Text by Shinya Tanaka/Photo by Rie Sawada
NAHBS has become a trendsetter.
Why is that? If you ask, the answer is always the same: it's "easy to build."
The appeal of the handmade bike world is that you can start building with a "let's give it a try" attitude, using new materials, new components, and new ideas.
So this time, let's have Curtis Inglis, a man who skillfully shares the modern and the historical, make an appearance. Ta-da!
Hi! I'm Curtis! This is my partner Max. Nice to meet you.
It's a bit rude to make such a catchy entrance for him, but Curtis is a truly kind-hearted, thoughtful, and nice guy who is the owner-builder of Retrotec. He lives surrounded by the vineyards of NAPA in California, diligently building bicycles every day, riding his bike around, and occasionally fixing cars.
The numerous bikes he brought to this NAHBS have a rather interesting lineup, so I'd like to talk a bit while we take a look.
First, this road racer.
Of course, the top is the classic Half Top style that Retrotec has been making for 20 years, rounded off.
And if you look closely at the details, I think some people will notice "oh." Can you see it?
1: The DI2 battery is not exposed.
It's easy, isn't it? This kind of problem. It's embedded in the seat post.
The eccentric manufacturer Callffee, one of the most eccentric manufacturers in the American handmade world, makes and is currently selling a system that can embed the intersection and battery in the seat. Because of that, you can incorporate the DI2 system without having to make a large hole in the BB (BB stiffness is important.).
[Prediction] I think Shimano will probably sell batteries with this system in the near future. (Please don't get angry.)
2: The rear brake is nowhere to be seen.
This is also easy. It's on the chainstay.
And since the cable is finished internally, it looks like it's really worth trying.
This, of course, can also be ordered as an option.
This bike is currently being ridden every day through the vineyards as his training bike.
Please check out that scene on his Instagram.
Next, this modern mountain bike with a Double Top style that won the Best MTB.
It hits the points that will likely become the modern standard.
1: The combination of 44mm Head Tubing and ChrisKing Inset 7.
This is nothing other than seeking stiffness and weight reduction. Forks are becoming tapered more and more, and in an era where CX and even Road are entering Disc, it becomes a natural option. Rather, 11/8 might become the old standard.
2: Rear 142mm width & 12mm thru axle.
This too, thanks to the timely introduction of hubs by ChrisKing and XTR, Paragon Machine Works can now manufacture the rear end. There will be no end to the high stiffness of the suspension system.
Skilled people will be even more skilled and faster, and even a clumsy person like me might feel a little more secure...
3: Standardization of PF30.
Increased stiffness around the BB (stiffness, stiffness, really.) and weight reduction (light, light, really.), rather, I'm happy about this, but with the ProblemSolvers eccentric system compatible adapter specification, a single-speed can be made in no time! Whether a single-speed is fun or not, I don't know if you try it, but it's perfect for a slightly poor person like me who doesn't want to lose out. (No, I mean, a single-speed is really fine.)
Furthermore, this commuter bike. This is called a Triple Top.
It consists of three top tubes: the Twin top tube and a decorative top tube. I just want you to shout "So cool!" For future reference, it's good to see that just by painting the front and rear racks to the frame, such a wonderful harmony is born. And using Shimano on a bike like this without trying too hard is one of my favorites. (It's very difficult to encounter a Californian builder who denies Shimano. The point of conversation here is the builder.)
Furthermore, in the past, this touring bike participated in Oregon Manifest.
There is no place to cut corners.
The logo is worked into the mudguard with silkscreen, and the front rack is painted the same color as Pat's Passtow. Plus, if it's FreightBaggage, there's nothing more to say, right?
Furthermore, the fact that it uses a Thread Stem, and the BruceGordon light also has a color. Moreover, when it comes with a DoubleLever specification and a hub dynamo and SUPERNOVA, it makes my heart race.
And the finishing touch is WTB Rocket-V! (If you shout "Come back! Avocet!", please try it.) Well, this is "Amekaji". Those who know will know. Those who don't will never know. I think that's fine.
Yeah! This is also good. Classic style and Retrotec are called.
This is a model designed and manufactured to make sure Curtis's first bike, a Schwinn cruiser bike, can withstand proper use, one of the styles that Americans love. (However, it is also the model that takes the most time to manufacture.)
This is fitted with slicks for city riding, but it also fully demonstrates its performance on the trail.
The point here is changing the tires. Many people tend to stick to models or bike types, but the most important thing is how you want to ride. The choice that suits that, that is, what size tires can fit, is simply the difference in the quality of the bike. Please be careful, because if you talk about road or cross as mountain now, you will be left behind by the times.
There was also a basic Half Top 29er.
The stock size order is the basic specification here.
Will 11/8 size HeadTubing, Standard BB, 130mm rear end, and 10mm QR be the eternal standard?
And this bike has a Fillet finish. Retrotec allows you to choose from TIG, Fillet Brazing, and Lugged, so please find your favorite.
Did you notice? Many Californian builders are finishing completed bikes with almost the same parts choices. Shimano is a Japanese company, but I understand that it was carefully nurtured almost entirely by the American mountain bike market. Moreover, the main office is in California. And Fox Fork is also in California, in a rural town called Scotts Valley. WTB, CrankBrothers, and EASTON are also California-based companies. I think there are very few states? (Rather, countries.) where such an assembly can be made, and I simply feel envious. The ideas are there, there are people who convey them, and people who make them. And they are properly used. What I wrote in FUTURE 1 can actually be seen with my own eyes. (Cars were like that in the past, but as the market moves to other countries, don't you feel that the value of the Japanese market is fading?)
His workshop is a garage built in his backyard. From that small garage, bicycles are born every day, covered in ideas and iron powder.
And this year marked the 20th year of his building history. Retrotec is about loving to keep cutting, polishing, and playing for 20 years, and never stopping.
By manufacturing what should change and what should not change yourself, and judging it by using it yourself, and connecting it to the next technology. Such a very difficult thing, wrapped in the euphemism of "JOY", and swallowing it with a gulp, probably makes you forget about unpleasant things for a while.
Originally, Curtis started building bicycles with the Sycips brothers in a shared garage on the pier in San Francisco.
And as they each started getting orders, they couldn't enjoy their bicycle play in the city, and they couldn't concentrate on manufacturing, so they settled in each other's livable places and set up workshops. (Curtis is from his hometown NAPA, Sycips is from Santa Rosa. It is also characteristic that they are both convenient towns about 100 miles from SF.)
This kind of flow exists a little in this country's bicycle industry, and I feel that it is starting to be actively done in slightly remote places. Make a name for yourself in the city, find work (clients), be needed, find what you want to do with your life, and move to a livable place. It's okay to go out to town once in a while. If you can live like that, it can be said that it's a very luxurious and rich life, no matter how small. Sometimes I secretly think I want to become such a person.
Next.
Retrotech – Retrotech
– Please see the product samples [ Flickr Retrotech set].
