Many of the frame builders at this year’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show were displaying their latest gravel bikes, but among the rows of drop-bar bikes with fat tires were some sleek and elegant road bikes. Here’s a look at three that caught my eye.
Cherubim
Cherubim takes a very traditional approach to frame design and construction. This disc all-road bike is the first of its kind produced by the legendary Japanese builder.
The frame is constructed from lightweight Kaisei steel tubing. It features chrome detailing and fender mounts for matching Honjo fenders. The color is dubbed “Care Bear Camo.”
This particular bike belongs to Mike Yakubowicz, owner of the ultra-boutique bike shop Blacksmith Cycle.
We highlighted this Irish builder a few weeks ago for the custom carbon bike the company built for MMA fighter and cycling enthusiast Conor McGregor.
Architectural aficionados will appreciate the paint job on this carbon road bike. It was inspired by the reflection light off Toronto’s Toronto-Dominion Centre, designed by Mies van der Rohe.
This Boulder, Colorado, builder always brings a bevy of beautiful steel and titanium bikes to the show. Many titanium frames can be somewhat plain, but bland is a word that could never be used to describe this Ti road bike.
The paint scheme uses Shimano’s company colors in a splatter paint job that extends to the seatpost, stem and handlebar.
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.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk