Speedway, Indiana - After protracted speculation and negotiations, and what seemed like a thousand requests from cities all over, the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show has decided on a venue for 2009 in what will be its fifth year of operation. The venue for the ‘09 show will remain a closely-kept secret until the awards ceremony in the show hall at 3 p.m. Sunday 10th February.

The flourishing handmade bicycles show features 156 exhibitors from three continents. It is accepted as the place to meet the builders of the world’s most beautiful bikes, and with its series of seminars and expert panels is the foremost information exchange in the handmade cycling industry. The nature of the meetings is not only between customers and builders, but also a place for builders to meet builders, and component and accessory manufacturers meet builders.

“The industry needed a place for everybody to gather and talk about hand made bicycles from their particular perspective, that’s really what it’s all about. Now it’s gotten popular, we have to keep moving because it’s only fair to bring the show to within a day’s drive of each of the major cycling centers around the nation. Of course this makes a lot more work for me, the guy who has to make all the arrangements, but I’m interested in providing the best service that I can to all concerned with the show. I may not be Hemingway, but I still think of the show as a moveable feast,” says show director, Don Walker.

The venue for the ‘09 show will be a closely-kept secret until the awards ceremony in the show hall at 3 p.m. Sunday 10th February.

Apart from having the requisite convention center, here are a few features of the new venue:

* The governor of the state concerned wrote to express his desire to host the show
* The host city is within one day’s drive of approximately 100 million people
* The state concerned is adding $20 million a year to build, expand and link the state’s trail systems, and sees bicycling as a major part of that
* Three micro-breweries are situated within two blocks of the expo hall, and the host hotel is right across the road
* The city is regarded as one of the most hospitable in the USA

“Frankly, I think if I can move NAHBS around the country, running the show almost single-handed, then other trade shows probably could too… if they really wanted to provide that level of customer service,” states Walker, who may not be Hemingway but has never been afraid to speak his mind.

About The North American Handmade Bicycle Show
Having started with 23 exhibitors in Houston, Texas, in 2005, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is dedicated to showcasing the talents of individuals around the world whose art form is the bicycle. It aims to be a gathering point – online and in person – for framebuilders, tubing and component manufacturers, and consumers looking for custom-made bikes; for the sharing of ideas; and for the promotion of this industry and its traditions. For more information, see www.handmadebicycleshow.com.

SPEEDWAY, Indiana–According to industry experts the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS), presented by Don Walker, sheduled for February 8-10 at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland Oregon, is the main reason for the flourishing high-end niche market for handmade bicycles in North America.

This is good for the whole cycling industry, because as in Formula One car racing, some of the cutting-edge ideas on the industry’s top shelf seep down into the mass market models over the years.

The show, which has grown in the space of four years from 23 exhibitors to a sell-out of 187 booth spaces, with 150 exhibitors, has become the world’s largest trade/consumer show for custom-built bicycles.

Frame builders say this concentration of activity and the media attention surrounding it has helped them take back a share of the high end bicycle market from mass manufacturers. But the effect of the NAHBS is not only to swell the order books of the frame builders exhibiting at the show. Those in and around the handmade frame industry credit the show with focusing public attention on the most desirable machines in the bicycling world, and at the same time raising the quality of work across the board.

“Forty years ago, South London was the center of the made-to-measure frame building universe. Forty years on, the axis has shifted to the USA. Why? Forget the economics, dynamics, mathematics and polemics, the short and simple answer is NAHBS,” says Neil Hassan, who runs www.frameforum.org , the most popular forum for frame building worldwide.

One of the keys to the success of the NAHBS is the industry seminars, in which leaders in several areas of the field give master classes on subjects as diverse as working with carbon fiber and titanium, frame geometry for special purposes, bike fit, and paint choices. Thus the younger builders learn quickly from those more experienced. On the show floor, too, builders can see the work of their peers, often gaining inspiration and motivatin from that. “These are essential parts of the show, in fact, this was one of the main reasons we started the show,” says its founder and chief sponsor, Don Walker–who is also a well-known builder specializing in track bicycles.

Richard Sachs, who is widely regarded as the one of the leading frame builders in the world, says: “Not since the 1970s has there been such an interest in the handmade bicycle frame. There was a time that framebuilders were at the vanguard, and industry often looked to them as the trendsetters and laboratories for all things innovative. The NAHBS weekend is a way for consumers, media, and framebuilders too, to judge for themselves whether the 21st century iteration of this segment is about ye old, or quaint, or, as I suspect, more innovative and technologically relevant than ever. This industry has never been more viable than it is today, and the show in Portland shines a bright light on all the pioneers as well as the Next Wave of framebuilders who will set trends and make markets for generations to come.”

Another big name in handmade frames is Independent Fabrication. Spokesman Matt Bracken says “I am 100% sure that the NAHBS has helped bring the focus back to handcrafted, made in America framesets. Looking at the growth of the show from 2004 to the present is miraculous to say the least. In 2004, 23 builders held the first NAHBS in Houston, and this year alone we will see 100+ builders from all over this great country descending on Portland to show off the love, sweat, and passion for making rideable art. Independent Fabrication is proud to be standing tall with our fellow builders showcasing what is new, what is fun, what is colorful and what can be ridden at the upcoming show in Portland. Spending time with all of these multi-talented builders is a real honor and we hope to make the most of it with swapping ideas, sharing stories, and kicking back meeting all of the enthusiastic cyclists who will be travelling from all over the country to attend this event.

Over the past ten years the industry as a whole has focused on price , value and consolidation. The NAHBS is similar to what is happening across the country in cool micro-breweries in every state. People want taste, character, and unique flavor; all of which can be found at your local frame builder, as well as your local brewery!”

And Jan Heine, publisher of the magazine “Bicycle Quartely,” which regularly reports on the handmade bicycle industry, commented that “in the past four or five years, the handmade bicycle scene in the USA has grown tremendously. The NAHBS show has given builders a unified voice and provided exposure. Before that, every builder seemed to toil alone in relative obscurity. Thanks in no small part due to the NAHBS show, the media has given more of a voice to custom builders.”

The NAHBS is the most accessible portal for the media to reach frame builders, and so it has become immensely popular with the press as well as the industry and general public.

About The North American Handmade Bicycle Show

Having started with 23 exhibitors in Houston, Texas, in 2005, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is dedicated to showcasing the talents of individuals around the world whose art form is the bicycle. It aims to be a gathering point — online and in person — for framebuilders and consumers looking for custom-made bikes, for the sharing of ideas and promotion of this industry and its traditions. For more information, see http://www.handmadebicycleshow.com.

SPEEDWAY, Indiana–The North American Handmade Bicycle Show, presented by Don Walker, has become the world’s largest trade/consumer show for custom-built bicycles. Now entering its fourth year, the world renowned custom bicycle show has sold out all 187 exhibitor spaces in the cycling-friendly city of Portland, Oregon.

After starting out in Houston, Texas, in 2005, then spending two years in San Jose, California, The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) has rapidly grown into a “must attend” event for cycling aficionados and the specialist media. In Portland, cyclists are buzzing about what is expected to be one of the key social and commercial events of the year for cyclists in the Pacific Northwest.

“We already have exhibitors from all over the country, and if past years are a guide, we’ll have a lot of attendees from across America, too,” said Don Walker, the show’s director. Altogether, 150 exhibitors from the world of handmade bicycle frames, components, and the cycling media will be there to showcase many of the finest examples of these crafts to be seen anywhere in the world.

Among the featured frame builders exhibiting are Darrell McCulloch of Llewellyn Bicycles from Australia, Dario Pegoretti of Italy, and from the USA renowned craftsmen in the likes of Richard Sachs, David Kirk, R. Brian Baylis and Nick Crumpton.

Leading component manufacturers Shimano, SRAM, Phil Wood and Chris King will also attend the show to display the very latest in high-end componentry.

Top shelf wheel manufacturers Zipp and Rolf Prima will display some of the finest wheels for a range of different purposes, from time trialing to touring.

The cycling press, too, is coming come to the party, with Dirt Rag, Momentum Magazine, Mountain Flyer, Road Bike Action and VeloNews taking show booths to recruit new subscribers from among the 5,000 plus hard core cycling enthusiasts that are expected to attend over two full days and one half day on Friday.

Not only is a wide range of bicycles, components, and literature available at the show, but also the NAHBS offers several bicycling related seminars, with subjects as diverse as bike fit, carbon fiber technology, and getting ready to ride centuries and beyond. Presenting these seminars and panel discussions is a stable of the world’s leading experts on the subjects. More information about these sessions is available at www.handmadebicycleshow.com

NAHBS represents a window into the minds of the world’s greatest bicycle designers. The show provides potential customers with a rare opportunity to meet with these leading lights and choose whom they would like to be their custom frame builder. Many exhibitors at the show report substantial growth in their orders–which is why so many keep returning. And for the builders, the show represents a once-a-year opportunity to talk shop, exchange ideas, and through the industry seminars to pass on valuable snippets of information that benefit the industry as a whole.

The grand finale of NAHBS each year is the show awards, in which exhibitors and the public vote on the best bicycles in 16 different categories, the most coveted of which is the “best of show” award.

The 2008 show will be held in the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, February 8-10. Admission prices and schedule are below.

About The North American Handmade Bicycle Show

Having started in Houston, Texas, in 2005, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is dedicated to showcasing the talents of individuals around the world whose art form is the bicycle. It aims to be a gathering point — online and in person — for framebuilders and consumers looking for custom-made bikes, for the sharing of ideas and promotion of this industry and its traditions. For more information, see http://www.handmadebicycleshow.com.

“Full Kilt Bicycles.” Show director Don Walker holds one of the thoroughbred track bicycles he has crafted. The Don Walker marque has carried a dozen or so riders to medal results at national and international championship track races over the years. Photo: (c) Jessica Lifland the image may be used one time to illustrate a story about the NAHBS, with the following credit line: www.jessicalifland.com