Established in 2005, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is the largest and oldest hand-built bicycle show in the world. A space for the sharing of ideas and innovation, promoting custom bicycles, and showcasing the companies that support the market, NAHBS keeps itself fresh by traveling to a different city each go ’round. This year’s event took place in Hartford, CT, and over 175 vendors made the trip from all over the world to show their creations. At the end of the weekend, awards are given to bikes in several different categories.
“Extraordinary quality of work is a requirement of the finalists in each category,” says Spectrum Cycles’ Tom Kellogg, one of this year’s three judges. “Beyond that, we need to see that each builder has understood their client’s needs and incorporated those needs into the bikes. Did the builder go beyond what was needed with additional features, level of finish work, personalization, or thoughtful component choices?”
“Two things stood out this year,” Kellogg says, “the stunning quality of the work exhibited by many of the builders and the ‘out of the box’ inventiveness of a few of the younger builders.” Here’s a look at some of this year’s standouts.
All photographs by Brad Quartuccio