Minnecycle 2011

Minnesota's version of a handmade bicycle show, Minnecycle, happened this weekend.  The show featured the work of a dozen different framebuilders, and highlighted the diversity of styles and techniques of some of the area's best bicycle craftsmen.  This was the 3rd year for Minnecycle.  I missed it last year, and didn't want that to happen again, so I headed over Friday evening to hang out with the opening night crowd.

My favorite bike of the night was the A-Train fatbike, equipped with Big Fat Larrys and a White Bros fork...

Joel from Clockwork Bikes was there again with some really cool bikes.  I like his style... that's an old Manitou 700c suspension fork.

This completely chromed Speedhound was probably the most eye-catching bike there...

There were a couple builders I had never heard of at the show, including a custom carbon fiber builder, Appleman...

It is always interesting to see the products of a framebuilder's imagination.  The really cool things are often in the details, like custom racks, small decorations, or creative cable routing.  Some of the pics are kind of crappy... I brought my point-and-shoot camera and didn't want to use the flash.  The fact that I was holding a keg cup and a bunch of cycling gear while I took the pics didn't help either.

Minnecycle was a good time this year... it's tough to beat cool bikes, beer, and conversations with bike friends.

It wasn't just the show bikes that were worth checking out.  There are a lot of cool bikes being ridden around this town.  This awesome contraption was parked outside the showroom last night...

I had to do inventory Saturday morning, so I ended up skipping the Friday night ride I've been going on lately.  It sucked to miss the group ride, but I figured since I biked over to Minnecycle that sort of made up for it.  While I was riding home along the Mississippi River trail, I thought to myself, "I wonder if the Friday night crew will ride this trail tonight... I'll have to pay attention to any well lit riders I see."  Less than a minute later, guess who came biking the other way?  And they even had an extra beer for me.


Stopping can be as much fun as riding...