Today in Denver is the NAHBS 2013! That stands for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. I could not be more excited about it. Bikes are cool anyway, but what always calls out to me, is the inventiveness and the solutions to the ever present problem, how do we improve the bicycle? It is two wheels and a rider(s). People have been working on this problem for over 100 years. Is this now an exercise of science? Ego? Aesthetics? When will the designers look at a bike and say, “Yep, that’s it, we’re done.”

I intentionally avoid using the word creativity for a reason. A creative solution is not always a workable solution. A creative bike may contain a clever use of color but does not improve the “foundation” of the machine. An inventive solution addresses the fundamentals of the machine. That, to me, is the essence of art that works.

I am heading down to this conference with some goals: To document great ideas, pick up some trends, look for some flops and have some mental mechanical fodder for my next project.

From what I have seen so far online, it looks really amazing. I have seen examples of wood and metal combined frame-sets. I have seen some very interesting hybrids. There are many examples of cutting edge track bikes. But all remains to be seen. #NAHBS @justglenn

The photos above came from the Urban Velo website. I will be posting my photos via twitter @justglenn or right here on Retrolust.

Stay tuned. If you are looking for anything special that you want me to keep an eye out for, let me know through your comments or messages.

Glenn