Here's a look at the weird and wonderful bikes of NAHBS 2018 - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
For three days, custom builders and cycling enthusiasts converged in Hartford, Connecticut, for this year's North American Handmade Bicycle Show - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Silca was giving an award for the best integration of its products into custom bikes. As a result, painted-to-match Impero Ultimate Frame Pumps were everywhere - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Gravel and disc road bikes may have stolen the spotlight this year, but there were still a few classics on display, like this very clean Royal H - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
When you work at Industry Nine, you can pretty much anodize anything you want. These White Industries cranks were destined to go on a "watermelon-inspired" fat bike - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
This Fat Chance Chris Cross has a dizzying paint scheme - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
The daughter of John Slawta (of Landshark Cycles) painted this one-of-a-kind Chris Cross - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
UK-based Enigma Bicycle Works crossed the pond with an entire fleet of stunning road bikes - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Stinner Frameworks was showing off this 1980s-inspired Gibraltar Disc at the Campy booth - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
The '80s are a state of mind for Stinner - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Gianni Pegoretti's Deanima Bicycles had some clean and colorful bikes on display - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
This Deanima AMG 01 has hand painted panels that resemble a watercolor and (of course) a frame pump to match - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
This Parlee Chewbacco was clearly the most high-tech gravel bike at NAHBS - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Full points for originality for this circuit board paint scheme - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Do you want a splatter paint job or a fade? - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
There's no reason you can't have both - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Big metal flakes on Parlee's TTIR tri bike - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
A new niche of bicycle designed specifically to fight rabbits? More likely a new all-road bike from Vicious Cycles with a nod to the UK band T. Rex - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
The cherry blossom paint scheme was a nice change from rows of splatter painted machines - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
When it comes to meticulous lug work, few builders approach the same level of precision as Chris Bishop - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
After a long hiatus, Moots is once again spicing up its frames with anodizing - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
The chainstay pattern was inspired by carpeting which was featured prominently in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
When you're Moots even your display stands are custom Ti creations - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
More painted-to-match goodness from Italian builder Steibel - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
lad Dolinsky of Vlad Cycles built this front suspension gravel bike for his son - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
The top tube bag was fabricated by Kansas City-based Andrew The Maker - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
This Breismeister gravel bike has a strong '90s flare - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
More coordination on show - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
This Squid Bikes fixie was an eyecatcher - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Squid Bikes owns loud and proud paint schemes. The company is also the US importer of Spray Bike paint for DIY bike customization - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Adventure bikes are still going strong at NAHBS - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
No seat tube? No problem on this carbon gravel bike. It reminds me of some of the Lotus bikes from the 1990s - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
There's no shortage of clearance on this bike - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
While some NAHBS bikes have retro appeal, others are just retro. Remember when these were cutting edge? - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Full commitment to color coordination at the Groovy Cycleworks booth - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
The Cal Poly Bike Builders Club brought several bikes to the show. This one, which appears to have been designed for beer-packing, garnered the most attention - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
This stick shift operates the internally-geared rear hub - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
"Modern frames for vintage souls" is Chapman Cycles' motto and this stunning touring bike lived up to it - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
There's plenty of range in this Velo Orange Rando crankset - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Dynamo hubs have experienced a comeback in recent years thanks to the popularity of bikepacking and touring. Sinewave's Reactor USB top caps come in a variety of colors and allow you to ABC while you ride (always be charging) - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Blacksheep always brings wonderfully weird creations to the show. This 36er Ti townie was no exception - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Even the chainguard is constructed from titanium - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
This Stanridge Cycles track bike turned a lot of heads - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
Remember those anodized White Industries cranks? Here they are with the rest of the build on this watermelon fat bike by Altruiste Bicycle Co. - Josh Patterson / Immediate Media
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show is the world's largest display of custom bicycles. Many of these bespoke bicycles are wonderful creations, others can leave you scratching your head. Sometimes they are both weird and wonderful at the same time.
Case in point: this year at NAHBS there was a swoopy titanium city bike with 36 inch wheels, a fat bike inspired by a watermelon, and a carbon gravel bike painted to look like a circuit board.
Josh Patterson is a BikeRadar contributor and former technical editor. He has spent most of his career working in the cycling industry as an athlete, mechanic and journalist. He holds a master's degree in journalism and has more than 20 years of experience as a cyclist and 12 years of experience riding and writing for BikeRadar, Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Dirt Rag, RoadBikeReview and Outside Magazine. A native of the Flint Hills of Kansas, Josh was a pioneer in the gravel cycling movement, having raced the first Unbound 200 and many other gravel events around the globe. He considers himself a cycling generalist and enjoys road, gravel and mountain biking in equal measure. When not traveling for work, he can be found exploring the singletrack and lonely gravel roads that surround his home in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to his love of cycling, Josh is an enthusiastic supporter of brunch, voting rights and the right to repair movement.
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