If you’re an internet bike nerd like me who needs to get out more, events like the MADE bike show or the Sea Otter Classic are primary outlets for discovering cool new gear. When I’m walking the expo floors, I’m like a kid in a candy shop, easily distracted by the next shiny bits and bobs.
As the owner of several custom-built bicycles, I’m especially fond of seeing the stuff makers bring out and display at shows like these. Though I really shouldn’t be buying new bikes anytime soon, there is always room for farkling my existing bikes. Indeed, FARKLE: a term borrowed from motorcycle enthusiasts, stands for ‘Fancy Accessory Really Kool and Likely Expensive’, which is an ideal term for many of the unique custom items and gadgets found on the expo floor.
Josh Ogle Design
If there is any one booth that defines ‘fancy accessory’ and ‘likely expensive,’ you would have found it in the booth thrown together by Josh Ogle. If you’re not familiar with the former frame builder turned race car part fabricator and luxury wristwatch craftsman, Josh has been handcrafting his own frames and parts for the better part of two decades. These days he’s focused on designing and machining ridiculously light and functional cycling bits from titanium. His “booth” was centered around a display case filled with intricately machined lock rings, headset spacer caps, chain rings, and derailleur pulleys, as well as the latest iteration of his 3D printed titanium suspension bike that utilized the 3VO suspension design.
Yellow Bird Thread Works
Yellow Birth Thread Works stem caps also fit the “FARKLE” term to a “t”. Their stem caps are produced in brass and held snug with an American-made titanium bolt. Made in small batches in Chester, Connecticut, the brass caps age with time and exposure to the environment, developing a unique aesthetic.
Their ‘Brick Buddy’ top cap features mounts for two of your favorite Lego minifigures, should you be looking for a spot to mount a co-pilot.
Clever Standard
Clever Standard creates some interesting takes on familiar accessories, like the Flatout chain hook and quick link storage lever, and the Bacon Anchor tubeless tire repair plugger kit made from waste fishnet recycled material.
After failing to repair a tire with the tubeless plugs I was carrying last weekend (in their defense, it was a pinch flat, so it’s unlikely it was fixable), their Anchor Stack Tire plugger with its reusable tips has me intrigued! The tip is pointed to ease pushing into the tire casing. However, because the bacon is inserted folded in half, it can fill twice the space of the plugs I currently carry. The Bacon Anchors are made in both aluminum as well as from recycled materials.
They sent a Flatout lever home with me, but now I’ve reviewed their site, the tool to have would be the Clever tool, which is a pair of levers that also function as chain link pliers.
Bridge the Gap Designs
I was intrigued by this rigged-up bleed kit holder on display, which utilized 3D-printed pieces and an articulated camera arm. This creative solution was the brainchild of Bre Rue, a long-time pro bike mechanic and tech geek, who is working on coming up with creative solutions to common mechanical problems.
Sinewave Cycles
Sinewave Cycles makes accessories in Cambridge, MA. The Sinewave Cycles Reactor is a CNC-milled stem cap that houses a USB connector, that is part of their bicycle dynamo-powered USB charger system. It converts electricity generated by hub and bottle dynamos, and provides USB. output so you can charge USB-powered devices while riding.
Neuhaus Nova 32 Custom
I’m not sure how I personally feel about oversized wheels, but the bike industry has to industry. Now that rims and tires are becoming available, builders like Nick Neuhaus, as well as a number of race teams, are building up rigs to ride and test them. Are they going to replace 29″? Seeing as how I’m still excited about 27.5″ and 26″ wheels, I don’t see myself going there, but according to Nick, the 32″ wheels ride a lot like lighter-weight oversized 29″+ tires.
The Nova 32 custom has room for 32×2.4″ tires, sliding dropouts, and a threaded bottom bracket.
Cool fixie: CAVA Robusto 700 x 42. ?? Tires
Though mine hasn’t received a lot of saddle time lately, I have a soft spot for single-speeds and fixed-gear bikes, as they’re IMO, the ideal low-maintenance modes of transport for neighborhood runs to the store and other errands. This model, with its clean cockpit and intriguing tires, caught my eye. Unfortunately, I didn’t write down the builder, and I can’t find a logo decal on any of the photos I have.
Seeing this bike makes me want to have a second braze-on added to my fized gear frame. I’m not familiar with the CAVA tire line, but this tread has my attention. It’s the CAVA Robusto, a high volume slick with ‘3D diamond file tread’ that is intended to be more predictable in looser corners.