Ask someone to list off the world's most innovative bicycles, and chances are that they'll mention some mass-produced bikes made by big-name manufacturers. The fact is, though, it's more often the smaller, independent builders that are doing the real innovating. For the past 10 years, many of them have been showing off their latest builds at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS). We attended this year's event, which took place last weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here's a look at some of the things that really caught our eye.
NAHBS 2014 featured over 150 exhibitors from around the world – although most of them were from North America.
Given our mandate here at Gizmag, we were particularly interested in finding examples of out-of-the-box thinking – bikes that might be a little too "alternative" to sell in huge numbers, but that demonstrate a willingness to experiment with things like new frame materials, geometries, or drive trains.
There were plenty.
We've already covered some of the standout cycling innovations over the past week, but you can take a peek at the rest in this article's photo gallery. Just be warned that doing so may cause extreme bicycle lust.
