DENVER, CO (BRAIN) — A record 200 exhibitors showed their wares at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show this weekend, and attendance was strong Friday and Saturday before being dampened somewhat by a strong snowstorm Sunday.
Organizers — who announced next year's show will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina — said the show brought in about 6,200 visitors over three days, a bit short of the 7,000 visitors they had projected.
"I'd call it a very solid show this year," said show founder and president Don Walker, who is also a framebuilder and exhibited at the show. "We set a new exhibitor record, and although our attendee numbers were hit by the snow, Coloradans clearly weren't going to miss this opportunity so we still ended up with a good crowd."
NAHBS relocates every year, and this year's show attracted about 40 exhibitors from Colorado's active cycling industry. Among the Coloradan exhibitors was Denver's Alchemy Bicycle Co., which took home the Best Carbon Construction prize. The company won the same prize several years ago when the show was held in Austin, Texas, which was then Alchemy's hometown.
"I was super happy for the guys for the award," said company president Matt Simpson.
The coveted Best of Show award went to Eugene, Oregon's English Cycles' track bike, while the People's Choice Award went to Moots' IMBA Trail Maintenance Bikes, a fat-tired titanium cargo bike complete with integrated chainsaw holder.
The show also attracted many visitors from around the industry, including many who chose not to exhibit (or were ineligible).
Niner Bikes owner Chris Sugai, for example, poked around and raved about the detail work on some of the bikes on display. "It's just great to see how people do cable routing and other little things like that ... and to look at the colors and styles," Sugai said.
Long time industry exec Steve Cuomo said the show is his favorite because everyone is passionate about bicycles, not just business.
"It weeds out the people who don't care about bikes," Cuomo said.
2013 NAHBS awards
- Alchemy Bicycle Co. --- Best carbon construction
- No award given --- Best steel construction
- Bishop Bikes --- Best road bike
- Bilenky Cycles --- Best lugged frame
- No award given --- Best experimental design
- Steve Potts Cycles --- Best TIG frame
- Kent Eriksen & Black Sheep Fabrication --- Best titanium construction
- Boo Bicycles --- Best alternative material
- Cherubim by Shin-Ichi Konno --- Best city bike
- Retro-Inglis Cycles --- Best mountain bike
- Mosaic Cycles --- Best cyclocross bike
- Black Sheep Fabrication & Calfee Design --- Best tandem
- No award given --- Best utility bicycle
- Matsuda Cycle Factory --- Best track bicycle
- Winter Bicycles --- Best finish
- Moots --- Best Theme Bike and People's Choice
- Avery County Cycles --- Best new builder
- Level --- President's Choice
- English Cycles --- Best of Show
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Harvey Cycles created internal wiring for a front generator hub, with the custom dropouts acting as the electrical connections. -
Steve Potts ran internal wires from a front generator hub to LEDs inside a seatpost on this custom commuter. -
Moots won the People's Choice Award with this IMBA trail maintenance bike. -
This Masi was said to be one of three bikes used in filming Breaking Away. -
English Cycles won Best of Show -
Paketa Bikes made a two-speed belt drive mountain bike with cog and chainring sizes that produced equal belt lengths. -
Calfee will soon offer a DIY kit to make wooden bikes. The hydraulic hose clamp here was made from a natural knot in the wood. -
Baylis headtube was said to resemble famous bike painter Joe Bell. -
Eric Sampson explains his adjustable pedal to two bike fitters from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. -
Charles Manahan (Pez), Nick Legan (Dispatch), Patrick O'Grady (Adventure Cycling) and Maurice Tierney (Dirt Rag) judged contest entries.
