Oh, and adding to what I write above, just saw at the NAHBS site where that over the top Yipsan won Best City Bike:
http://www.handmadebicycleshow.com/2010/02/2010-shimano-nahbs-award-winners/ Bling works. On Feb 28, 8:30 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote: > I love looking at all the bikes at the shows. Although I get most of them > confused by the end of the day though! > > But yeah, they are "show bikes." Sort of like the concept cars they roll > out at car shows to get attention and create a buzz. Also to highlight the > builder's skill. (I love car shows, too!) > > It would be interesting to know how many sales are generated directly from > the National as well as the smaller shows. I read somewhere that a booth > cost $1,000 at the NAHBS, not to mention transporting everything there and > housing. Quite an investment for those showing their wares. > > > > > > On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 6:17 PM, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> wrote: > > Well, I certainly share your taste in bikes. For the most part I > > prefer darker, somber colored bikes with classic silver components. > > > But I have a hard time faulting the over the top designs at bike > > shows. The bike builders are business people. Assuming bike building > > is their day job, they would have to sell at minimum at three bikes a > > month to make anywhere near a decent living. > > > Much as many of us prefer simplicity, the fact is, loud gets > > attention. Case in point: I went to NAHBS in Indianapolis last year. > > One of my favorite booths was Yipsan where the builder had a classic > > road bike, a functional cross bike and another nice quiet ride. I did > > not bring a camera to the show, so I spent some time on line looking > > for uploaded photos. It took quite some time and hunting about. It > > appears Yipsan got the message, as this year as his rather flamboyant > > mixte and rando are on multiple Flickr collections already, and the > > show is not even over. > > > I do not know whether the attention will garner Yipsan more orders > > this year than last, but suspect it will. One hopes the customers > > chose a more staid design. > > > On Feb 28, 6:41 pm, Jeremy Till <jeremy.t...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > I attended the NAHBS in San Jose three years ago and had the exact > > > same reaction. Give me simplicity and ridden-everyday beausage over > > > technical cleverness and high polish any day. > > > > On Feb 28, 4:32 pm, Marty <mgie...@mac.com> wrote: > > > > > Got to see what all the fuss was about on Saturday morning. Granted, > > > > there was plenty there to be inspired by, but honestly I was a bit > > > > disappointed. Too much bling for me. Too many "sky's the limit" > > > > designs. Too many over-worked wanna-be-masterpieces that showed off > > > > mad skills with torches, welders and spray guns, but lacked the subtle > > > > simplicity that demonstrates the restraint and maturity of a true > > > > master - or the humility and honesty of an up-an-comer. Now I'm not > > > > saying I could do better. I've never built a bike from raw tubes - I > > > > know my limits. But it seems that the premise of the show itself may > > > > be a misnomer when so much of the work is done by CNC driven lasers, > > > > water jets and similar computer controlled machines. IMHO - the > > > > intricate detail made possible by computers adds little to the overall > > > > end result, and in many cases becomes a distraction. I may be alone in > > > > this opinion - there was a whole lot of drool left on everything that > > > > pushed the envelope in that regard. But gone was the Shaker-like > > > > simplicity, practicality and celebration of the fundamental practical > > > > forms that define two-wheeled transportation. No need to look for > > > > innovative little details that mark progress - it was in your face - > > > > chromed, polished and begging for attention. In many respects I felt > > > > as if I may as well have attended a Low Rider bike show. I guess I'm > > > > showing my age here, but the only booths I found myself lingering were > > > > those where the frames were basically triangles, the paint was > > > > basically one color - maybe two, and the overall vibe was that of > > > > timelessness. Hank Folson was there with his Henry James lugs. Richard > > > > Sachs with a pair of dirt-encrusted Cross bikes. Peter Mooney. Chris > > > > Bishop. Bilenky. (Way to haul in the whole workshop guys!) Plenty of > > > > pics on other sites, so you can judge for yourself. I found myself > > > > back my the room looking at the Flickr Rivendell pages just for some > > > > peace of mind. Worked like a charm. > > > > > Marty > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2Bunsubscrib > > e...@googlegroups.com> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- > Cheers, > David > Redlands, CA > > "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something > wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, > scientist guy -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
