As I was finishing up with Sarah's bike, the Geekhouse crew hit me up. Turns out they were right around the corner and wanted to get one last meal with me from some food trucks. We all met up, ate, chatted bikes, Allston vs. Austin and then Marty tried to get naked with his own Woodville.

This is one slick little city bike. 22-internal gears, achieved by an Alfine in the rear and a Schlumpf on the front. He even managed to score one of the last oval chains from the Shimano rep. Killer huh?

Believe it or not, this concludes all my NAHBS coverage. I might do one or two more posts but not nearly in the frequency I have been. What an overwhelming week it's been! I've upped a few more photos to the NAHBS in 35mm Flickr set from this afternoon so check them out!

Chris Bishop in 35mm

One of my favorite framebuilders is Chris Bishop and this weekend, unlike previous events, I actually got to spend some time with Chris. While I really wanted to interview him while we sat at Whole Foods drinking a bottle of Tripel Karmeleit, I figured he was probably enjoying the afternoon and didn't want to bother him with it. When we did chat, it was mostly about his years as a messenger (he actually still messengers in Bmore every day) and how much he loves to ride a track bike in Manhattan.

Columbus MS in 35mm

Then I came across this interview on Embrocation the other day and I was glad that someone caught Chris' stories on tape. Here's an excerpt:

"Chris clearly thinks that a track bike is the best for city riding. “Manhattan is great for a track bike; that’s traffic slalom all day long.” I have to agree that, especially in bad conditions like rain, snow, and ice, a fixed gear is much more communicative than a bike with a freewheel and brakes—“like driving a stick instead of an auto.” But what about the steep angles and incredibly narrow wheelbase? He described a method of changing a line in which he “pops” the entire bike from one course to another—it reminded me somewhat of the kind of thing one might do on a pump track. "

Man. Is he ever right! In fact, I'm going to go tear through Manhattan now on my Merckx Pista. Read the rest of Chris' interview on Embrocation here. I added a few more photos from my Recent Roll to the NAHBS in 35mm Flickr set.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had it right. Details are what make a project successful and these three photos from my Recent Roll illustrate just that. I shot a whole roll of film on my Canon AE-1 and only three are worth posting here. The rest are on my Flickr.

I tried my hardest to document the process of getting fit for my Geekhouse Woodville but unfortunately, the veil of the "show bike" took over. Usually Marty and the crew cover each bike's process extensively, offering up the client photos of their bike. Now whether or not this is key in the client > builder relationship is debatable. Does it help assure the client? Is the builder looking for approval? Does it muddy the process? These are just a few questions that's raised by documenting a custom bicycle's fabrication. But that's not why I'm raising those points. What I'm trying to do is walk you guys through out process, to make the often overwhelming process of getting a custom bike more attainable.

Check out more below.

When Marty and the Geekhouse crew refused to send me any kind of teaser of my Woodville touring bike during the fabrication process, I knew it'd be good. Sure enough, I showed up at the 2011 NAHBS at their booth while they were prepping everything and was greeted with Marty saying "Your bike took me longer than any other to build". I replied "For this show?" and he said "No, EVER."

God is in the details and that holds true here with my Geekhouse Woodville. For a tig-welded frame, there's a ton going on and you can see more below.

Man. What a whirlwind of a weekend. No, wait. What a whirlwind of a process. Ever since I was in Boston, I mean Allston getting fit for my custom Geekhouse Woodville, I've been eagerly awaiting the 2011 NAHBS. Take all the excitement of getting a custom bicycle tailored especially for you and pack that into a crazy weekend like NAHBS and you'll know how I felt. For the 2011 NAHBS, the Boston-based Geekhouse Bikes brought out their classiest collection yet. Each for people with special ties to the brand and each custom-tailored to fit their needs.

Check out more photos and a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Geekhouse Bikes booth below.

Where do I start with Aaron and Six-Eleven Bicycle Co? To be honest, I have no idea. Should I mention that he won last year's NAHBS new builder award? Or the fact that his throw-away bike was a show stopper? Or that his booth cost him $80 and is made from old Harley Davidson pallets? Or that one of the bikes in the show belongs to Simon May from Hipster Nascar? Or that Simon got in a wreck opening night and Aaron still held his composure together the entire time? Should I go on?

Bottom line is that Six-Eleven Bicycle Co. blew me away at the 2011 NAHBS. Aaron had the finest bicycle collection on display but you don't have to take my word for it!

Check out more photos and a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Six-Eleven Bicycle Co. booth below.

King Cage had the most hands-on booth at the 2011 NAHBS. The owner of the company started working in the cycling industry in 1992 at Fat City Cycles. He went on to work for Ibis Cycles, Merlin Metalworks, Jo Breeze Cycles, Ted Wojac cycles, and Yeti Cycles. Now he spends his days making Titanium and stainless cages. He's really got it down to a science, which you can see in the video below.

Check out a video and a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS King Cage booth below.

Herbie Helm had one of the more ornate bicycles at the 2011 NAHBS. This touring rig had hand-carved lugs all over and despite it's delicate appearance, is meant to truck across the country.

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Herbie Helm booth below.

I had intentions of documenting all the hot, hot rides that were Locked Up outside the 2011 NAHBS but was so overwhelmed documenting the show that the only two photos I snagged were these two bikes. First up is homie's from Cali (forgot your name dude, sorry!) and the second is Cassidy's old Kalavinka. Both Beautiful Bicycles in their own right.

Anyone got photos of all the bikes Locked Up at NAHBS?

The first time I saw Engin Cycles work in person was at the 2010 Philly Bike Expo. When I came across their booth at the 2011 NAHBS, I was stoked to see they brought out all new bikes with new purposes. Sure, they had their mountain bikes but their rando bike was stunning. This bike will be partaking in the Paris Brest Paris ride in 2011.

Check out more photos and a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Engin Cycles booth below.

Photo by Chris Gomez

With Tracko's "Save the Track Bike!" campaign in full swing at NAHBS, it was pretty rad seeing two guys on track bikes during the Rapha Gentlemen's Ride. Chris Gomez was there shooting photos from the SRAM car and he sent me this one of Jon from Two Tone ATL crushing it on my KHS Aero Track in a paceline.

Jon's a beast and he took it to the rest of the guys on road bikes. Very impressive. Check out more from Chris Gomez's coverage of the 2011 NAHBS at his website! I love this one in particular.

A.N.T. Bikes had some of my favorite details at the 2011 NAHBS. Mike Flanigan went overboard with flipping classic decals and stickers on all of his beautiful bicycles. His booth was packed every time I tried to take photos but I'm happy with the results.

Check out more photos and a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS A.N.T. Bikes booth below.

Parlee Cycles are synonymous with performance bicycles. Their offerings at the 2011 NAHBS had my mouth salivating like a Pavlovian dog and these photos are a perfect example of their precision and craft.

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Parlee Cycles booth below.

While Rapha needs no introduction, some of their new products do. At the 2011 NAHBS, Rapha debuted their luggage collection, new pro bib shorts and a loyal fan showed off some fresh ink!

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Rapha booth below.

When I saw Sarto Cycles' Team Liger bike, I couldn't stop laughing. But it wasn't the kind of laugh people welcome at the NAHBS. It was more of a point your finger and laugh kind.

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Sarto Cycles booth below.

If there were a category for "best all around bike", this Shamrock rando / cross / touring bike would take the award. Quick-release racks, fenders and lights made this bike stand out from others. For the 2011 NAHBS, Shamrock knocked it out of the park!

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Shamrock Cycles booth below.

Chris Bishop is a madman! A madman I say! His Brett Horton town bike got so much love at the 2011 NAHBS and every bit of respect in my body goes out to this man. We saw a sneak peek of the Joe Bell paint job before but nothing does this bike justice. No photo, nothing until you see it in person.

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Bishop Bikes Brett Horton Town Bike below.

World renown saddle manufacturer Brooks England had a massive booth at the 2011 NAHBS and I overheard the rep saying that this year there were more Brooks saddles on show bikes than ever before. Bottom line is, Brooks is here for world domination!

Check out a slideshow from my coverage of the 2011 NAHBS Brooks England booth below.

Strawberry Cyclesport

The 2011 NAHBS was filled with many tables where the company either had one frame on display or nothing had changed from last year's showcase. Check out some more random booths below!