Ride Boulder Co

Soooo many good-looking American-made bikes

Posted on 19. Sep, 2009 by admin in Uncategorized

(picture from http://www.bowerylanebicycles.com/broncks_raw.html)

I’ve been spending probably an inappropriate amount of time looking at bikes recently. I’m not really looking to buy a new bike but there have been a few that have really caught my eye and given me pause to consider what could I sell in order to get a new lovely, steel-framed, stylishly-lugged, retro-looking bike.

The image of the bike above is from Bowery Lane Bicycles in NY. These  bikes look great, are reasonably priced and have free shipping anywhere in the U.S. I have no idea what it would be like to ride one of these but for eye-candy purposes you would be hard-pressed to find a better distraction.

Except for maybe Moyers out of Austin, Tx.  They used to have lots of pictures of their amazing hand-made bikes but now just a splash page. I wanted one of these for a long time, if only because they punched-out the outline of the state of Texas on the top tube.  These will set you back but if you can negotiate with your bank to waive one-month’s mortgage, you’ll be sitting pretty.

Independent Fabrication makes a Super Commuter

Super Commuter from Independent Fabrication is another one to look at it.  The bag doesn’t do much for me but then I am biased towards the tweedy-leather look.

Lug art

The lug work on these bikes from MAP Bicycles are simply beautiful.  The owner/builder is Mitch Pryor and the store is located in the cycling mecca of Portland, Oregon.

What’s great about each of these companies is that they are building bikes here in the U.S. Yes, they are pricey. There is no getting around that but if you intend to keep a bike for awhile wouldn’t it be great to invest (if you can) in workmanship and uniqueness. At least that’s how I am going to rationalize a pink steel-framed, lusciously-lugged cross-bike with a punch-out of the Lone Star State.

Tags: bicycles, Bronks Raw Bicycles, custom bikes, MAP Bicycles, moyers