Gallery: Bikes made for the mud on display at NAHBS
- By Logan VonBokel
- Published Feb. 28, 2013
- Updated May. 3, 2013 at 4:06 PM EDT
Bikes Made for the Mud
This Independent Fabrication Planet X stood out from a sea of raw metal frames with its Lamborghini orange and meteorite silver paint. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
True cyclocross riders will love that the derailleur routing is set up for a solid sheath of housing without the four cable stops one would find on a traditionally routed cyclocross frame. Cables will last longer, and much less time is required to replace cables and housing after muddy races. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Richard Sachs' cyclocross bikes are some of the most recognizable and highly sought after bikes on the custom market. Many customers will be on a wait list for years before getting a Richard Sachs RSS CX of their very own. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Not many other bikes on the floor at NAHBS had a UCI approval decal. Richard Sachs sponsors an elite cyclocross team on the east coast, which means his bikes see UCI events nearly every week of the season. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Mosaic Cycles won the NAHBS award for best cyclocross bike with its raw titanium Small Batch racer. Unfortunately, that frame was off at judging when we stopped by, but this beautiful women's frame caught our eye. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
The Moots PsychloX RSL is a favorite among Colorado racers because of its clean lines and because the Moots factory is located in Steamboat Springs. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Along with frames, Moots manufacturers titanium stems, spacers, and seatposts, which give the bike a very clean and complete look. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
It may not look it, but this is one of the bikes that Nicole Duke raced to her third place finish at cyclocross nationals. Alchemy owner Matt Simpson recently opened Chroma Fab, a custom paint shop within Alchemy Bicycles. Chroma Fab gave it new life after nationals with some matte white paint. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Even the Enve disc brake housing guide has been painted in Duke livery. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Alchemy was one of the many Colorado builders at the show. We look forward to the southeast builders coming out in force next year when the show visits Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
This Cielo Cross Racer Disc bike was my personal favorite cyclocross bike of the show. However, I often find myself drawn to orange frames. That, paired with the frame's aggressive racing geometry, this one is a winner in my book. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
The Cielo Cross Racer cantilever version was also on show. Both bikes were sporting yet-to-be-released Chris King press fit bottom brackets. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Cielo paints Enve 'cross forks to match the LeMans-inspired paint scheme of the Cross Racer that year. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Boo bicycles was the only frame maker at cyclocross worlds to use bamboo tubing. Skyler Trujillo raced a Boo RS-X in the U23 event in Louisville. Boo might also be the only bike manufacturer at NAHBS to have its bike ridden in an Elite World Championship in 2013. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
This Engin 'cross racer is a bit of a sleeper with its subtly polished logos and logo-less Rol wheels. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Engin, like several titanium frame makers, makes his own titanium seatposts to keep the bike clean and simple. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
I spotted these TRP HyDr cable-to-hydraulic dual-piston disc brakes at the cyclocross world championships. I would think that seeing them here means that TRP is getting very close to releasing them. And don't let that fancy caliper take anything away from the beautiful titanium dropout. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
This Shamrock Shire was the shiniest 'cross machine at the show. Its polished stainless steel tubes were nearly blinding. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
The rear derailleur and brake cables were some of the cleanest routed cables I've seen, disappearing into the seatstays. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
The rear cables reappear just above the derailleur and disc caliper. The Shire can pull double duty as a single speed if the owner decides to shed some gears. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Breadwinner Cycles made its debut at NAHBS with a small fleet of bikes. The Holeshot is a simple, purpose-built 'cross racing machine. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Ira Ryan, cofounder of Breadwinner, said that this Holeshot he built reflects what he would normally race on. Ryan drills out his Thomson stems to use them as a cable stop for his front cantilever. This cleans up the look of a 'cross bike's front end, while allowing a rider to run a lower stack, depending on the headset. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
Founder of Geekhouse Bikes Marty Walsh talks about the Boston company's Mudville cyclocross bike. Believe it or not, Walsh recently found out he is colorblind, which might have something to do with the light blue and pink paint scheme of this Mudville. Or it could have no bearing on this colorway at all. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
Bikes Made for the Mud
The steel Mudville sports some very clean cable routing, making the top tube easier to grab a hold of when suitcasing the bike over some barriers. Photo: Logan VonBokel | VeloNews.com
FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech / Cyclocross / Gallery TAGS: NAHBS / North American Handmade Bicycle Show
Logan VonBokel
Equally at home on a mountain bike above treeline and chasing down moves in the heat and humidity of a Midwest criterium, Logan Vonbokel is something of an oddity in cycling. Since he first swung a leg over a road bike as a freshman in high school, Logan has been a lover of both cutting-edge technological innovations and the clean lines of classic handmade bikes. Logan joined the tech team in May 2012, bringing with him nearly a decade of high-caliber road racing experience and his undying love for the mud, cowbells, and culture of cyclocross. Logan still races at the Cat. 2 level on the road and in cyclocross, and carries a seldom-used Cat. 1 mountain bike license.
