This year’s NAHBS was somewhat of a coming-out party for Boulder, Colorado builder Aaron Barcheck and his Mosaic Cycles brand. Though in business for several years, his gorgeous titanium and steel bikes really drew serious attention this yearJames Huang/BikeRadar
Mosaic’s eye-catching head tube badgeJames Huang/BikeRadar
My my, to whom might this gorgeous bike belong?James Huang/BikeRadar
Smart man, that Aaron Barcheck. The Mosaic Cycles builder crafted this rig for his wife, LizJames Huang/BikeRadar
Fantastic paint work on this Mosaic machine. Check out the colored housing and cable donuts, too. Details, folks. DetailsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Mosaic is a big fan of selective media blasting for creating permanent graphics on his titanium framesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Mosaic’s head tube badge graphic is mirrored on the seat tube of this titanium frameJames Huang/BikeRadar
This Mosaic titanium hardtail was simply stunningJames Huang/BikeRadar
Better make sure the seat height is right on this oneJames Huang/BikeRadar
More blasted graphicsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Mosaic builds a wide range of bikes but most of the machines in the NAHBS booth were of the performance varietyJames Huang/BikeRadar
Mosaic builds mostly titanium frames but steel is in Aaron Barcheck’s repertoire, too, as evidenced by this ‘cross bikeJames Huang/BikeRadar
Not surprisingly, there were a lot of disc brake-equipped road bikes at this year’s NAHBSJames Huang/BikeRadar
Mosaic often uses integrated seatpostsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Clean-looking Paragon dropouts are used out backJames Huang/BikeRadar
Ports for the internally routed cables are drilled at an angleJames Huang/BikeRadar
Sure, why not hit the local dirt jumps on a custom titanium machine?James Huang/BikeRadar
This Mosaic titanium bike looks particulary good with paintJames Huang/BikeRadar
We expect big things from Mosaic in the coming yearsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Frame builder Aaron Barcheck had been somewhat of a local secret. Many in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado knew of his skills, but he wasn’t quite a household name. But Barcheck put on a big show at this year’s NAHBS, with nearly a dozen gorgeous machines in both titanium and steel. Come Monday, we don’t anticipate Mosaic Cycles will be much of a secret anymore.
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Mosaic’s eye-catching head tube badge: mosaic’s eye-catching head tube badgeJames Huang/BikeRadar
The Mosaic badge
Barcheck is well versed in both TIG-welded and lugged construction and he works in steel and titanium. After seven years at Dean under the tutelage of John Siegrist, though, it’s perhaps no surprise that most of Mosaic’s display bikes were titanium this year, including road, mountain and even dirt jumper variants.
Mosaic is fast developing some trademark features, too, including integrated seatmasts, ultra-trick masked and selectively media blasted frame finishes, and a characteristic paint layout that could be identified even with the name on the down tube.
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With a rare mix of technical skill and artistic creativity, we expect big things from Barcheck moving forward. We’ve covered Mosaic at previous NAHBS events and recently offered an inside look at the company’s Boulder workshop. If you haven’t taken a good look at Barcheck’s work before, better late than never.
More blasted graphics: more blasted graphicsJames Huang/BikeRadar
