Joe Murray, mountain biking legend/hall of famer/racer/designer/builder, is now building his own frames under the name Sendero Cycles. Sendero means “trail” in Spanish, and they are located in Flagstaff, AZ.

In this video, Joe shows us his version of the Fat Bike, an all purpose expedition bike (note the 3 bolts per bottle cage design, for 40oz. canteen bottles). Also, shown is a custom Sendero cruiser capable of two up riding.

website: www.senderocycles.com

Manifesto:
Proletariat Bicycle Company began with a simple goal: to provide high quality handcrafted bicycles at an affordable price….

In this video, Mike Parsell explains the philosophy behind his bike company. Mike shows us this custom steel hardtail mountain bike and steel fixie.

The Proletariat Bicycle Co. is based out of Springfield, OR
website: www.theproletariatbicycleco.com/

Nick Finch of Gyspy Cycles shows us this eclectic looking fillet brazed steel hardtail with 29 inch front wheel and 650B rear wheel.

Gypsy Cycles is based out of Yucca Valley, CA
website: www.gypsycycles.com/

Mike Ahrens of Ahrens Bicycles shows us a couple of his latest mountain bikes, a custom steel hardtail and an aluminum 650B hardtail. And of course, his ever popular WiseCracker, bike mounted bottle opener!

website: www.ahrensbicycles.com

Craig Calfee from Calfee Design shows us his latest iteration of the bamboo bike.

Shown below is the Bamboosero, a bicycle made almost completely out of bamboo. The bamboosero is available as a mountain bike, a road bike, or a townie.

To learn more, check out the Bamboosero Website:

website: Bamboosero Bikes http://www.bamboosero.com/

website: Calfee Design http://www.calfeedesign.com/

We talk with Daryl Roberts, an ex-Titus Cycles employee that now works as a small hand builder called Form Cycles out of Sedona, AZ.

Here, Daryl gives us some information about this Ti 29er, built with the BB30 spec and oversized head tube.

From their website:
“FORM was created to connect a passionate community of cyclists to a customized ride, utilizing proven materials like Titanium and steel, with proven designs. By offering custom geometry, oversized head tubes, BB30, handcrafted seat/chain stays, and artistic design, FORM bikes are built to maximize the life of your investment with exceptional fit and superior function.”

website: http://www.formcycles.com/

The orange Masi shown below and the collection of vintage head badges, plates, caps, and buttons are shown courtesy of Chuck from Pacific Coast Cycles.

Co-organizer of the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show Brian Baylis had a pretty big presence, and was one of the more popular builders of the show. At one time (actually at two times) Brian was a builder and foreman for Masi bikes. There were many Masi originals at the show (and even a few Confentes) and the yellow bike shown below is an example of taking the term “drilling for lightness” to the extreme (note: the drilling on this bike was not done by Brian).

If you’re wondering, the bike is actually not rideable, for all practical purposes (mainly due to the chain stay and seat post drilling).

When you fist walk into the exhibit hall of the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show, the first builder you’re greeted with is legendary builder Bruce Gordon. We were able to wrangle Bruce away from the throngs of fans for a few minutes to talk about his two newest creations (caution wet paint!)

Check out the internal cable routing for the charging light system, on the brown bike. There were actually a few other builders with similar internal cable routing, which provides a much cleaner look. Bruce said that it takes about an hour to the cable routed all the way to the back light.

On the “monkey puke green” bike (with wooden rims), notice the interesting placement of the rear caliper. Again, providing a much cleaner look as the brake line follows the natural lines of the bike. Not for sale, as this is Bruce’s own personal ride.

website: Bruce Gordon Cycles

Today was the first day of activities for the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show. There was a well attended breaksfast in the morning, followed by a couple of seminars including the popular lug filing and lug cutting. A lot of enthusiasts interested in just what it takes to craft a bicycle by hand.

Mtbr and RoadBikeReview will have many more photos and video interviews in the next two days, as Friday is mainly a setup day. Here are some quick snapshots of the earlybirds. Lugged steel seems to be the theme of the show, so far.

View of the convention center:

The San Diego Bicycle Club display:

Ahrens cross bike and 29er:

Bohemian hardtail:

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