2016 philly bike expo

You don't have to be either floridly tattooed, or (if male) luxuriantly bearded, to work a booth at the Philly Bike Expo; they also make room for the shaven-headed, and multiple-pierced. But those of us who wear ties to work are more likely to be represented on the aisle-side rather than the stock-side of the booths.

No matter, there was gorgeous stuff to be seen. The camera didn't always behave, so the pics below only tell part of the story.

Velo-Orange, in Annapolis, is the OTHER source for new-retro bike stuff; I've gotten quite a number of items there. They're discontinuing my favorite frame, the rim-brake Pass Hunter, in favor of a disk-brake version. Oh, well. The Excellent Wife (TEW) won't have to worry about coming home from a long weekend to find one of those in the garage.

Of all things, wooden bike frames. Built from laminate instead of straight lumber, but wooden, nonetheless.

A bit further down, Calfee was showing these bamboo frames. He uses a specially-sourced bamboo with extra-thick walls, but they're plain bamboo; he cuts and shapes 'em and connects 'em with carbon-fiber strapping and resin. Intriguing. I wish I liked the looks of these more than I do.

Gearhead stuff:

Raw lugs!

Unpainted, brazed frames!

Machined parts!

Chris King bling! (Don't let the anodized colors fool you: what King does really well is headset bearings that will last. Headset bearings have it way worse than wheel bearings, because of the limits of the motion; getting this part right is great engineering.)

Some pretty frames:

I loves me some pretty paint.

That one above is from Vlad, a builder in Boonton.

Bike art:

Below, Selle Anatomica was assembling saddles right at the show:

I recently got one of these, and they were very helpful about adjustment suggestions.

Below, TEW was NOT impressed with much of the lycra or polyester offerings; some looked cheaply thrown together, and all were way expensive.

We were both taken with Viva la Bicicleta. Much of the clothing is cotton, but they claim wicking and antibacterial qualities like artificial fabrics... and some of the shirts have reflectors and back pockets.

TEW bought a long-sleeve top from them, and I might go online to get a shirt.

Wait... is that John K at the MS JDRF ride booth?

And a booth for the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia?

SERIOUS kids bikes:

The booth for Zevlin, a bar tape I want to try. They offer a wide 40mm tape, which can be close-wrapped to make a deeper cushion than usual. I want to try it for my next wrap. I bout a pair of socks as well (I've decided to start a bike socks collection).

I don't know if I want a titanium bike lock, but i didn't know titanium could bend like this and go back to its original shape (those arms are parallel when relaxed). No wonder I like my Ti frame so much.

I'm pretty proud of myself: I spent only a reasonable amount of money, only bought one thing I regret (a snap-on fender that interferes with the bike bag I use), and got a subscription to a bike mag that I'll probably not renew, but they threw in a pair of socks. And I had a date with TEW. A good day! (and I love the pretty bike stuff!)