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North American Hand Made Bicycle Show
San Jose, California, March 2-4, 2007
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Part 2 - No velodromes in sight, but lots of track bikes anyway
By James Huang in San Jose, CA
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Grassroots cycling culture is brimming with track bikes these days, and there was perhaps no better venue for their resurgence than in the halls of the San Jose Convention Center this weekend. Along with the high-end commuter bikes also seen here at the NAHBS, the fixed gear/track bike phenomenon is an interesting one that flies somewhat under the radar of most mass manufacturers. While many of those companies are just recently beginning to offer entry-level, or even mid-level, models, the high-end is still a decidedly cottage industry that the handbuilt crowd serves in eminently competent fashion.
Unlike those commuter bikes, however, there isn't any immediately obvious reason for the proliferation of the segment. After all, track bikes have little real purpose outside of their intended velodromes, and they are decidedly less utilitarian than their rack and fender equipped brethren. NAHBS show organizer Don Walker is an established frame builder himself and specializes in track bikes, yet even he is awestruck at the current trend.
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"Right now there's this big fixed gear/track bike culture. It amazes me. I remember when I used to train on a track bike on the road as a junior and, you know, that was training. These guys aren't training; they're just riding around, or maybe working if they're a messenger. I don't know. For whatever reason, someone started this trend of getting Japanese keirin track bikes over here, whether they're new, used, or whatever, and it's all about style points. I'm not sure how it happened, but the US builders are now saying, 'well, wait a second, we build track bikes, too,' and everyone's upped the ante as we're trying to show that we compete with the Japanese keirin builders. Everyone just thinks track bikes are cool. They're clean and you don't see a lot of cables and stuff hanging off of them. They're elegant and simple at the same time."
Whatever the reason, few can argue with Walker that track bikes are simply flat-out cool, and they were noticeably rampant this year. Stripped of the distractions of additional parts and accessories, the fixed gear/track bike genre is perhaps the prime showcase for a frame builder's capabilities and many examples displayed here deftly found that middle ground between showy embellishment and elegantly functional simplicity in brilliant fashion.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
- Anyone looking for a missing "B"?
- Bilenky Cycle Works provided this fixie frame with an ornate bottom bracket shell.
- Raised logos were still popular at this year's NAHBS.
- Bilenky Cycle Works uses readily available Campagnolo dropouts but why leave them alone? Check out the subtle detailing.
- Nothing subtle here.
- Bilenky Cycle Works displayed this ornate fixed-gear frame.
- What the??? Calfee continues to push the envelope, not only with this bamboo frame but with these, er, 'natural' handlebars.
- Yes, they're real.
- Carbon-wrapped stem construction.
- Don Walker's Heritage frame wears a familiar paint scheme.
- Where is Don Walker's family from? Two guesses.
- NAHBS show organizer Don Walker looking businesslike.
- The Don Walker Inner Lights looking ready for action.
- Paul Components was a popular choice throughout the NAHBS.
- Don Walker designed his "Inner City Lights" frame with parallel 72.5 degree angles for "inner city aggressive riding."
- Mmmm… lemon chiffon paint.
- Don Walker's Tempus Fugit came to the show with a chromed Deda track bar.
- Plenty of show and all go here with a Dura-Ace crankset and Izumi chain.
- A Phil Wood cog finds its way on to yet another fixie frame at NAHBS.
- Don Walker frames are often found with fantastic paint jobs, and this "Tempus Fugit" was no different.
- Looks fast standing still.
- It seems almost a shame to actually use this chainring!
- And you thought your crankset was fancy looking.
- Beautiful lugwork on the front end of Independent Fabrication's pursuit bike.
- Does this thing fit me? Independent Fabrication creates another dream bike.
- A Zipp rear disc provides a perfect canvas for IF's pursuit bike.
- Even the Selle Italia carbon shelled saddle and HED base bar received the full treatment.
- A beefy Wipperman chain looks up to the challenge.
- Dario Pegoretti was on hand this year.
- Pegoretti brought a number of frames and bikes to NAHBS, including this elegant track bike.
- Brooks saddles were the hot ticket this year.
- Pereira Cycles' fixie wore a leather-wrapped handlebar and Paul Components' new E-Brake brake lever.
- Pereira Cycles displayed a beautiful track bike.
- A bespoke stem wear Tony Pereira's trademark and leather handlebar tape finished with hand-tied string.
- Beautiful dropouts on this Rebolledo track frame.
- Rebolledo's track frame in all its elegant simplicity.
- Polished stainless steel lugs.
- Head tube badge, Rebollledo-style.
- This is not your standard level of finish work!
- Richard Sachs' track frame dropouts get the job done.
- Richard Sachs track bike, ready to hit the banking.
- Only the patient few will earn this head tube logo.
- Perfectly chromed bar and stem on the front end of this Roark.
- Sugino was the popular track crankset of choice.
- Roark crafted this logo from copper-plated aluminum.
- Pictures do not do this bicycle justice.
- Deep section Zipp 909 front wheel provides plenty of room for paint.
- I'll take it!
- Custom-shaved and polished Chris King headset.
- Plenty of glimmering metallic paint on a Zipp 909 rear disc topped off with a Dugast tubular.
- Simple and purposeful.
- Roark engineer Jim Zoellner says this seat tube shaping took "a lot of time".
- Cleanly shaped and welded seat tube cutout.
- More chrome!
- Roark shaved and polished the upper cup of this Chris King headset as well, and also included a copper-plated aluminum headset spacer.
- Selle Italia's Storika was mounted atop another copper-plated bit.
- Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles doesn't just want to be known for his ornate machines, but also his full-on race bikes as well, including his new "Speedvagen" project.
- Vanilla Bicycles' trademark dropout.
- We're not exactly sure how this works, but Vanilla Bicycles fits a carbon fi'zi:k Arione K:1 to a Thomson head and a semi-integrated seat post.
- The upper section of this Chris King headset is integrated directly into the bottom of the stem.
