www.handmadebicycleshow.com Colorado Convention Center, Denver, February 22-24, 2013 In this issue Register online now! Exhibitor News Builders a

nahbs2013 news

www.handmadebicycleshow.com
Colorado Convention Center, Denver, February 22-24, 2013

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Register Online for NAHBS

Online registration for NAHBS is now open and those that do so come out two-time winners! Not only do you save $4/day with online registration, but also you collect your door pass from the fast-flowing Will Call window rather than the glacial wait of the on-the-day registration windows.
For ticket prices, show hours and registration, click here.

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Register online to save money and beat the ticket line, like this one at the 2012 NAHBS!

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Exhibitor News

With 145 exhibitors, including seven new builders, and a flurry of applications still arriving, NAHBS is quickly heading for another full-capacity show. Most notable among the 2013 registrations are 16 from Japan.

Among other countries, four are coming from the United Kingdom, three from Italy, three from Canada and one from the Czech Republic.

31 exhibitors are from Colorado, which is about half the number of Californian exhibitors when NAHBS was in Sacramento last year. Only thing is, Colorado has about 5 million people compared to 38 million in Calfornia. Is this an indicator of the role bicycling plays in Colorado's state economy?

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Overhead view of the 2012 NAHBS show hall

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Builders and Their Teams

The words is that handmade frame builders love to support 'cross teams. Richard Sachs has sponsored a team since 1981, and in recent years he has brought in RGM Watches as a title sponsor.

More recently Don Walker started the Rio Blanco Racing team, which he sponsored with frames and equipment. This became the Don Walker Cycles Racing Team. Also in central USA, Tim O'Donnell's Shamrock Cycles has become a regular fixture on the Indiana 'cross circuit in the past three seasons.

On the west coast, a rash of builders support racing teams. Retrotec, Soulcraft, Caletti, to name only a few.

And to all the NAHBS exhibitors who sponsor teams that we have not mentioned in this news item, let us know and we will mention you in a forthcoming NAHBS Newsletter.

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The 2012 Don Walker Cycles racing team... he's the moustachioed one in the middle.

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Cycling in Denver

In case you weren't aware, Colorado is among the most cycling-friendly states in the USA. In 2012 the League of American Bicyclists ranked the state of Colorado number four, below Massachussets and above Oregon, in its Cycling Friendly States table. Denver, which has silver status in the LAB's Cycling Friendly Communities list, has more than 80 miles multi-use trail, 96 miles of bike lanes, 41 miles of sharrows and almost 400 miles of signed bike routes.

Rules for Cycling in Colorado

Denver Bike Map PDF
Denver Bike Trails

Advocacy Groups
Bike Denver
Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder
Bicycle Colorado

Bike Rentals (Need some recommendations)
Bike Share (re-opens mid-March) Denver B Cycle

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What the Builders Say

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A word with Brad Cason of Kirklee Bicycles

For KirkLee, NAHBS is important because it gives a place where potential customers can view and run their fingers over their bikes in person and meet the guys who build the bike. The customer can get a feel of the design philosophy and make a decision on purchasing at the show. In addition, it is a place where builders can build relationships with their peers.
From a business standpoint, KirkLee feels that if they could just do one show, it should be NAHBS because there is a larger number of people who see your work than any other show. In addition the media (print, online, bloggers, from multiple countries) at NAHBS is focused on the custom builder so to some extent you have to view the actual show as half and the virtual show as the 2nd half. The meetings KirkLee have at NAHBS seem to have a lasting effect in that they will get phone calls 6 months later saying "I spoke with you at NAHBS and now I am ready for my KirkLee".

KirkLee feels that the best thing to get out of NAHBS is the appreciation for what they do. "During the late nights perhaps you start to think 'am I the only one that appreciates the fine details that add hours to the build?' When we get to NAHBS, those thoughts end, and it is all worthwhile. NAHBS is the one time of the year where a frame builder can feel like a rock star."

From the blogs

A-Train Cycle gets a feature in Cycle EXIF... A short video of Bamboosero owner, Craig Calfee, talking about the vision of the project, his passion for the bike, and the future of the industry... Bilenky recaps the Bilenky Junkyard Cross 2012 event along with some stuff for sale on his ebay account from his pre-spring cleaning... Bob Keller gives up some vacation time during the Holidays to work on projects and prepare for NAHBS... Paved Magazine swoons over Calfee's 14 pound Dragonfly Pro bike that was featured at NAHBS last year... A rare glimpse into the Demon Frameworks workshop... Dave Anderson guest blogs on the Kelson Blog recapping the great Lotoja Bike Race... Predator Cycling has announced a fully-funded elite cycling team, competing in the NCC and USA crit series, at the national-level... Due to popular demand, Speedhound Bikes has announced that a disc brake option is now available only for the ONLY ONE frame set... Tanner Good comes out with a beautiful yet functional field camera bag... United Bicycle Institute is now offering a very limited class on performing complete service on FOX products.

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Support Our Sponsors!

These are the companies that help NAHBS get better and better each year. We encourage you to choose their products.

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That's all for this issue of NAHBS News. Thanks for taking a few minutes to read our latest, and feel free to forward this to any friends or business colleagues you think might be interested. And look out for the next issue in two to three weeks' time!

Paul Skilbeck
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