marqueemoon

I had the good fortune of attending the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show last weekend. While it was not on display in his booth, Ira Ryan built this gem for one of his customers. Note the S&S couplers.

BengeBoy 

Nice bike! Wish I had seen that.

Here are some other commuter bikes at the show.

This was from Moots, the "Comooter" (w/Rohloff hub)



Another internal hub commuter, from A.N.T. bikes



From Retrotec / Inglis bikes in California..

JeffS

I talked myself out of going at the last minute... I'm not sure if it was more out of a desire to protect my bank account or to protect my sanity from the wait times most of these people have.

The longer I wait though, the less likely I'll ever be to get my custom. Again, maybe a good thing...


BTW, those fenders on the moots don't work for me at all.

pinkrobe

Lottery win = custom Ti SS commuter!

doughboy

Agreed. I'd give Seven a call if I ever win the lotto.

craigdurkee

mmmmmmm nice

max-a-mill

that is a tasty bike!

i'd do that but in ti and with discs....

i gotta think someone could bend me a ti version of the mary bar as well.... maybe with the flatter tops like some of those new roadbars coming out while i am dreaming.

oh f-it; if it is gonna be custom just make it a one piece bar stem combo!

CommuterRun

How big is this dream lottery? Because if it's big enough, I'm going to buy a major artery toll road.

Motorcycles and trikes get a reduced toll.
Four or more wheels and a motor get socked.
Bicycles are free.

Jeffbeerman2

The top tube on that moot is curved up

How is that not ********? It looks cool, but why not curve down and give a bit more standover?

whatsmyname

Wait - where would you be commuting to and from?

unkchunk

Yeah, that's a good point. What's the use in winning the lottery if one still has to go to work.

unkchunk

Well, I tried to visualize what you were saying and all I can think of now is that "MOOTS" upside down reads "SLOOW"... and it's written all over the bike.

pinkrobe

No, you misunderstand - I would commute to the PUB.

KrisPistofferson

Golly gee, this thread is off to a good start. What kind of bars are those in the OP?

Abneycat

Lottery win = Ti Big Dummy /w LiFePO4 powered Stokemonkey?

marqueemoon

On-One Midge Bars.

Actually my dream version of this bike would be spaced and have braze-ons for in internal gear hub + a custom stem with a little nub for mounting the shifter. I'd still run it single/fixed most of the time though.

devianb

I like the dark style of the first bike and its symmetrical headlights.

newbojeff

That ANT bike is beautiful. What is with all of the white fender stays on all these bikes, though?

East Hill

There were a lot of bikes at the show with the hammered metal look mudguards.

East Hill

froze

I'm not trying to cause trouble here, but this bike looks like a piece of junk that was resurrected from a junk yard! and you call it a gem? Handbuilt or not I wouldn't want this bike even if it was given to me! And my sentiments follows another bike that was posted here that is brown in color but looks like rust.

Of course this is just my lousy opinion.

JeffS

I actually like the fenders in general, just not against the titanium. I'm not surprised that they were featured a lot since they're one of the higher-end options. My personal preference on a bike in that price-range would be something color-matched to the frame.

nashcommguy

Yeah, I think you're right on. The same thing is done to new mandolins, guitars, etc. It's called the 'distressed' look. I've got a buddy who does it to new electric guitars and makes a small fortune. Handmade boutique bikes? $4000.00 Commuter-bikes? Kinda pretentious. Gimmie the genuine article..an old Schwinn Varsity or Ross w/some decent upgrades/conversions. If I was ever going to drop 4/5 large(complete w/airfare to go over and get it) on a commuter bike it would be this one: https://www.quitmann-ms.de/eng/big_apple.html It comes w/a Rohloff ig hub. What was it Sheldon Brown(RIP) said about Dura-Ace? "Componentry for rich suckers." Seems the same may be said for the 'boutique bike' market.

BTW, the only thing I don't agree on in the quoted post is that I'll take ANY bike that's given to me.

thorsteno

I like the Comooter. Put some silver rims on and surf all about town. Can't make out the rack options from the photo.

BengeBoy 

The flat paint is a style that has been working its way through the custom automotive market as well. I'll dig up some photos I got at the SEMA show in Las Vegas over the past couple of years showing very high end custom cars (think $100,000 and up) with flat paint jobs. There also is a movement called "rat rods" that are customized hot rods but w/rusted frames, holes in the doors, etc. This A.N.T. bike reminded me of cars I had seen like that. Very nice.

East Hill is right; there were lots and lots of bikes at the show with hammered fenders. I think most of them were Japanese Honjo fenders..they are about $100 a set plus hard as heck to install.

I agree on the Moots comments; I thought the bike was brilliant but maybe not the best fender choice for the Ti frame.. Honjo also makes a fender that is fluted w/kind of a brushed steel look; might have looked better.

This bike had the fluted Honjo fenders on it...




One week later, this unassuming-looking bike is still in my mind for commuting: Ti Independent Fabrication cyclocross frame. Rohloff hub. S&S couplers to break it down for traveling. Disc brakes. Plenty of clearance for fenders. Note that the Rohloff shifter is mounted on the end of drop bars...most Rohloff shifters are on flat bars; this was a one-off custom installation.

This would be a great commuter for rainy climes. Might require winning at least a small lottery...

spokenword

In some cases the flat paint is actually a powdercoat, which just means that the paint will hold up to the abuses of urban riding. Also, if you want close up pictures of that ANT bike, you can check out Mike Flanigan's Flickr stream.

I also tend to be a little perplexed about the appeal of the hammered Honjo fenders. They make me think of crinkled aluminum foil. The fluted and smooth variants of the Honjos are far more elegant ... but, again, that's a personal taste.