We had a great time at NAHBS 2017 in Salt Lake City!  Mountain Bike Pro and good friend Emma Maaranen helped out in the Métier Vélo booth and showed her custom do-it-all-road-bike.  Thanks, Emma! Judging by the amount of dirt on the #EDIARB that I cleaned off for the show, it spends at least as much time off pavement as on.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth to have a look a the bikes and chat. We even had a cameo by Marty Jemison! How cool is that?

Métier Vélo had some great media coverage. Check out these articles by Anna Schwinn (BikeRumor), James Huang (CyclingTips), and Nic Sims (Pez Cycling News). Thanks to Don Walker (NAHBS President and Founder) for having Métier Vélo at the show.  We’re looking forward to NAHBS 2018, 16-18 February in Hartford CT!

BikeRumor
https://www.bikerumor.com/2017/03/22/nahbs-2017-metier-velo-teams-up-with-tim-crossman-composites-for-deepest-custom/


CyclingTips
https://cyclingtips.com/2017/03/photo-gallery-2017-nahbs-custom-bikes-part-3/

Pez Cycling News
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/technspec/nahbs17-part-6-kirk-renovo-metier-shamrock/#.WN-5rRiZPdQ

Métier Vélo is pleased to offer lugs and parts 3D-printed by Kanfit 3D Additive Manufacturing. Kanfit 3D prints Métier Vélo designs in 6/4 titanium on an EOS 290 DMP. Kanfit 3D  provides all post-processing, including heat de-stressing, machining, and finishing.   

Kanfit 3D is based in Israel and manufactures custom parts for aerospace and biomedical applications worldwide. Kanfit 3D meets industry standards for Israeli and international military and commercial aviation, aerospace, and defense, including Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Boeing, the Israeli Airforce, and Ministry of Defense.
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Kanfit 3D lugs and parts can be found in Métier Vélo Team Edition frames, and will debut at NAHBS 2017!

Been thinking about a custom frame? Going to NAHBS 2017 in Salt Lake City? I’m offering special pricing on a full custom Métier Vélo bicycle if you pick it up at the end of the show. Order by mid-January 2017 at the latest. Road, gravel, cross, MTB hardtail. Contact me for details. 

"Use the product" is one piece of advice I've gotten from a friend who makes high-end, custom guitars. So here it is: the Métier Vélo Classic Race, my personal ride. Fabricated with 6/4 3D printed titanium lugs and carbon tubes from Rockwest Composites here in Salt Lake City.

Keep reading for details and some Bike Porn.

We brought the Winter Training Bike to show at NAHBS 2016 as a New Builder.   There were some amazing bikes, and show was very well attended by both builders and the public. On Saturday the Sacramento Convention Center was packed.    Even Valentino Campagnolo was there! My voice is still hoarse from all the talking.  Usually I spend days in the shop or at the computer with only the dogs and cats to talk to. An exciting day is when our UPS carrier delivers something and takes a few minutes to chat.  So I am still processing all the input.  Thanks to Don Walker for putting on a great show, and giving Métier Vélo a chance to display the bike.   And if you attended the show and stopped by our table, thanks for supporting small builders and taking time to check out the New Builders.  Spread the word about handbuilt bicycles!

If you want to know about the show in general, BikeRumor and Red Kite Prayer have great coverage including  descriptions of the award winners.
 
For Métier Vélo, the show was a success in three ways:

1. The bike got enthusiastic response from two very different sets of people. One group was engineers and scientists, who appreciated the technology,  the level of Métier Vélo designs, and the level of  fabrication and finishing from GPI Prototypes.  The other group was designers and artists, who appreciated the aesthetics of the design and overall presentation of the bike.  I expected some enthusiasm from one type of person or the other, but not overwhelming enthusisasm from both sets.
2. A number of top framebuilders evaluated and critiqued the bike, my building techniques, and Métier Vélo LLC business model.  Everyone of them was encouraging and supportive.  It is a great community that Don Walker has nucleated around the show.  I asked a number of builders to give it to me straight and tell me what to do. If I am doing something wrong,  or there is a much better way, I’d better find out sooner rather than later.  I am please and relieved that all the flaws other builders pointed out were things that I myself am not happy with, and that have been rectified in subsequent frames.   Two of the top composites experts in bicycle framebuilding examined the frame closely and deemed it safe and serviceable.  Which is good to hear because I’ve been training on it all winter.
3. The MASM was very well received by cyclists,  engineers, designers, and artists.  It is the sort of detail you can only find on custom frames from a small builder. Remember, the MASM is a real product, available now, so if you've got wads of cash burning a hole in your pocket, head over the Métier Vélo Store.

I think the best news for us is that NAHBS2017 will be held in Salt Lake City!  I hope to up my game and bring a frame to enter in the lugged frame award division.  The bar is high but we’ll give it a shot!

The Métier Vélo Winter Training Bike is a disc brake road bicycle with clearance for 33mm tubular tires.  The relatively short 420mm chainstay, 73˚ seat and head tube angles, and stiff tubes provide a responsive ride.  Seventy millimeters of bottom bracket drop and 48mm of fork rake give a stability on long, rough descents.  Cosmetics are printed directly into the lugs or bonded to the frame. The Black-Ti finish of marine vanish and wax protects the carbon composite from UV and  is easily refreshed. Displayed at NAHBS 2016!

Métier Vélo LLC will have a new builder table at NAHBS 2016! The North American Handmade Bicycle show is the premier event for small builders to showcase their craftsmanship; this year it is in in Sacramento, California.  I’m excited to be showing a bike; it will be great to get feedback from some of the best bike builders around.  I hope we’re on the right track with Métier Vélo.  Thanks to Don Walker for the opportunity.  Red Kite Prayer has an interview with Don about the 2016 show that is worth reading. If you can make it to Sacramento (highly recommended), find us at New Builder Table 17.