The Bikes of NAHBS 2020 Part 2
From Issue 94
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The North American Handmade Bicycle Show is an annual showcase of the most beautiful and creative bespoke bicycles. Originally planned for the spring, the show has had to be canceled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But it would be a shame not to be able to show off all the bikes in one form or another, so we’re bringing the show that would have been online.
PELOTON
BLACKSMITH CYCLE
This is the new Mosaic Artist Series (#2) featured on an RT-1 Disc titanium bike built for Blacksmith Cycle in Toronto, Canada. The RT-1 is Mosaic’s premium road offering, featuring double-butted titanium tubes for the lightest and most explosive ride possible. The Mosaic Artist Series—created in Boulder, Colorado—blurs the line between art and craftsmanship, embodying everything that makes Mosaic uniquely Mosaic—the belief that form and function are not mutually exclusive. Released on a limited-edition basis, these designs are the fullest expression of this philosophy. The latest addition to the Artist Series is Kaleidosaic in a chartreuse finish. This bike, outfitted by Blacksmith Cycle, features SRAM Red AXS eTap, an ENVE carbon cockpit, and ENVE AR 3.4 wheels. Blacksmith and Mosaic both have multiple NAHBS trophies to their names.
T°RED BIKES
T°RED Bikes, a builder from Lake Garda, Italy, has worked on research and design since 2013 to offer unique bikes made of different alloys, including titanium, niobium steel and AlScaZir, and for every possible use, from track to road to TT to mountain, gravel and cyclocross. Architect Romolo Stanco is the core of the company. If you haven’t heard of AlScaZir, it is a proprietary aluminum alloy developed originally for track bikes and then used for road bikes. Manaia Criterium Speed is the road version of Manaia SixDays Madison that won the Best Track Bike Award at NAHBS 2019. With a fully internal cable system, this bike checks the boxes for criteriums—fast, stiff and aero.
ACCIPITER CYCLES
Inspired by Italian design and twisting Tuscan roads, Accipiter Cycles of Berthoud, Colorado, specializes in handcrafted, lugged steel frames that meet L’Eroica requirements for classic bikes. Accipiter has researched frame designs from the 1960s through the 1980s to create smooth-handling machines that inspire you to take on that extra-long challenge. Each tube is individually selected to not only fulfill the requirements of L’Eroica events but to also accentuate the mechanical design of the frame. Accipiter loves lugs; each one is painstakingly prepared and carved by hand. Once the lug perfectly matches the frame angle, it’s set in place using square-cut nails as a pin—just like the old days—and the outside of the fixture is then brazed. The end product is a frame that looks clean, rides smooth and turns heads.
Frame+fork from $2,000; accipitercycles.com
PEGORETTI ROUND
Pegoretti frames have long been renowned for their craftsmanship and beautiful paint. The company’s latest frame, the Round, takes over the flagship spot in the range, building on the speed and stiffness of the Mxxxxxo frame by using stainless steel and adding a few tweaks to the design. To create a lively feel, stainless Columbus XCR tubing is mated to 3D-printed stainless dropouts, a first for Pegoretti. In the back, the rear triangle has been redesigned and combined with a new brake bridge to increase lateral stiffness. And, don’t worry, the paint is as great as ever. The “Texas Flood” graphic was inspired by the company’s late founder Dario Pegoretti’s love for Austin, Texas, and a belt buckle he brought back to Verona, Italy, from a visit to the Lone Star State.
FAVALORO
Working in Polpenazze, on the shores of Lake Garda, Michele Favaloro has developed a twist of tech in classic Italian frame building. He can build your carbon frame bespoke to your specifications. If you can dream about it, Favaloro will realize it for you with the best carbon fiber available. He has been creating artisanal frames and bikes for 27 years, building his first frames in steel and aluminum, then evolving into carbon fiber. He now offers a carbon gravel e-bike. All it takes to get started on a frame is a few measurements, or you can provide your dream geometry.
Frame kit from $3,500; albabici.com
CORVID
The newest model from Boulder, Colorado’s Chad Corvid, the MAP, was slated to make its debut at the 2020 NAHBS in March. The MAP (More Adventure Please) is Corvid’s light and fast adventure bike. Designed for a 100mm–120mm suspension-corrected fork, up to 29×2.6-inch tires, a dropper seat post and accessory mounts galore, the MAP is the perfect tool for tackling the most challenging adventure races. This build features Shimano GRX drivetrain and brakes; Whisky handlebar and carbon adventure fork; Thomson stem and dropper; White Industries headset, bottom bracket and cranks; and White Industries hubs laced to Astral Outback rims rolling on Panaracer rubber. Custom bags by JPaks are the cherry on top that perfectly complement this build.
DUARTE
Spanning three generations of frame builders, Duarte has been producing high-end bicycles in Colombia for over 50 years, including for riders competing at the highest level in the professional peloton. In 1985 Martin Ramirez even won the Tour de l’Avenir on one of Duarte’s Reynolds frames. The brand’s secret sauce is mixing the strengths of each generation: the grandfather’s soul and experience, his son’s chops at the bench and his grandson’s engineering degrees and passion. Duarte credits a renaissance of Colombian cycling by the likes of Egan Bernal and Nairo Quintana for a boom in orders that has the family producing custom frames at an unprecedented rate. They have the firm intention of demonstrating that their framebuilding chops meet the demands of Colombian escarabajos—as they like to call their cyclists.
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