RoadBikeReview and Mtbr had a chance to chat and interview Sean Walling of Soulcraft (Petaluma, CA). Unfortunately the video interview we did got hit by gremlins and turned out too poorly to post. We did, however, salvage some studio photos of a couple of his bikes.

This is the Soulcraft steel cross bike - The Dirt Bomb.
Features
» Custom fit
» “Selectron” rider specific custom tubeset
» Sloping top tube
» Reinforced seat collar insert
» DKG removable seat clamp (with QR Option)
» Externally butted head tube
» Gusseted head tube/downtube junction
» Internally relieved BB shell
» Sealed tubeset (no vent holes)
» Available with Soulcraft unicrown straight blade fork
» Top tube routing with roller on back of seat tube for use with road front derailleurs
» 35c tire clearance
» Standard road crank (39/53) compatibility
» Singlespeed option

For photos of the Soulcraft 29er singlespeed hardtail mountain bike (Holy Roller), check out the NAHBS coverage on our sister site: Mtbr.com.

website: http://www.soulcraftbikes.com/

(note: the customers name and bike serial number were digitally removed for privacy)

Portland turned out to be an excellent host city for the Handmade Show.

We flew in to Portland from LAX first thing Saturday morning, walked out the airport doors and stepped on to the waiting Max lightrail. A quick 40 minute train ride costing only $2 and we were dropped off at the Convention Center, home of the Handmade Show for the weekend. The glaring differences in the two cities’ mass transit infrastructures were already smacking us in the face. Portland had just provided the first of several pleasant surprises to these jaded out of towners.

On to the show! Our first stop was to check in with the Roadbikereview / MTBR booth. Francis, Gregg and new-guy Thien were already cranking, bringing some of the custom bikes into their booth for photo coverage, as well as bringing the builders themselves in for personal one-on-one interviews on video.

At first glance the venue looks fairly small. Much smaller than Interbike in fact and you assume, falsely, that you can see the entire show in a couple of hours. Its not until you’ve seen the work of only two builders in an hour that you realize its going to be a much longer day that anticipated. At the Handmade show, the amount of “filler” exhibits is almost non-existent. That is, there are hardly any booths that you pass by from lack of interest. Everything warrants stopping. Whether its something that halts you in your tracks such as a frame made of wood, or maybe its a small crafted detail that registers in your subconscious as you pass by and makes you stop and backtrack to determine what it was that you think you just saw. In most cases you’re left gawking at some cleverly designed detail. A lugged stem, a unique fork, a pump peg, a dropout. Or something radical like a drivetrain-mounted disc brake from California’s Sycip.

Or a custom made stem face plate from Colorado’s Moots that doubles as headlight mount.

NAHBS is a show about detail. You will waste your day by observing bikes solely as a whole machine. Yes you will see beautiful bicycles, but overlook the fine details and you will have missed the creative nuances that set the framebuilders apart.

Hammered & polished lugs from Florida’s Villin Cycle Works.

Double chain stays from Portland’s own Ahearne Cycles.

*******

Beer Break

Time to take 5 and sit down with a cold one to process everything that has been in our faces so far; far too many amazing bikes, gracious and approachable framebuilders, celeb sightings such as Lance Armstrong and Robin Williams - both cruising the booths along with everyone else, and getting a peek at cool production components like the new Shimano 29er mtb wheelset.

Also scattered about the show were creative bits like this belt buckle from White Industries, designed for you to mount your favorite cog or freewheel to, cowboy.

Also spied at the White Ind. table was their swanky new set of track hubs. Note the splined cog/hub interface.

We checked back in with the RBR guys and as usual they were still hustling builders into their ad-hoc studio, seen here with the guys from Austin’s True Fabrication.

detail of faux pitting and rust on a new True Fab mountain frame

We were officially overwhelmed. We had met Richard Sachs, Jeff Jones and Dario Pegoretti. We had left our fingerprints on countless glossy tubes. We had snapped camera shutters and popped flashes until batteries ran dead. It was time to go.

Portland now offered us a spectacular range of options for nightlife and we dove right in. Getting around town was once again a piece of cake. Walking, riding or taking the Max (free in the Business district!). There are bicycles everywhere in town. Weather be damned, these people are riding. Several places we hit after the show, all withing walking/biking distance were the Rogue Brew House for beer, the Yamhill Pub and Plan B for more beer and another Lance sighting, Clyde Common for dinner and Voodoo Donuts for dessert. We eventually crashed at the uber-hip Ace Hotel, drifting off to sleep while trying to remember which builders were going to be a must-see on Sunday.

Sunday morning brought a hot shower, recharged camera batteries and a hot cup of Portland’s Stumptown Coffee. We caught the Max and were off to the show in no time.

Curtlo-built commuter frame at the Rohloff booth, utilizing a belt-driven drivetrain. Note the single S&S coupler used to separate the chainstay for belt installation and removal.

Custom-molded-to-your-butt carbon fiber saddles offered by California framebuilder Ybarrola.

A make-shift shrine to our recently lost comrade Sheldon Brown.

We took several more laps of the venue, catching things we had overlooked the day prior and re-appreciating things we had already stared at and smiled. We left the show with enough time left in the day to visit River City Cycles, home of the handmade Full Wood wooden bicycle fenders. What a beautiful shop!

Next up was lunch and beer at Lucky Labrador Brewing and catching the amazing bicycle photography exhibit put on by Rapha clothing and Rouleur Magazine.

It was a short weekend, jam packed with goodness. The weather was kind to us. Our luggage was stuffed with brochures, business cards, pint glasses, decals, clothing and other miscellaneous swag. And our bank accounts were given reprieve from what could have been a disastrous weekend for our financial stability. There were plenty of opportunities to justify the need for “just one more” bicycle in the stable.

Thank you Portland! See you all next year in Indianapolis.

We chatted with Tom Milton of Selle Anatomica saddles and he showed us his interesting array of products.

Their main product is the Titanico LD saddle for $175. The leather is very soft and very waterproof. The distinctive feature is a cut-out in the leather that optimizes comfort by through better understanding of the human anatomy.

The saddle has many fans among the mtbr and roadbikereview users. Many manufacturers as well sing its praises. Another advantage is no break-in time required unlike the popular Brooks saddles.

The saddles are reinforced with a laminate for strength and durability.

(more…)

Sam Whittingham from Naked Bicycles and Design (Quadra Island, BC, Canada) shows off this stunner! Sam’s hard work was well rewarded, as he swept the 3 biggest categories of this years Handmade Show (President’s Choice Award, People’s Choice Award, and Best of Show Award).

This custom build featured two holes placed interestingly within the frame itself, with one hole directly through the top tube, to allow secure locking of the bike. It also included an eccentric rear wheel dropout, wooden rims, wooden grips, and many other exceptional features. It was definitely one of the most unique bikes, at a show filled with unique bikes.

Congrats, Sam! It couldn’t have gone to a nicer guy!

website: http://www.timetogetnaked.com/

Sheila Moon, designer and owner of Sheila Moon Athletic Apparel (San Francisco, CA) shows us the latest offerings from her US made product line.

website: http://www.sheilamoon.com

Show organizer, promoter, and all around main man of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, Don Walker gives us some insight into running the show, as well as a couple of his track bikes.

Not just a show organizer, Don builds as Don Walker Cycles “Full Kilt Bikes” (Speedway, Indiana). First we see Don’s own personal lugged steel track bike. Then Don shows us one of his more performance oriented bikes, a fillet brazed racing bike with aero down tube and seat stays.

Don really hit one out of the ball park this year, in regards to the popularity and success of the this year’s Portland show! Regardless of where it’s held, we wish Don the best for all of his future shows, and RoadBikeReview and Mtbr.com are glad that we were able to be a part of this year’s show. Thanks, Don!

website: www.donwalkercycles.com

Brano Meres brings by his Carbon bike called the C-Thru (for obvious reasons)…

Website: bmeres.com

Carl from Vicious brings by this HOT bike to show off what is available in the Road catagory from Vicious Cycles.

Website: viciouscycles.com

Jay SyCip stops by to show off a single speed cross bike… funk and flava included.

Jay and Jeremy are old local (Santa Rosa) friends of Francis’.

Website: http://www.sycip.com

Mark Lynskey dropped by with a brand new never before seen bike. A new process of bike building for Lynskey, this bike features not only an intricate tubeset, but the tubing has been given a corkscrew rifling effect. This helps the bike produce the highest weight to strength ratio Lynskey has ever developed.

website: http://lynskeyperformance.com/