Reading this post is a little disheartening. NAHBS 14, Part V | RKP.

My Bike / Max’s bike almost won NAHBS Best CX Bike… apparently there’s weight put on the criteria that the builder should be “all in” or a full-time builder… Ready to build the frames commercially.

IMHO, Max is ALL IN for building the best possible bikes he can. He loves to talk about great ideas he has for the  build. Every bike he builds he’s doing it the best he can with attention to every detail.

The judges failed to recognize the best bike that was on display irrelevant of the builders outside career choice. The judges *should only be looking at the bike in front of them without outside prejudice. Next they’ll consider a builders sexual, political or spiritual orientation.

I’m sure if Max could build bikes full-time he would. He’s putting his feet in the water while balancing an engineering job and an awesome family with a new kid in the mix (which he built a custom strider bike for). What really gets me  about the CX Bike that won is that it doesn’t even look like a functional cross bike that I’d want to race or ride on. It looks like a klunker minus the horizontal bar from head tube to seat tube. I can’t wait to race my Lundbeck this fall!

Then again I realize that judging anything is subjective and these competitions are ripe with politics good or bad.

I’m super stoked to own this piece of art!

Check his bikes out here: LundbeckCycles.com you won’t be disappointed. Get in line to get one yourself!

“The use of color on this bike helped make it unforgettable. Stripes and rings are design elements ripe for poor use. I see them done wrong all the time. This wasn’t one of those occasions. The way the rings in the down tube became stripes in the fork was pretty lovely.”

via NAHBS 14, Part V | RKP.

 

1996 Fisher Klunker

NAHBS 2014 CX Bike Winner?!

It’s not just me thinking the CX bike doesn’t look like a CX bike… Here’s some comments from BikeRumor.com

Superstantial – 03/20/14 – 10:43pm

I do like the Retrotec. Not sure how much of a “cyclocross” bike it is. But it’s cool.

(Those are 45c tires in the picture, though, not 40c #corrections)

o_0 – 03/21/14 – 7:16am

so a rigid 29er with drop bars won best cx bike?

hank – 03/21/14 – 10:11am

anyone who looks at a cx bike as anything but a rigid 29er with drops is approaching the discipline from a “blinders on” perspective.

Beachcruisercross – 03/21/14 – 3:12pm

So many beautiful cross bikes at NAHBS, it’s a shame that a beach cruiser with an unpainted fork and through axles won “best cross bike”. Such a sad choice against some beautiful competition. If you want a real cross bike try Geekhouse, Avery County Cycles, Mosaic, Indy Fab, Festka, just to name a few.