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In a few hours, North American Handmade Bicycle Show founder Don Walker will make the announcement of where next year’s show will take place.
Each year it is a closely held secret, but Walker has already already shared clues and has made it clear it won’t be in Portland, and rumors about NAHBS ’09 are swirling through the aisles.
Here are the clues Walker has shared:
Almost new Gray with Black lettering. Silver water bottle rack, black gear rack on the back. Rear and front lights.
21 speed
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Amid the dizzying array of bike bling and pure craftsmanship here at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, sometimes it’s the little things you remember at the end of the day.
Here are a few snapshots I’ve been collecting in my head…
The crowds here at the Oregon Convention Center have been thick all morning. So thick in fact that City of Portland Fire Marshall Michelle Coefield just told me that they can’t let anyone else in until people begin to leave.
Just after 1:30 or so today Coefield said she was worried that the size of the crowd was getting out of hand. “When we can’t get through the aisles,” she said, “we are forced to close the doors.”
Fire Marshall Coefield estimated that the capacity of the venue was just over 3000 people and that the crowd at around 2:30 was “well over” that figure.
Chris King, the man who redefined headsets and has not compromised the quality of his Chris King Precision Components in over thirty years, has rekindled his love for making bicycle frames.
In typical Chris King style, he has quietly re-launched his Cielo Cycles brand name.
According Chris King Components marketing guy Chris Distefano, King began making frames in 1978, just two years after he created the headset that would make him a household name to bike geeks around the world. He built bikes primarily for road racing teams that would be labeled under a variety of nationally-known brand names.
35 year-old builder Sam Whittingham of British Columbia-based Naked Bicycles, exhibited at NAHBS last year. He displayed several of his Naked Bicycles, got a few orders, but he failed to wow the crowds.
This year, he thought he would do something different. He brought only one bike — but he made it count.
One of the most important keys to the success of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) is the media coverage it generates.
Local and national news outlets from both the cycling and mainstream media are covering all the action. And this year, with the show in Portland, the stories often feature Portland builders.
Here’s a little rundown of some of the recent coverage.
As you may have noticed, this first day at the North American Handmade Bike Show (NABHS) I’m focusing solely on Portland builders. Yes, I realize there is a lot of amazing stuff here from other builders, but I’ve got two more days for that.
I’m proud of our local builders.
Over the past three years, I’ve watched their businesses mature and several of them have grown into a force on the national framebuilding scene. And, as new builders spring up, I’m sure they’ll find their place and succeed.
Klein Stage Comp road bike, bright medium blue, solid one-color, bike computer on handle bars, black behind-seat bag, air pump on frame bar along with bottle cage,black racing seat, Shimano 105 shifting components.
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Just as I was leaving the opening day of the North American Handmade Bike Show (NAHBS), none other than Lance Armstrong showed up.
He and few friends ambled in to gaze at the world’s most beautiful bicycles just as most folks had filed out for the night.
Rumor has it that a select group of locals will join Lance for a ride tomorrow morning. The crew that is invited to join him is likely some of same folks that are a part of the Teams of Portland exhibit that opened at Wieden + Kennedy last night.
