Chapman Cycles brought out the big gun and took home the award for Best Tandem Bike at NABS 2018. Check out our pre-show interview with him here, and the studio shots of his winning bike here. Below, we captured some of the best details on this bike and a couple of Rando bicycles he was showing off.
We particularly liked the custom rack with light integration on this randonneur bike.
His other rando bike was practically made with drillium, and you can check out the studio shot of it in this post. It’s a beautiful homage to the days when riders would drill out any material they deemed unnecessary to shave grams. Rarely was the outcome this pretty…
Another cool feature on this bike was the downtube shifter used to engage a rear tire dynamo.
Shift the lever and it pulled cable all the way down the downtube, around the bottom bracket, up the seat tube, then down the seatstay to the dynamo. Once engaged, it’s turned by placing a roller in contact with the tire or rim to generate electricity.
Check them out at ChapmanCycles.com.
HORSE BRAND CO.
Gravel bikes were the hot ticket at NAHBS this year, and they ranged from simple, speedy options with minimal flare to bikes with mounts and options galore. Falling into the former category are two bikes from Horse Cycles. The blue one is set up with fatter 650B tires, and the pink one (barely shown in foreground) was 700c. Below, you’ll see how those tire sizes compare inside the seatstays.
Surprisingly, modular dropout systems were much rarer this year, with most bikes showing off dedicated thru axle systems that couldn’t be changed. Horse opted for this bolt-in system that lets you change the dropouts between QR, thru axle or single speed. But, being full custom, you can always get what you want.
650B on the left, 700c on the right.
Called Horse Brand Co., not Horse Cycles, should have tipped us off there’s more to their stable. Handcrafted goods like this axe…
…and knives, among other trinkets, were also on display.
Check them out at HorseBrand.co.
CHERUBIM GRAVEL ALL ROAD BIKE
Another surprise? Cherubim had a modern-yet-traditional bike on display. We’re accustomed to seeing wild concepts and over-the-top details from the Japanese brand, but those aren’t their typical sale. Conceived and developed in partnership with Blacksmith Cycles in Toronto, this Cherubim gravel bike still had a few show-worthy touches.
This is the first all-road bike the brand has built, and features 38 mm tires clearance, flat-mount brakes, 12 mm front and rear thru axles, internal hydraulic brake routing, custom-selected Kaisei steel tubing, chrome details and this unique pastel Care Bear Camo paint.
Polished steel fender mounts for matching Honjo fenders (not shown) use cork washers to protect the paint and prevent any rattle or accidental loosening. Plus, they look badass.
The bike was located inside Rolf Prima’s booth, who did custom purple hubs for them to match the bike’s color scheme. Find the builder at Cherubim.jp.
