There were various motifs throughout the show, like Chris King components for instance, and builders choosing between either titanium or Ox Platinum steel for construction. Copper plating just for show? Not so much, but these three three builders used it flawlessly.
Shown above is a fresh fatbike by Vibe titled “the Lincoln”, made specifically for NAHBS (and just onewinter race after NAHBS). It’s a copper plated steel frame, painted over in sections.
More after the break, along with Avery County Cycles’ prize winning build and a first year bike by Vincent Rodriguez…
Vibe split the top tube and elongated it, then filling it with a wedge of sheet metal to get that retro look. Vibe’s been building bikes four years, bringing a different fat bike last year, with the signature Snowflake light on the rear triangle.
The light is magnetic and turns on and off by removing the magnet attached to the blue string. That makes it easier to operate the light with heavy gloves on.
Routing is internal and a second tube bridges the frame for stiffness.
A flask with a huge penny jammed into the exterior? How can you beat that?
Plating the aluminum rims proved to be much harder than Vibe anticipated. It took them four tries to get it right.
Vibe hand painted a couple things, like a copper chain and copper flat pedals.
More images over at Vibe’s site.
Avery County Cycles
Avery County Cycles won best new builder with this bike, what they call a “high speed gravel commuter”. It’s essentially a cross bike with a shortened wheelbase. Based in Denver, CO Avery County Cycle’s speciality is cross and touring frames, and this is a combination of the two. When assembling this bike, components were sourced as locally as possible.
Throughout the frame are tinges of copper plating done by Acme Plating. All bolts were done this way, down to the bolts on the brakes and cranks.
A beautiful lug work was sourced locally to a handmade buckle manufacturer in Colorado, Johnson and Held.
The copper serial number and headbadge are a nice addition. AT Designs, makers of Fireman badges did the headbadge.
Vincent Rodriguez
This is Vincent Rodriguez‘s first year building frames, and he went with a fairly simple build with some additions. What Rodriguez calls a “modern Dutch throwback build” he used Ultegra shifters on swept back bars with a relatively retro look.
To get the scalloped look of those seat stays, Rodriguez turned the miter over and brass brazed some copper tubing. Lugs are Richard Sachs’ “Uber oversize” model.
Branding is fairly minimal with a made-in-house copper head badge and branding on the downtube. The head badge is said to weather a greenish tint over time.
