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North American Hand Made Bicycle Show -
San Jose, California, March 2-4, 2007
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Part 4 - Handbuilt for the dirt
By James Huang in San Jose, CA
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The NAHBS surely isn't just about bikes built for the road. Last year's show was littered with mountain bikes, particularly of the 29" wheel variety. While the '07 show didn't quite have the same dense population this time around, there were still plenty of mountain and 'cross bikes to be found on the exhibition floor, and few 26" wheels at all.
Yet another mountain bike wheel size format, though, was introduced at the show this year by Kirk Pacenti (former Bontrager builder and now of Bikelugs.com). Pacenti was an early proponent of the 29" wheel movement, and still believes in the bigger wheel concept. However, as a frame designer, "tossing out fundamental frame design principles to accommodate the 29" wheel just doesn't sit well with me."
The alternate size he proposed is roughly 27.5" in diameter and essentially splits the difference between the current rivals. To be fair, the 'new' size isn't new at all, but rather uses the old 650B standard that's been around for ages. According to Pacenti, 650B can offer most of the 29" wheel's ability to roll over obstacles, but can retain most of the perceived acceleration advantage of 26" wheels, all while accommodating a broader range of rider sizes.
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"It's just like a pendulum; you get this idea and it grows and takes off, and it goes to an extreme. Fifteen years ago, the view was that, if 16" chain stays were good, 15" ones were better and everyone was going with an elevated stay [in order to reduce the chain stay length]. Here we are, fifteen years later, and we're all back running 16.75" stays. So I kind of view it that way. In general, I think it's the best of both worlds."
Tires on Pacenti's show bike were hand-trimmed and stitched from WTB 29" tires, but Panaracer has apparently signed on to produce proper 650B mountain bike tires. Pacenti says that he's already sold about 500 hundred tires to both Rivendell (who has been advocating the 650B for some time now) and "another company". The idea certainly holds some merit, and we'll be eagerly waiting to see where this one goes (and no, we're not adding 650B wheels to our ongoing 26" vs. 29" experiment, so don't even ask!).
On the cyclocross front, some of the most interesting news came from Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles. After last year's NAHBS, White's backlog ballooned from a fairly reasonable 13 months up to a gargantuan 47 months. "We might as well just call it four years," he said.
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In spite of the seemingly insurmountable workload, White announced the introduction of a new line of cyclocross racing bikes dubbed Speedvagen. White has a strong background in 'cross, but, according to him, the limited run is "less about reminding people about my roots in racing and more about preserving Vanilla as what it is. Right now, with having a backlog of four years, I don't want to feel rushed to have to produce more Vanillas and bring on a workforce and have people build my bikes. I want to keep that as sort of my 'pursuit of craft', but also 'cross is totally near and dear to my heart. I love racing 'cross, I love building 'cross racing machines, and so this was kind of the answer to that."
The Speedvagen bikes will certainly be a departure from what has become the norm for Vanilla Bicycles. First off, in order to have bicycles ready for the '07 'cross season, White is actually bringing in another builder to help get them completed (other Vanillas will remain strictly White creations). As opposed to other ornate Vanillas, Speedvagen will strictly be "a bad-ass racing machine, stripped of what it doesn't really need. This is all about race, and all about going fast. It's not going to be this superfine, delectable paint job. You don't want to worry about your bike; you want to race the hell out of it.
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Indeed, Speedvagen bikes will wear a monochromatic, industrial-hued paint job in contrast to the typically ornate dressings. Performance-enhancing features will include a uniquely integrated seat mast (bearing a cannibalized Thomson head), pared-down stainless steel dropouts, and direct-mount rear brake stubs that are specifically designed around Paul cantilevers to increase braking power and feel instead of standard cantilever bosses.
Speedvagen will consist of only thirty pieces, all of which will be custom-built to measure. White will begin taking applications for the bikes beginning April 1, and applications will be handled on a "first-come, first-serve basis." However, White strongly emphasizes that he wants each of these limited-run bikes to be used as intended: for racing. Obviously, he has no real way to police that edict so we're not sure how exactly applications will be truly handled once received, but rest assured that if your intent is to simply have a Vanilla to display on your wall… well, you're likely better off throwing yourself into that four-year queue.
If things go well, Speedvagen may not be the last of this type of limited run. White says that, "I could easily see it being a limited run for road, being kind of a biannual thing for road and 'cross."
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
- Bohemian Cycles is best known for its intricately lugged road machines but displayed this bold-looking 29er dubbed 'Orange Crush'.
- Just in case you can't remember what the bike is called…
- Dahron Johnson, this one's for you. Anyone else know what kind of headset this is?
- A beautiful lugged stem accompanies the Orange Crush.
- This titanium stop is really more show than go, but it still looks trick.
- Flagstaff, AZ-based Coconino Cycles brought a number of 29er mountain bikes, including this retro-styled model.
- Coconino's head tube badge.
- The halls of NAHBS were still decked with stainless steel this year, but in more subtle amounts this time around.
- New builder Engin Cycles brought a varied stable to the show, such as this clean-looking 29er singlespeed.
- Extravagent? No, but still subtly different.
- White Brothers carbon fiber rigid forks were found on the front ends of a number of mountain bikes this year.
- Independent Fabrication showed this businesslike titanium mountain bike complete with a Cannondale Headshok up front.
- Independent Fabrication dug up some large-diameter titanium head tube stock for this new Headshok-equipped model.
- Kent Eriksen showed a fleet of bikes, including a number of full-suspension frames with varied rear suspension designs such as this one from Maverick.
- Can't decide which rear suspension system you want? Eriksen Cycles doesn't limit your choices to just one (this one's from Ventana).
- Not one, not two, but THREE! Another Eriksen Cycles full-suspension frame variant was found, this time with the rear end off of a Yeti AS-R.
- Along with frames, Eriksen Cycles also showed this particularly clean-looking titanium seatpost.
- San Francisco-based Nelson Titanium Products didn't have to travel too far to get to the show, and brought a handful of choice titanium offerings.
- NTP uses an all-titanium (save for the swing link) rear end on its full-suspension model.
- Hardtails? Yup, hardtails. While they may be dwindling in popularity, titanium is still an excellent material if you're after one.
- A little bit of style from Dan at NTP.
- Looks like a nice, normal hardtail, right? Think again. Pacenti believes its 650B mountain bike wheel size is just right, striking a balance between a 26" wheel's light weight and a 29" wheel's ability to roll over stuff. And no, we're not adding this one to our 26" vs. 29" test!
- Tires on Pacenti's show bike were hand-trimmed from 29er tires, but Panaracer will produce true 650B mountain bike tires for Pacenti.
- White Brothers' modular fork design lent itself to being adapted to work on Pacenti's 650B wheels.
- Peacock Groove's 29er was modeled after a classic hot rod.
- By clocking the rear disc mount forward a bit, the rear wheel on Peacock Groove's 29er singlespeed can be removed without taking off the brake caliper.
- A radical seat tube cutout allows the chainstay length to nearly match that of a 26" bike.
- Tony Pereira built this fully rigid 29er for himself and was dying to get it dirty once the show ended.
- Pereira Cycles' play-on-words head tube badge.
- Internal brake cable routing was a popular theme this year, and the fact that Pereira's 29er used hydraulic disc brakes didn’t stop him from doing it, either. Check out the pear cutout on the lug, too.
- Support struts on the rigid fork meet up with the base of the stem.
- Seven Cycles didn't show any new models at NAHBS, but they did have a gorgeous example of some new paintwork on hand.
- For whatever reason, Jay and Jeremy Sycip decided to craft this old-school MTB.
- Seat stays capped with pennies are a Sycip trademark,
- When was the last time you saw a bar/stem like this? Oh, wait, I used to have one in titanium from now-defunct Dekerf!
- Vanilla Cycles takes things in a slightly different direction with its Speedvagen cyclocross bike.
- Sacha White brazes a set of extended stainless steel bushings directly into the stays to provide a direct, and exceptionally low-profile, mount for the Paul cantilevers.
- Sacha White continues to cannibalize innocent Thomson seatposts, this time to create the top for his newest integrated mast design.
- Rear brake cable is routed directly through a stainless steel tube brazed into the seat tube. Since there is not internal seatpost, the cable can take a straight shot to the brake.
- Rear dropouts on Vanilla Cycles' Speedvagen were typically ornate at the show, but White says production versions will be more purposeful.
- Compression ring on the Chris King headset is integrated directly into the base of White's Speedvagen stem.
- Two-niner advocates Willits Cycles brought this titanium Mountie.
- The Mountie wears a set of super-curvy stays.
- Radical geometry on this relatively tiny Willits Trail King helps smaller riders utilize the larger wheel format.
- Yum!
- Wolfhound Cycles is a big fan of 29" wheels, but that doesn't mean it can't pull off a beautiful 26" bike.
- Just like last year, mountain bikes at NAHBS were predominantly of the 29" wheel format.
- Rear disc mount is neatly tucked in between the chain stay and seat stay.
- Another intricate head tube badge.
- Intriguing eccentric rear dropouts from Wolfhound Cycles.
- Extra strut adds a bit of front end stiffness.
- Another tasty one.
- Swoopy stays from Wolfhound Cycles.
