Highlights from NAHBS

Yes, I know that NAHBS was two weeks ago.  Quite a bit has happened since then, and this year is looking to be one filled with big changes for me.  More info to come, but until then here are some of my favorite bikes from the show in Sacramento.

First stop was the Retrotec/Inglis Cycles booth, where I met up with Curtis to say hi.  He brought this beautiful double top tube 29er that won ‘Best Mountain Bike’. For the bike geeks out there, notice the Thru Axle on the back, that was a custom fitting brought over from Germany and is supposed to make the rear end of the bike stiffer. The color is ‘Curry’, and I like it!This bike also sports some Enve Composites carbon rims which are super light, tough and astronomically pricy.

Next up was seeing Neil from Cycle Monkey and his Rohloff Speedhub display.  There was always a crowd at this booth, and it looked like Neil was ready for some much earned rest towards the end of the day.This would be the ultimate desk ornament/paper weight, but it costs about twice as much as a working hub.  Apparently taking a perfectly good hub and then going to the trouble to cut it open and give it an autopsy is expensive.

Co-Motion Cycles had a neat touring bike on display, with a Rohloff/belt drive combo, disc brakes and a SON Dynamo hub powering a headlight and GPS unit.  These power converters have been on the market for a couple years now, and I’m becoming more and more interested in trying one out. This particular unit was an E-Werk from Busch and Mueller, but Tout Terrain also makes one that integrates into the fork’s steer tube called ‘The Plug’.Another interesting feature of this bike was the Rohloff Shifter.  I’ve always been against using a drop bar with this transmission system mainly because of the lack of elegant shifter placement options.  This one is made by Gilles Berthoud, a french manufacturer that also produces traditional canvas bicycle luggage, racks and frames. It slides on to the handlebar in three separate pieces, and pops together at the center of the bar.  If I was using this shifter I would consider painting some tool dip on twister area for better grip, but it is a very pretty unit.

More highlights to come soon, and also some big news!