Indianapolis for NAHBS this weekend.
He earned the “Best New Builder”
award last year.
(Photo © J. Maus)
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) (that was hosted by Portland in 2008), may have moved to Indianapolis this year, but Portland builders will still make an impact.
The event, which is expected to draw over 7,000 attendees, opens today and runs through the weekend.
Among the Portland builders in attendance are; Mitch Pryor (MAP Bicycles), Sacha White (Vanilla Bicycles), Jordan Hufnagel (Hufnagel Cycles), Chris King (Cielo), Joseph Ahearne (Ahearne Cycles), Matt Cardinal and Nate Meschke (Signal Cycles) and Aaron Hayes (Courage).
The big news for Portland at the show is that it marks the official launch of Chris King’s Cielo bike brand. King shared a teaser of the bikes at the 2008 NAHBS and at the Oregon Manifest Show back in October.
“readymade classics”.
In September, King hired Jay Sycip, a well-known builder from California, to help launch the brand. Check out the just-launched Cielo website for a look at the bikes. King’s marketing director Chris Distefano tells us the bikes will also be sold through River City Bicycles.
Also at NAHBS this year is the launch of The Framebuilders Collective. The new organization — which counts Portland’s own Sacha White as a member — hopes to “strengthen the trade, pay homage to its past, and work towards ensuring that its future is bright and profitable.”
Northeast Portland based builder Aaron Hayes returns to NAHBS to defend his “Best New Builder” award at last year’s show. Hayes tells us he’ll unveil his new “Super Chassis” racing bike that weighs in at just 3.3 lbs. and will be used by his growing team of elite cyclocross racers.
I’ve attended the past two NAHBS, but unfortunately I won’t be bringing you photos and reports from this year’s edition. Stay tuned for links to photos and reports in the Monday Roundup.
Good luck to all the Portland builders!