Handmade Bicycles

I picked up a MountainFlyer magazine the other day. I'd never heard of it before but it was a special edition of bicycle builders. Not big companies but hand built bikes and boy howdy, some of these guys are nothing but impressive. The safety bicycle has been around for a long time now but these guys keep coming up with new ideas and designs. When I was young I didn't even know there were hand built bikes. Maybe we need a reality show on TV about bicycle builders like they do the chopper shows. Well maybe not exactly like that. Cut all the drama crap and focus on what really talented people can accomplish. Maybe show the 5th annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show. I went to the website and the show will be in Indy next year. That would be worth the trip.

The bike in the picture is a recumbent I made for my wife's Christmas present a couple of years ago. I built it from plans I picked up from E-Bay. The frame is a stretched department store10 speed that I picked up somewhere. The front fork, wheel and handlebars are from a 20" that came out of the scrap. The seat is from the cafeteria here. Usually I fix them and give them back. Other than the plans, front tire and paint, no dollar bills were killed or injured during the construction. For as cheap as it was to build, it's not really a bad bike. It's the only recumbent I've ever ridden, so I don't know how it would compare to a store bought one. It's a little shaky until you get rolling and even then the steering doesn't have enough trail or something. It's not scary but it does take a little getting used to. I took it out for a spin after washing it off and you could get used to riding it. It's set up as a 5 speed and that's all a guy would need around here.

So it's not the kind of bike you'll see at the NAHB show but it's the kind of thing that people used to do all the time. Make something out of nothing. A technical exercise if nothing else.