San Diego Custom Bicycle Show

[Fivethumbs]

Anybody going to this?

http://www.sandiegocustombicycleshow.com/index.htm

[uno-speedo]

Yep I'll be there drooling over stuff. I posted this in the events section on here earlier :beer:

[stackie]

I'm going to be down there on vacation, so I will try to go one of the days. It's not NAHBS, but I'll still go to drool.

Jon

[Ken Robb]

Dave Thompson and I will be there Sat.

Stackie-you're welcome to borrow a bike while you're here.

[Jeff N.]

I'm there. Jeff N.

[jimcav]

came very close to getting a custom bike for/from the show, but could nto bring myself to sell one of my current rides
jim

[stackie]

Ken,

Thanks for the offer. We're going to be driving the family truckster down, so I will have room for all of the necessities of life, bike and espresso set-up. :)

We could touch base for a ride. Warning, I'm way slower than I used to be though, so be forewarned.

Maybe we could have a forumite meet up for this show, also? I'll check with wife and figure out what day we are leaving for SD. Not sure if we're leaving Friday night or Saturday. I hang kind of loose and let her sweat the small stuff since she's better at it.

Jon

[Jack Brunk]

I'll be there on Saturday. Should be a great show. Hopefully someone will have a really cool 29er available.

[slowgoing]

yes

[dave thompson]

Dave Thompson and I will be there Sat.

Stackie-you're welcome to borrow a bike while you're here.
I'll be in San Diego from Friday thru Tuesday and you didn't even offer me a bike! Just for that I'm going to introduce you to some frame builders you don't know. You'll either drool all over yourself or buy something.

[David Kirk]

I can't be there but I think JB will have some of my work in his booth. Stop by and say hello to him for me.

Dave

[Ken Robb]

Ken,

Thanks for the offer. We're going to be driving the family truckster down, so I will have room for all of the necessities of life, bike and espresso set-up. :)

We could touch base for a ride. Warning, I'm way slower than I used to be though, so be forewarned.

Maybe we could have a forumite meet up for this show, also? I'll check with wife and figure out what day we are leaving for SD. Not sure if we're leaving Friday night or Saturday. I hang kind of loose and let her sweat the small stuff since she's better at it.

Jon

Jon, I'm 66--how much slower can anyone get? We should go out for dinner after anything else and let our wives talk about us. :)

[Ken Robb]

I'll be in San Diego from Friday thru Tuesday and you didn't even offer me a bike! Just for that I'm going to introduce you to some frame builders you don't know. You'll either drool all over yourself or buy something.

Geez Thompson, you ARE old! I made you the same offer while you were sitting in my living room drinking my beer 2 weeks ago. Better forget the offer--you might not remember where you borrowed the bike. :D

[dave thompson]

Geez Thompson, you ARE old! I made you the same oer while you were sitting in my living room drinking my beer 2 weeks ago. Better forget the offer--you might not remember where you borrowed the bike. :D
Sorry, I forgot.

[fourflys]

I'll be there...

[sokyroadie]

If anyone is going to the show would you please look at Paul Taylor bikes and give me your opinion. I am considering a 953 or XCR stainless frame from him but have heard some negatives on his frames.

Thanks,
Jeff

[Ken Robb]

Paul is a great guy to talk with and his frames look good. What negatives did you hear?

[mikki]

Just came back from it.

Fairly small, but for the first year the public's response has been surprisingly quite large according to the vendors..

Saw Joe Bell and Bill Holland of course. They are such perfectionists in their craft and such good guys. We spent a long time chatting with Bill; he is so knowledgeable it is fun to spend time with him.

There were quite a few tiny manufacturers that I hadn't heard of before but who have beautiful bikes. I suspect that next year the show will be easily twice this size.

[sokyroadie]

Paul is a great guy to talk with and his frames look good. What negatives did you hear?


I asked 2 owners and both said they would never order another frame from him due to customer service issues, but they would not be more specific. If it is leadtime I don't really care, if it is frame issues I do care.

Thanks,

Jeff

[ty-ro]

I have no experience with Taylor, but I have had a bad custom frame experience and it was pretty stressful. I'd say be careful who you choose before you commit to a builder. Things like the bike not being to spec and longer than quoted delivery times can add up to a real headache. There are some great builders out there. No real reason to risk it with an unknown.

[dave thompson]

I asked 2 owners and both said they would never order another frame from him due to customer service issues, but they would not be more specific. If it is leadtime I don't really care, if it is frame issues I do care.

Thanks,

Jeff
My experience with his customer service is the total opposite than the other fellows you've talked to, I can't speak well enough of him. I would take the other owners comments with a grain of salt if they can't be more specific. Paul is a one man shop and does everything himself, from the construction to the paintwork.

[dave thompson]

I have no experience with Taylor, but I have had a bad custom frame experience and it was pretty stressful. I'd say be careful who you choose before you commit to a builder. Things like the bike not being to spec and longer than quoted delivery times can add up to a real headache. There are some great builders out there. No real reason to risk it with an unknown.
I would not call Taylor exactly 'unknown', he's been building since the very early '90s.

[ty-ro]

I would not call Taylor exactly 'unknown', he's been building since the very early '90s.

I should have been more specific. "Unknown" refers to the OP's position in regards to this particular builder.

[fiamme red]

Can someone please post some links to photos of the show?

I just found this set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25671211@N02/sets/72157616264558031/. Any others?

[uno-speedo]

BKW has a few photos and a write up.

http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/

[Ken Robb]

The show was a lot of fun and a great first effort. It is so nice to be able to get to know builders and others in the industry in person. I think the face=to-face interplay would lead more riders to order custom bikes too.

There were several gatherings for all starting on Thursday: rides, dinners, parties w/music, etc. Next time I think Forumites should wear hats from the Racoon Lodge so we ca identify each other. Youngsters will have to Google "Jackie Gleason on The Honeymooners" to see what marvelous pieces of headgear these are.) :) :beer:

[fourflys]

I shot some pictures for Cyclocross Magazine, they can be seen here:
Cyclocross Magazine (http://cxmagazine.com/)

[fiamme red]

Here's another set:

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephen.bryne/SanDiegoCustomBicycleShow#

[fiamme red]

Someone on the iBob list just posted a link to these excellent black and white photos.

http://iheartmybeard.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/san-diego-custom-bicycle-show-pictures/