Custom Bike Builders Bring out the Big Guns in San Jose

3-5-07 // Online Exclusive: The North American Handmade Bicycle Show

Chris Lesser

More than a hundred exhibitors and a few thousand attendees gathered in San Jose last weekend for the third annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

The event, which ran from Friday through Sunday, showcased the work of the avant guard of the custom bike building universe, culminating in an awards ceremony Sunday replete with four-foot-tall trophies and an announcement by show organizer Don Walker that next year’s show will be held March 7-10 in Portland, Oregon.

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For builders, the show provided an opportunity to meet with their contemporaries, show off their latest creations and help fuel the progression of their craft. For the show-going public, the event was part art museum, part bike shop, part seminar and part trade show.

But whether you showed up to ogle the custom creations or talk business with jig makers, lug suppliers or tubing vendors, the show was first and foremost a chance to shake hands with the artists standing behind the bikes—many of which were projects built specifically to be unveiled at the show.

The bikes themselves ranged from traditional road and touring bikes to a healthy showing of 29er mountain bikes.

One of the show’s highlights was lugged bike building legend Bruce Gordon’s retrospective display of some two dozen bikes representing his more than three decades in the business.

Information sessions were held daily by Reynolds and Columbus to explain their new tube sets, 953 and XCR, respectively, and topics like powder coating, lug making, bike fit and fillet brazing rounded out the seminar list.

Trophy winners included (click on the names to go to their sites):

Best Lugged Bike: Brian Baylis

Best TIG welded bike: Soulcraft

Best Paint Job: Brian Baylis

Best Carbon Fiber Bicycle: Craig Calfee

Best Titanium Bicycle: Roark

Best Fillet Brazed: Tony Pereira

Best Track Bike: Independent Fabrications

Best Tandem:Dave Bohm

Best Off-Road Bike: Tony Pereira

People’s Choice: Dave Bohm

Best New Builder: Carlos Martell

Best City Bike: Joseph Ahearne

Best in Show: Bruce Gordon

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