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While the public may know about the Vanilla Workshop and Speedvagen, they might not know the inner-workings or exactly how the two brands operate under one roof. There’s a misconception that Sacha White runs the whole show with maybe one or two other people. When in reality, it takes a whole team to keep things moving.
Recently, the Vanilla Workshop and Speedvagen shared a little insight to help people better understand what really makes them move. Read on below!
It’s been an incredibly busy, but very productive few days here in Louisiana with the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge and the Rouge Roubaix itself. I’ll have a race report up shortly, as well as a few posts showcasing each of the builder’s teams. For now, I’d like to thank Breadwinner, Argonaut, Mosaic, everyone who raced or helped out and Will Jones from the Rouge Roubaix.
Velocity Dually rims have been helping builders get a little plumper in the realm of rigid mountain bikes. One such builder is Curtis Inglis from Retrotec, who took advantage of the Dually platform with this rather gargantuan 29+ MTB.
Large frames tend to be on the gaudy side, but the Panaracer FatBNimble tires and seemingly-balanced proportions give this bike a rather pleasant stance. You almost don’t notice the gigantic head tube and massive standover.
Last year’s Rouge Roubaix coverage was a huge success, so this year, we’re heading back with even bigger plans. A group of American framebuilders have assembled teams to compete in the event and to make things interesting, each company chose one lucky individual to be on their team via an application process.
These wild cards each have a custom bike waiting for them in Baton Rouge where they will compete alongside their new teammates. The teams are: Team Argonaut, Team Breadwinner, and Team Mosaic. This has been aptly dubbed the Rouge Roubaix Builder Challenge. Last but not least, we’re all lucky enough to have Chris Diminno from Chris King Gourmet Century on hand to provide nutrition. We’re gonna need it!
The Radavist will be on hand, documenting the bikes, the teams, the main event and some of the vernacular found in this truly unique part of the United States. If you’re going to be at the Rouge Roubaix, say hello and if you’re racing this weekend, best of luck!
Photos by Bob Huff
Sure, the paint, the build kit and everything about this bike is dialed. However, it’s easy to overlook that disc caliper mount. On the chainstay, there’s a hole that punches straight through, reducing vibration from the frame to the disc. That’s pretty ingenious.
See more photos at the Speedvagen Flickr.
Moots have been making moves over the past year to redefine some of their lineup. Their Psychlo X got an overhaul and inspired the Routt, which then spawned the Routt 45 and while that might be exactly what you want, or need, they also offer custom designs.
This all-road is one of those custom designs and it features one hell of a build kit. That super tricked out ENVE GRD fork made its first appearance on this bike, as well as those new 12mm thru-axle King hubs (more to come on those). One other detail worth noting is the prototype ENVE seat post, with a double clamp mechanism – a vast improvement over the current design.
Overall, this was my favorite titanium bike at the show because it not only looks capable, it looks confident.
Shouts to Mike Cherney for making every. single. one. of those Moots head badges by hand!
You don’t often see track bikes like this at NAHBS. Fixed gears, sure. Street-track bikes, yeah, you bet. But a Czech national track star’s personal race machine? That’s a first for me. Repete Cycles brought this stealthy beast to NAHBS and it won me over.
AX Lightness bar, stem and post, along with Mavic Comete track wheels and an SRM system. This isn’t your typical track bike. Raced by Jan Kraus for Repete, the 21 year old Czech Team Representative has quite the number of accomplishments under his belt. Do they wear belts with skinsuits? See Jan’s track record at the Repete Cycles Facebook.
Casey Sussman from Mars Cycles‘ work has been featured here on the site before. Coincidentally, it was during last year’s NAHBS that I bumped into him on the street and shot his track bike. This year, he had a booth in the “rookie” hall and brought this icy cross bike.
With paint by Jordan Low, leather work by Mark Christian Bolick of Suture Saddles and a mix of Columbus tubing, including a stainless downtube with stainless blades, Casey’s work really stood out in the hall. Maybe that’s what landed him the People’s Choice award?
This video popped up in the Oddity Cycles 29+ thread and I felt like it could use a share. Thanks to Breed007 for linking us to it!
Now, I’ll admit that the Yo Eddy! 29’r had me pretty stoked but I was more drawn to the 27.5″ version. Not that the 29’r doesn’t look like a great bike, it was just missing something… Something signature and iconically Chris Chance.
Segmented forks made the older Yo Eddy! frames in my opinion and after seeing the rigid 27.5 version at NAHBS, I knew what was missing with the 29r. My rigid Indy Fab was modeled after the old Yo Eddy! frames and it’s long been my favorite MTB. It has an iconic look that feels very Somerville.
Personally, if I were to buy a new Yo Eddy! frame, I would spring for the rigid fork option. Just look at that damn bike! It’s a perfect balance of modern components with just the right amount of throwback style. The build kit rounds out functionality nicely with XTR, a dropper post, brand spankin’ new WTB carbon rims, White Industries hubs and those nice n plump WTB 2.25″ Trail Boss tires.
While the 29r could tackle my local trails with ease, this rigid would make things a lot more interesting. Then, when your wrists and back start hurting, throw a Rock Shox on it and jam on.
Like the big brother of this frame, this one’s a prototype. Custom drawn stays are on the way and the geometry might take a bit of tweaking. Hopefully, me and Mr Yo Eddy! can spend some quality trail time together soon. Keep up to date on all things at Fat Chance Bicycles.
For Mosaic Cycles, they don’t grind gravel, they just go on road rides. Roads that are mostly dirt, so when Aaron decided to make a bike for ‘all-road’ conditions, he didn’t have to change much, aside from tire clearances. He did however add a few braze-ons for versatility reasons. Fender and light rack mounts are the most obvious additions. This particular frameset includes the new Ethic Industries fork. The GS1 is offered both as a steel bike, built from True Temper S3 tubing, or a titanium frame, with a geometry slightly tweaked for off-road or all-road riding.
The GS1 is designed to ride better on those long days in the saddle on dirt. This is one bike that has intrigued me and I’ll be able to actually ride it in the near future as part of a long-term review. Stay tuned…
If you’re intrigued, holler at Mosaic, where they’ll be more than happy to answer your questions or build you a bike of your own.
“The bike is just a vessel in a sea of play” is Machine Cycles’ mantra. Builder Kyle Ward is left-handed, an architect and an artist who happens to enjoy building bicycle frame. From the few moments we spent discussing design and custom bicycles, I could tell Kyle has that special spark that motivates people to do great things. Or at least really beautiful things…
This bike wowed me at first and continued to with each new detail that I discovered. That paint? Inspired by a pair of socks Kyle was wearing the day he painted the bike. The navy blue fork and saddle are beautiful touches and the turquoise notes accent the matte brown. For tubing, there’s a lot going on: True Temper OX Platinum with stainless stays and a custom titanium stem.
Days get long photographing bikes at NAHBS, but this one was a pleasure. That bike has a mean stance, yet a soft and playful demeanor. Machine Cycles has a really great website, so head on over and check it out.
For it being LoveBaum Bicycles‘ first year at NAHBS, I’d say it was a successful one. Winning the “Rookie” award is quite the honor for the framebuilding pairing from Denver. While their curved seat tube track machine was very much about performance and style this bike is all about customization. Chad Lovings, the other half of LoveBaum, recently completed this build, an all-road bike that oozes that ever-present NAHBS panaché.
For starters, the client’s initials have been carved from the seat tube cluster lug. A bold, cursive KP with crisp lug lining is the highlight of the frame, while other details like the internal routing and custom stem are equally as pristine, yet flow so well, they disappear in the overall package.
Built from a True Temper S3 and Nova, Chad used Fillet Pro to create smooth transitions, tube to tube. Finally, a rust orange and forest green sparkle paint job makes this bike pop with gold lug lining and dropout cell fill. For the build kit, the client went with Ultegra Di2, ENVE, Challenge Almanzo tires and Chris King.
Does this bike deserve the “Rookie of the Year” award? Oh yeah…
For Alchemy Bicycles developing a new frame takes time. With a busy production schedule, an in-house paint department and juggling the day to day operations, there isn’t much time for R&D. So you can imagine how long this bike has been in the works. As their first carbon MTB frame, the Oros translates to mountain in Greek. Naming it was easy, developing it was not. The Denver based brand had to completely rethink construction.
Because Alchemy is using a unique tube-to-tube technique, they’re able to visualize the frame as a whole, while engineering and developing each section of the frame individually. The stays are shaped and continue to flow with the top tube, ending in a beefy head tube. While I can’t go into to much detail about their technology, I am eager to take it for a spin. Moves like this aren’t easy for small frame builders, but it’s evident this bike has a promising future ahead of it.
Fit with Shimano’s Di2 XTR, Fox suspension, ENVE carbon and Maxxis tires, this bike is a trail ready machine. While I don’t have a scale, the Oros feels well balanced and yeah, pretty damn light. The geometry is still in the prototyping phase, so we’ll omit those details. Once the Oros is ready for production, I’ll post updates. For now, see it in person at NAHBS, booth 501.
Aptos, California’s Black Cat Bicycles is a jack of all trades and a master of them all. Fit, frame construction and paint are all done in house by Todd Ingermanson, the self-described one man dance party. His bikes are purpose-driven with elegance. Todd will always fit a bend or two in one of his bikes.
Having been shredding a mountain frame from him over the past few weeks, I can attest to how they ride.
For NAHBS this year, Todd brought a couple of gems with him. An Operation Thunder Monkey rowdy 29’r hard tail and this all-road disc bike. Fitted with Clément X’plor USH tires, a Brooks Cambium, Shimano from head to toe and a custom fillet stem it’s hard to overlook this cherry red beauty. Oh and that paint, yeah…
While we’re on the subject, head over to Black Cat Bicycles to see Todd’s brand new website and follow him on Instagram!
LoveBaum is a framebuilder pairing from Denver, Colorado started by Chad Lovings and Bryce Baumann. The two initially met in Rifle, Colorado at Yamaguchi’s framebuilding school. Shortly after leaving, they decided to begin building together under the name LoveBaum.
The two bikes at NAHBS bearing the LoveBaum name immediately caught my attention in the rookie builder hallway. The first being this curved seat tube track bike. Made from a mix of True Temper and Columbus Life tubing, Bryce intends to put its stiffness and design to the boards at his local velodrome.
White Industries hubs laced to no-name carbon rims and Challenge Pista tires are powered by the AARN chainring and Dura Ace cranks, polished to a shine. With custom leather work by Carson Leh, the contact points on this bike are different than your average track bike.
A Leh top tube protector keeps the custom fillet brazed bar and stem from chipping the top tube’s beautiful pearlescent paint. This is probably one of the most elegant track bikes at the show and has won me over.
Each year, NAHBS presents challenges. Both to frame builders and believe it or not, me. As “media” it’s my job to document these bikes and deliver delicious galleries to you, the readers. Now, don’t interpret that in a negative light, because truthfully, it’s my favorite time of year.
Over the past few years, there have been plenty of spaces to photograph bikes, especially outside. This year however, mother nature dropped a blanket of ice and snow on NAHBS’ host city of Louisville, Kentucky. Which presented me with a problem…
Backtracking a bit… For the past few weeks, I’ve been checking out Google street view and photos of the convention center only to realize, I’d spend a lot of time photographing bikes indoors. Luckily, I’ve come prepared and while I don’t think everything is completely dialed in just yet, I’m a lot more confident with my setup.
Tonight, the kind people at Henry James allowed me to experiment some on their two beautiful Stinner Frameworks Disc Cross Bikes. The first one being Ryan from Henry James’ wife’s bike. Jenny’s an avid mountain biker and this will be her first “drop bar” bike. To give her confidence, Ryan decided to go with disc brakes and SRAM’s CX-1 group, the closest thing to her MTB kit. From there, Boyd‘s disc cross rims and Chris King’s components topped off this bike with ease.
As for the paint, there’s only one man who paints bikes like that: Jordan Low. His paint design and execution really brought Aaron from Stinner Frameworks’ craftsmanship… and those colors!
Everything in this photo represents the highest of high end: EE brake calipers, Lightweight Meilenstein Scharz edition wheels, on a JPS-inspired Baum Corretto frame. Head over to Above Category for more photos.