The North American Handmade Bicycle Show had some amazing custom craftsmanshipJames Huang / Immediate Media
Minneapolis builder Erik Noren showed this stunning e-bike at NAHBS, complete with Shimano’s new STEPS drivetrain and a custom painted Maverick DUC32 forkJames Huang / Immediate Media
The cage surrounding the Shimano STEPS unit is built completely from scratchJames Huang / Immediate Media
Why use the standard Shimano STEPS computer head when you can dress it up a little bit?James Huang / Immediate Media
Peacock Groove builder and painter Erik Noren never fails to impress at NAHBSJames Huang / Immediate Media
Erik Noren of Peacock Groove regularly presents themed bikes at NAHBSJames Huang / Immediate Media
GorgeousJames Huang / Immediate Media
Sometimes a standard Campagnolo EPS electronic front derailleur just won’t doJames Huang / Immediate Media
Italian builder Sarto will make just 25 of these limited edition bikes. The carbon frame is dressed up with 18k gold and crocodile leather – and it’s astronomically expensiveJames Huang / Immediate Media
Whether such a seat cluster design offers any performance benefit is questionable but it certainly looks uniqueJames Huang / Immediate Media
Sarto was founded by Antonio Sarto and his son, Enrico, shifted the company to carbon production in 1992James Huang / Immediate Media
The Enve carbon bars are wrapped with stitched crocodile hideJames Huang / Immediate Media
Likewise, the saddle gets a custom crocodile leather coverJames Huang / Immediate Media
This is not your standard chainstay protectorJames Huang / Immediate Media
Gold!James Huang / Immediate Media
More gold!James Huang / Immediate Media
Quite possibly the most excited customer at NAHBSJames Huang / Immediate Media
Shamrock Cycles built this custom push bike for one very special customerJames Huang / Immediate Media
It’s a shame that this bike will be outgrown so quicklyJames Huang / Immediate Media
Shamrock Cycles pulled out all the stops for this push bike, including a titanium seatpost with an Eriksen Cycles headJames Huang / Immediate Media
Chris King hubs are used front and rear. Note the spoke colors, tooJames Huang / Immediate Media
The handlebar was custom made as well, complete with an integrated steerer clamp and rearward sweepJames Huang / Immediate Media
In a novel reversal, the fork is built with rear dropouts while the rear end is built with fork tipsJames Huang / Immediate Media
Absolutely awesomeJames Huang / Immediate Media
CleverJames Huang / Immediate Media
There’s a certain beauty in the symmetry of all those paired tubesJames Huang / Immediate Media
Japanese builder Futaq brought this stunning titanium creation, called Samurai, to NAHBS. From a distance, it looks to be built from a bunch of deftly curved tubesJames Huang / Immediate Media
But upon closer inspection nearly all of the curved sections are actually made from straight tubes that have been mitered and weldedJames Huang / Immediate Media
The truss-style structure bolsters the otherwise unsupported bottom bracketJames Huang / Immediate Media
The head tube is attached to the main frame with this unusual mesh structureJames Huang / Immediate Media
A closer look at Futaq’s handiworkJames Huang / Immediate Media
The cutout is supposed to evoke the image of a samurai being protected by armorJames Huang / Immediate Media
Such construction is undoubtedly time consumingJames Huang / Immediate Media
Such enormous seatstays likely don’t need any reinforcing but the bridge makes for a handy place for a logoJames Huang / Immediate Media
Novel rocker-style dropouts allow the belt to be tensioned. The raised chainstays don’t require a split to feed the belt into the frame, eitherJames Huang / Immediate Media
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show has always had many facets since its modest beginnings in 2005. On the one hand, it’s a chance for the world to see what the industry’s finest builders do on a regular basis for their customers. But on the other, it’s also a showcase for spectacular one-offs that are sometimes neither practical nor logical but are beautiful and amazing nonetheless.
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In our continuing coverage from this year’s show in Louisville, Kentucky, we bring you some amazing paintwork by Erik Noren of Peacock Groove in Minneapolis, Minnesota; an utterly over-the-top carbon, gold, and crocodile hide creation from Italy’s Sarto Cycles; an incredible display of titanium TIG-welding by Japanese builder Futaq; and Shamrock Cycles’ unspeakably cute custom push bike.
Japanese builder futaq brought to nahbs this stunning titanium creation called samurai. from a distance, it looks to be built from a bunch of deftly curved tubes but upon closer inspectioné:
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Stay tuned for more coverage from NAHBS and start planning to attend next year’s show in Sacramento, California.
