Gates Carbon Drive

Chris Sulfrian of REEB Cycles was bunny hopping happy at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. As we all were. NAHBS is the premier showcase for custom bicycles from across America and the world. Gates photographer Tim Lucking was in Louisville, Kentucky, to capture the iconic images that make NAHBS such a treat for bike nerds.

First up is this beach bike from Groovy Cycles. The rear rack includes a mount for carrying a surfboard and the frame is hand painted with an ocean theme. The wooden rims and fenders are handmade, and the saddle was hand-engraved with a photo of the bike’s owner catching a wave.

Groovy Cycles owner Rody Walters produced this custom singlespeed mountain bike for his daughter, Emily, who will race it this season in her high school league. Looks like she can’t wait to get this Funk Machine dirty.

Vibe Cycles created this belted fat bike, “The Knarr,” for snow riding in Idaho. Sweet detailing with the snowflake rear light and curvaceous top tube.

From Japan comes the Samurai Bike, inspired by the armor and swords of the ancient warriors. How much does it cost? If you have to ask you can’t afford it.

REEB, the bike brand of Oskar Blues Brewery, presented multiple belted bikes including this fat bike with the Pinion gearbox and Carbon Drive Red.

This cyclocross bike from REEB is red hot and ready for some beer handups.

REEB’s rugged Sam’s Pants commuter with a Rohloff internally geared hub and belt is perfect for Colorado cruising.

The REEB crew does snow rides every Tuesday night in Colorado all winter. We would too if we had one of these Donkadonk fat bikes with a dropper seatpost.

REEB’s Dikyelous SS mountain bike is a singletrack slayer. Love that headbadge!

Rohloff USA distributor Cycle Monkey partnered with Gates and REEB to show multiple Rohloff/Carbon Drive rigs, including this full suspension titanium beast with internal cable routing from Black Sheep.

This lovely Black Sheep 29-plus with red anodized rims and Rohloff hub shows the ability to color match with the new Carbon Drive Red belts.

Bamboo specialists Boo Cycles got freaky with its color scheme on this singlespeed mountain bike.

Calfee’s carbon tandem is a fast machine built for two. The Gates timing belt saves considerable weight over a chain, and Calfee’s joinery is impeccable.

Master builder Kent Eriksen is a titanium specialist who created this tandem traveler that comes apart with couplers.

This wooden beauty from Connor Wood Cycles was commissioned by the Louisville Slugger baseball bat company, and it is now in the Slugger museum in Louisville.

Dean Cycles makes us dream of cyclocross season with this stealthy black rig.

The Siskiyou from Co-Motion features 650b/27.5 wheels for rugged touring and is named for the mountain range near the company’s headquarters in Oregon.

This post features just a small sample of the photos Tim Lucking grabbed in Louisville. To see more,click here.Thanks to all the builders who created such fine bikes featuring Gates Carbon Drive. We will see you all next year in Sacramento, California.