen (Toronto, Canada)
- Best Carbon Fiber Bicycle : Independent Fabrication (Somerville, Massachusetts)
- Best Titanium Bicycle : Eriksen Cycles – Kent Eriksen (Steamboat Spring, Colorado)
- Best Road Bicycle : Della Santa – Roland Della Santa (Reno, Nevada)
- Best Track Bicycle : Cherubim by Konno Cycleworks – Shin-ichi Konno (Tokyo, Japan)
- Best Off-Road Bicycle : Goodrich Bicycles – Curt Goodrich (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- Best Tandem : Bilenky Cycle Works – Stephen Bilenky (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Best City Bicycle : MAP Bicycles – Mitchell Pryor (Portland, Oregon)
- President Walker's Choice : Cherubim by Konno Cycleworks – Shin-ichi Konno (Tokyo)
- People's Choice : Naked Cycles and Design – Sam Whittingham (Quadra Island, BC)
- Best of Show : Cicli Polito – Dan Polito (Cleveland, Ohio)
More show
You can learn more about the North American Handmade Bicycle Show by visiting the website, or the blog. Also, you can check out hundreds of images from the bike show at the official website.
I saw the picture of the Cielo emblem at flickr.com by beaktreats. Here's a link to all the beaktreat photos from the Handmade Bicycle Show on flickr.com
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