The Radavist

When I was in Portland, before my tour, the guys at Rapha North America told me about this collaboration with Giro that they had been working on. Their idea was simple: make a cycling shoe that boasts the performance of a modern race shoe, influenced by the classic models from the 70’s. If anyone has nailed that ideology down, it’s Rapha. The Grand Tour Shoes embody the same stylistic approach as their apparel line and by style, I mean simplicity. These minimally-branded, perforated white leather shoes utilize the same technology as Giro’s professional racing shoes and look damn good.

I’ve broken this review down into a gallery, with the captions describing each photo, so take note. See for yourself by clicking the image above or here to open in a new tab.

I was in Sydney for a few weeks before I finally made it down to Sable & Argent on Bourke street. I thought for sure they’d just be another fixed gear boutique. Let’s just say, I wasn’t expecting to find a facade that caters to various forms of urban cycling. As I walked through their front gate, I couldn’t help but notice how carefully curated the interiors were. Each section of the shop was merchandized wonderfully. Rapha, Campagnolo, Catlike, Mission Workshop, DZR and other brands all had shelf space, shared alongside road, cross, track and commuter bikes. You could walk in here and buy a full “kit” for whatever kind of bike you ride. The interiors were well-lit and the overall vibe just exuded cool. See for yourself by clicking the image above.

While I was in Geelong, visiting Baum, I took one of Darren’s shop bikes outside for some lens love. This Baum Cubano road bike was built up sparing no expense. Chris King, ENVE, SRAM, you name it. It just oozes cool. Pulling precedents from old race cars, Darren and his in-house painters worked on the livery. The white, black and orange is reminiscent of the old Gulf Porsche cars and knowing that the build could pass for the weight weenies, i’m sure it rides like one too. Check out more in the gallery.

Gallery (FYI, you can also just click on the photo above to launch this)

In all the time I’ve been posting about Firefly‘s work, I’ve never actually ridden one. It took me traveling to Australia to finally get the chance to ride a frame in my size and man, what a rocket. Let’s face it, Tyler and Jamie know what they’re doing. Their stainless and titanium bikes are awe-inspiring and that takes a special mechanic to do the build justice. Luckily, Justin knew where to go: Shifter Bikes.

Where do I begin with this bike? The Rotor Rings, affixed by the polished Hollowgram cranks? Or the entire group, which was polished by none other than Fyxomatosis? Then there’s the EE Cycle Works brakes with their made in America, tech aesthetic. As a complete piece of art, Justin’s Firefly is molten lava. See for yourself below!

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I am beat and tired of NAHBS coverage, as I’m sure you are. This year’s event was lot of fun but still, I need to find a better way of cataloging it. Already, I’ve got new ideas for Denver. While I recover from this coverage, here’s the last group of builders, beginning with Ventus and their polished and engraved modern Campy group. DeSalvo‘s nice road bike, Peacock‘s booth and a few shots from Ellis. I wanted to get more from Ellis but every time I went by, his bikes were being photographed or the booth was swamped!

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Nate Meschke and Matt Cardinal are Signal Cycles, a framebuilding company, nestled in Portland. Their booth was filled with all kinds of brightly-colored eye candy, right down to their incredible bike stand, holding a shiny red Di2 road bike. Others included a step-through city bike with racks, a fendered road bike and probably my favorite, a commuter with a Edelux lamp and robin’s egg blue paint.

Chatting with and hanging out with Nate and Matt just solidifies their company for me. It’s easy to support a company when it’s backed by two talented, humble people. Check out more from the 2012 NAHBS Signal Cycles booth below.

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This year, more than any other year at NAHBS, I got to talk face to face with the builders and their assistants. I took more time listening to their process and their pains. It’s not easy building bicycles in the States and sometimes, things get a little rough financially.

Earlier this year, Bruce Gordon put out an SOS (shop on stress) and the framebuilding world responded. Now, I’m not saying their shop is slammed, but business picked up and Bruce has some new products on the way. Cantis, toe clips and even a nice, 700c gum wall touring tire, made by Panaracer in Japan. It looks like Bruce Gordon is doing a lot better. His booth’s pride was a carbon road bike with details for days.

The townie and commuting bike contingency was rather large this year. More and more people are ditching their cars for handlebars and Ahearne Cycles showed off a few recent builds. My favorite was the blue townie, complete with bamboo lock box and rotating child seat. It even has foot pegs. Other goodies included his Sheldon Brown flasks and shirts.

DiNucci Cycles‘ bikes included a raw road frame and a classic road bike with Curtis Odom tri-arm sport cranks. Sharing the same booth was Vendetta Cycles, who returned with their ever-so-popular Columbus MAX track bike. This bright green beast had everyone drooling. I always love seeing how people use MAX on track bikes and this bike’s custom pinstriping just takes it over the top!

See all this in the Gallery.

Ever since last year’s NAHBS, I’ve been watching Eric at Winter‘s brand grow. I’m not exagerrating when I say that his bi-lam head tubes were some of my favorite details at this year’s show. His Jack Taylor-inspired, Keith Anderson-painted and box-lined touring frame was completely stunning. Other bikes in his booth included a simple, yet elegant road frame, a charcoal and mint track machine with a seat tube cleave and a killer commuter, ready for night rides through the Portland streets. All of which you can see in the below Gallery.

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The second day of the 2012 North American Handmade Bicycle show was a madhouse. Walking up to the convention center, I was shocked to see the line wrapping around the block. Inside, the booths were crowded with bell-ringers, brake pullers, tire kickers and top tube tingers. As someone who tends to obsess over frame details, it was easy to document some bikes but the overall frame shots were a real pain. I managed to document a good number of builders, as well as some friend’s bikes. For now check out a photo gallery, featuring Richard Sachs, Yipsan, Mosaic, Rebolledo, Della Santa and Sycip.

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This year at the 2012 North American Handmade Bicycle Show, I wanted to spend the first day capturing the overall vibe of the booths. I meant to bring my tripod for some long exposures but left it at home. Instead, I ended up using the booths themselves, the ground and my lens cap to prop the camera up. While I don’t usually like low, wide angles, these actually came out pretty rad. Check the Gallery out below.

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Well, I’m still in one piece and after a night of heavy drinking, I’m finally getting into the groove of things at the 2012 NAHBS. Here are a few shots from the show, with a gallery below. More to come but these will hold you over for a bit.

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