Alchemy’s Oros hardtail featured a striking finish from Ethic, Alchemy’s in-house paint company
The lowers of this Fox fork received a matching treatment, as did the stem and grip collars
The entire frame is coated in wet paint, with purple and turquoise accents dotting the entire bike
The detail work from Alchemy/Ethic is fantastic
Black Cat’s 27.5+ bike could have won Best Finish. The paint is stunning in person
Black Sheep’s Speedster accepts both 29×3.0″ or 26×4.0″ wheels/tires. For singlespeeds, Black Sheep machines a horizontally adjustable chainstay with a set screw to tension chains or belts
The cast head tube is based on the welcome signs of Colorado, the native state for the Fort Collins company
Breadwinner’s new Goodwater is based on the brand’s Bad Otis but with geometry and clearance for 27.5 x 3.0″ tires. Users can also install 29 x 2.3″ wheels and tires if so desired
The clean routing on the Breadwinner is thanks to the skilled hands of Tony Pereira and Ira Ryan
There are few better ways to arrive at the trailhead than aboard a boss motorcycle. The Yamaha café racer and matching hardtail in the Breadwinner booth were mega cool
Every bike in the English booth was worth a look, but the “Righty” mountain bike is a feat of engineering. The bike foregoes the left side fork blade, seat stay and chainstay
Moots debuted the new incarnation of its legendary Mountaineer model (originally launched in 1984) at Interbike last fall. The latest take is a 27.5+ Boost 148 bike with the option of a YBB rear end
Taking the edge off of trail obstacles is handled by the YBB and the Mountaineer’s volumnous three-inch tires
Many will rejoice at the sight of a threaded bottom bracket on the Moots Mountaineer
The beauty of a titanium hardtail is both practical and aesthetic. Mosaic’s MT1 is built around 29er wheels and was built with XTR Di2 routing
The seatstays on Mosaic’s MT1 offer a clean look while maintaining lots of clearance
Even mountain bike legend Steve Potts got in on the 27.5+ action
Curtis Inglis showed this Retrotec 27.5+ bike in Sacramento. With a long travel fork, dropper post and iconic curved tubes, it was a crowd favorite
The Retrotec was equipped with special edition 40th Anniversary Chris King stem, headset, headset spacers, hubs and bottom bracket
The Chris King 40th Anniversary parts are offered in a new color, Olive Crate, named for boxes that King used to move from Redding, CA to Portland, OR
Soulcraft displayed a 27.5+ mountain bike that was built for Greg Thrash at E13. The bike features a seat tube bent by Curtis Inglis and CNC and development work from Cameron Falconer and Jake Faw
The custom chainstay yoke allows for 16.75″ (425mm) chainstays and clearance for a 27.5×3.0″ tire
One of the coolest mountain bikes at NAHBS belongs to Trevor Horton, son of the famed bicycle collector, Brett Horton. The 24-inch-wheeled bike has Stan’s Crest rims and Schwalbe Racing Ralphs made especially for Trail Craft and now offered to the masses. SRAM helped with kid-approved parts and the rigid bike is meant to teach young riders how to pick a good line while riding offroad
Based in Lithuania, Wittson previously produced titanium bikes for Colnago. The brand has developed and tuned its $2,685 Bestia model over several years. The matching Nulla titanium fork retails for $750
The Wittson Bestia’s cable routing is tidy
While many may first think of road bikes when considering a custom bike show, the number of stunning mountain bikes on display at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show will help dispel that thought.
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The recent widespread adoption of the 27.5+ platform has made hardtail mountain bikes relevant again. This is especially good news for small builders who often lack the resources to engineer and manufacture full suspension mountain bikes. From Moots to Retrotec and many in between, mountain bike builders at NAHBS have taken to the mid-fat wheel and tire combo like hipsters to plaid and craft beer.
Every bike in the english booth was worth a look, but the
Notice anything missing from this English Righty?
Bikepacking rigs also made a strong showing at NAHBS in California, as did slacked-out, dropper-post-equipped play bikes. That isn’t to say that there aren’t full-suspension bikes on offer. Eriksen, Matter, Foes and others all showed impressive work for those wanting a custom dualie.
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Click through the gallery above for a close look at the best handbuilt mountain bikes at NAHBS.
The retrotec was equipped with special edition 40th anniversary chris king stem, headset, headset spacers, hubs and bottom bracket: the retrotec was equipped with special edition 40th anniversary chris king stem, headset, headset spacers, hubs and bottom bracket
