NAHBS comes to Indianapolis
- By Zack Vestal
- Published Feb. 27, 2009
- Updated Mar. 2, 2009 at 1:53 PM UTC
The fifth North American Handmade Bicycle Show kicks off in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 27- March 1
The night before the North American Handmade Bicycle Show begins, bikes are unpacked, booths are built, and one of the newest trade shows in the country begins to take shape.
Held last year in Portland, Oregon, the annual NAHBS comes to Indianapolis, Indiana, for 2009.
The change of venue does not seem to have hurt attendance, as pre-registration numbers have outstripped those of last year’s show. Exhibitors will number 116 for this year’s NAHBS, and attendance is projected to top 6500. The show has grown rapidly in four years, from 23 exhibitors and 200 attendees at the first show in 2005.
Exhibiting this year will be builders that meet a new, higher standard. After the 2008 show, policy changed to screen builders more carefully and permit only those with product liability insurance, who had completed at least 50 frames, or been in business for two years.
In a press release, Don Walker, the founder and director of the NAHBS, said the change was needed to protect the mission of the show.
“It is always a risk to introduce a policy that raises the bar like this, but NAHBS is a show that presents the best of the best in bicycling, and to be true to this goal we needed to have only the more accomplished frame builders there,” said Walker, who runs Speedway Handmade Bicycle Works out of Speedway, Indiana.
Featured this year are the so-called “Original Six,” those builders who have shown at every NAHBS since it began. Sascha White, Don Walker, Richard Sachs, Mike DeSalvo, Craig Calfee, and Nick Crumpton are the group that has been with the show since 2005. The list of exhibitors also includes classic names like De Rosa, Serotta, Zullo, and Moots, along with component makers SRAM, Shimano, Chris King, HED, and Zipp.
Also new this year is an effort by Richard Sachs and seven others to unite professional framebuilders in a trade group. Working for two years, they have created “The Framebuilders’ Collective” to both honor the heritage of framebuilding craftsmen, and also ensure the future success of the trade. The group, currently representing three countries and eight builders, hopes to attract membership and become a permanent showcase for the talents of professional framebuilders.
Look for show coverage on velonews.com throughout the NAHBS.
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FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech
Zack Vestal
Zack joined VeloNews in 2009, bringing 15 years of industry experience to the Tech Editor position. Most recently manager and mechanic for the Trek-VW mountain bike team (2004-08), he has an unused geology degree from Whitman College (and a well-worn Ph.D. from the school of hard knocks). Vestal covers the latest in cycling gear online, and brings in-depth perspective to the magazine.