With the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, held annually in early March, leaving its spiritual home of Portland, Oregon for the more centrally located Indianapolis, many of the Northwest’s top builders were left with one less showcase for their incredible work. Fortunately many of them made the trip to the Seattle Bike Expo and in doing so elevated the event to a new level. Road Bike Action was in attendance and here are a few of our favorites.

Courage Team Issue
The Courage Team Issue features a tig-welded frame using True Temper S3 tubing for the front triangle mated to a rear triangle constructed with Columbus Life tubing. The Team Issue is equipped with a  Dura Ace group, and a striking white, red, blue and black paint scheme modeled after classic BMW racing colors.

The paint on the courage was flawless, and staying true to their Portland roots the Courage uses a Chris King bottom bracket instead of the standard Dura Ace model.

The dropouts on the Courage are machined from solid blocks of steel and are simply beautiful. While the dropouts on the road bike are relived to drop weight, the Cyclocross bike features solid versions to reduce the build up of mud. For more information on Courage bikes visit www.ridecourage.com

Vertigo Titanium Cyclocross
One of the most impressive bikes at the show was the Vertigo Titanium cyclocross bike. The bike has an incredibly clean appearance with internal cable routing, integrated seatmast and specially machined brake mounts that bring the brakes closer to seatstays and fork blades. All of this has been done not only for appearance but to increase performance.

Both the rear derailleur and brake cables are internally routed. This gives the bike a clean appearance, but also keeps it the cables out of the elements and eliminates the chance of catching ones legs on a cable stop.

With the integrated seatmast, Vertigo’s Sean Chaney was able to run the rear brake cable straight out the back of the seatmast. With the specially machined brake mounts, the brakes sit closer to the frame, which reduces post flex when the brakes are applied, and aids in performance.

The welds, even on the cable islets, are flawless. The internal cable routing features internal tubing so that there is no having to fish out cables.

The Vertigo features a 90-millimeter bottom bracket shell with internal bearing. This increases stiffness and limits the chance of bearing contamination. For more information on Vertigo bikes visit www.vertigocycles.com

The Renovo is constructed with a wood front triangle mated to a Columbus carbon fiber rear. The frame weighs between 3.5 to 4.5-pounds depending on the size of frame and the type of wood used. The construction method is quite complex and impressive. The Renovo frame is monocoque, composed of two halves bonded together side-to-side along the long axis of the bicycle. Each frame half consists of four pieces, precision jointed with the strongest and most reliable of joints, the finger joint, then bonded with oven-cured, high temperature epoxy. For a complete explanation of the Renovo frame construction visit www.renovobikes.com/making-a-frame/. Look for a full test in an upcoming issue of Road Bike Action.

The bottom bracket shell is aluminum, with the carbon chainstays bonded to it. Despite such a complex juncture Renovo makes it look elegant.

Due to the complex bottom bracket juncture the front derailleur cable is run through the top tube. The Renovo uses and simple pulley system to allow the use of a bottom pull front derailleur.

The slim carbon wishbone chainstays offer a unique visual contrast to the oversized the wood front triangle.

A cut-away view of the bottom bracket juncture shows the monocoque structure of the frame. For more information on Renovo bikes visit www.renovobikes.com

Donkelope Bikes makes some really nice steel road bikes, but it was the Jill (named after the girl it was built for) that caught our eye. The Jill features an attention grabbing white, teal and pink color scheme with an internal 7-speed hub. The frame construction is first rate with a unique frame design that included such features as looped chainstays that extended all the way to the head tube, a custom basket and front disc brake.

The white, teal and pink color scheme is carried throughout the bike.

The beautifully crafted basket adds versatility to the Donkelope, and is perfect for runs the to grocery store. For more information on Donkelope bikes visit www.donkelopebikes.com

Lapierre X-Lite 400 FDJ Di2
While not local in origin the US offices of Lapierre are based just outside Seattle, Washington making the Expo a must attend event. The Lapierre booth was packed with people and with good reason. The French manufacture was showing off their X-Lite 400 FDJ bike equipped with Shimano’s Di2 group. Lapierre even had the bike setup on a trainer so that people could try the new electric group.

The Lapierre X-Lite 400 FDJ Di2 will come equipped with PRO Volt carbon bar and stem. With the new electric group and PRO components the X-Lite 400 FDJ Di2 comes in below the UCI weight limit.

The brains of the Di2 are housed in the front derailleur, while the battery pack is strapped the down tube just below the water bottle cage. For more information on Lapierre bikes visit www.lapierrebikes.us

Belladonna
This single speed Belladonna featured lugged construction, with matching racks, and fenders. The lugs on the Belladonna were brushed steel and highlighted the detail work that was put into the frame.

The custom built racks featured nicely finished wood inserts and added a classy touch to the retro styled bike.

The Belladonna featured some of the more unique mounting points that we have seen. The design is simple and keeps the front of the bike looking clean. For more information on Belladonna bikes visit www.belladonnacycles.com

Co-Motion
Co-Motion was showing off a striking green and white flame painted tandem with a carbon belt drive in place of the timing chain. Being used on single speed mountain bikes, the carbon belt drive is suppose to be unbreakable and will not stretch. For more information on Co-Motion bikes visit www.co-motion.com

Viva Duro
Viva is a Danish company that is on its way to the States. They will be offering a complete line of city and commuter bikes with a bit of European flair. The Duro is a lugged flat bar single speed, with dual down and top tubes.

The dual top and down tubes, straight blade fork along with the lugged stem, make for stylish, retro looking bike.

Leather grips, and two-tone paint add to the European flair. Viva wisely equipped the Duro with front and rear brakes. For more information on Viva bikes visit www.vivacykler.dk