NAHBS 2011 – Austin, TX

Last year our booth at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) was our take on a convenience store. We styled everything in it to look and feel like an amalgamation of the all the stores we have come across while riding our bicycles on the backroads of North America.

This year we decided to switch the focus a bit. Class it up and turn all eyes toward the Rapha Bicycle Collection that we unveiled earlier this year. The four bikes were on display. Er..well, three of the bikes were on display. The fourth wasn’t allowed in the show (still not sure why exactly) but no matter, it was being proudly shown nearby at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, which would prove to be a center for all things NAHBS related throughout the weekend.

The booth was a hit if only for the fact that it allowed people to touch and feel the clothing, make a connection to what we have to offer on the site and talk with the builders that we love to hang around. With only 17 dealers around the country it leaves a bit of void when it comes to trying on articles of clothing. The pink V-Neck baselayer was definitely a hit and launched this weekend on the site. People tried to buy is straight off the mannequin, which is usually a good sign. Although when they casually walk away with it, not so much.

The four bicycles in the collection (Cinelli, Ira Ryan + Tony Periera, Independent Fabrication, and Beloved) were the perfect addition to the clothing. Since all of them (besides the aforementioned Beloved) were there showing (Cinelli’s booth was directly adjacent) it allowed the conversations of the weekend to naturally progress to the other builders that we have partnered with. Tony Pereira (who was not showing individually, but was there to check out the show) was on hand to talk about the bike that he is building with fellow Portland, Oregon framebuilder Ira Ryan.

I watched nearby, with a sly grin on my face I’m sure, as he explained mitering tubesets, how they chose the steel and how the duo would actually tackle the process of welding of the frame. Fortunately, this is exactly why we go to the NAHBS, to meet these people, find out what they have to offer and how they got into their particular craft. To have something to say, or at the very least to help facilitate these conversations means that we are, in the immortal words of Charlie Sheen “Winning.”

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit and everyone who made the 2011 North American Handmade Bicycle Show a wild success.