mined from this thread -

>>> I struggle with this every year as I prepare for NAHBS. Do I stop everything and build
>>> some crazy thing I'd never normally sell in order to attract attention. Or do I keep on
>>> building customer bikes and bring an examples of what I regularly build?
>>> I've decided I should be who I am and bring the bikes that are moving thought the queue
>>> at the time. I'm selling myself as much as I'm selling frames. Sure I'll put a nice build together
>>> and be sure to take a frame with a cool paint job but overall they are exactly what I'm selling.
>>> The problem is I feel like I get lost in the glare of a bunch of "concept" bikes.

>>> Anyone else struggle with this?

no atmo.

from day one nahbs was supposed to be reality based. if others stray and
wanna pander to the please-look-at-me stuff, well - that genie is out of the
bottle. sad. the show, or maybe even the trade, is at a shark jumping point
atmo. it has grown to a point that its consuming its own and could possibly
get vegas-y in a new york minute. how to defend against this? listen to your
inner framebuilder atmo. i said this from day one - the awards thing and the
desire to individuate (these) are deal breakers. my ideal was a display, not
a competition of sorts. a museum atmosphere rather than a trade show one.
before anyone fires a salvo at me, all of what i typed here is consistent with
my atmos since houston nahbs one point oh.

>>> If Einstein would have just stuck to being a patent clerk because that's what he did
>>> everyday the world would be a poorer place for it.

let him go to interbike atmo.

>>> Get your genres straight.

i meant "...an interbike for patent clerks" atmo.

>>> What should a show bike be?
>>> Clean.

you want sex or love?
it's a rhetorical question atmo...

>>> The problem is I feel like I get lost in the glare of a bunch of "concept" bikes.

which came first - the best-of trophies or these "concept" bikes you mention?
yeah. ya' know where i'm headed with this atmo.

>>> Ive said it before and I'll say it again, the awards are a huge part of the show. The
>>> attendees love it. It caps off the entire weekend. Sorry all the builders hate them
>>> so much.

mebbe the attendees need a show atmo.
North American Attendees Who Like Awards Show
ps and before you go all hormonal, you know how i feel about you atmo...

>>> Any thoughts?

yeah - no awards atmo.
we are there as peers and equals, mutually supportive of each other and the trade.

>>> One other thing that no one has mentioned is the blatant campaigning on one builder's
>>> behalf, by another builder, to win an award. I know this happened in the past. One exhibitor
>>> goes to all his builder friends and urges them to vote for builder A because they feel he
>>> deserves some props in general. Not that builder A's bike is the best in that category but
>>> that the supporter feels it's time to have this guy recognized. Builder A didn't even know
>>> this was happening and certainly had no part in it. He just thinks he "won".

was this one of those track bike things atmo?

>>> I don't think it was competing in the 120mm class. Banana.

sure - make yet another joke about a serious issue, an issue i am invested in and
vocal about since the early days in houston atmo. these awards are gay. and they
send the wrong message. we can talk about the chads, and the cronyism, and the,
er - president's choice. but at the end of the day, all you, dave kirk, want is the truth
huh. well i have your inner framebuilder truth right here atmo: you can't handle
the truth! son, we live in a world that has walls. and those walls have to be guarded
by men with guns. who's gonna do it? you? you, carl "i am so" strong? i have a
greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. you weep for sacha and you
curse the itty bitty tricycle. you have that luxury. you have the luxury of not
knowing what i know: that greg townsend's best of show paint award, while tragic,
probably saved lives. and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to
you, saves lives...you don't want the truth. because deep down, in places you don't
talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. you need me on that wall. we use
words like alignment, stem angle, and atmo...we use these words as the backbone
to a life spent creating something. you use 'em as a punchline. i have neither the
time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under
the blanket of the very entertainment i provide, then questions the manner in
which i provide it! i'd rather you just said, "Just sayin'" and went on your way.
otherwise, i suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. either way, i don't
give a damn what you think you're entitled to!



>>> If you have a "judged" category fine offer a playbook I think there will be folks who
>>> aspire to be the kings and queens of this aspect and will have followers.

ruff ruff atmo -

>>> this crap is wearing me down and I don't like it.

MY REPLY:


>>> I'm really glad we can all find humor in it.
>>> me? not so much.

don't get all me me me personal about this and shit atmo. we appreciate nahbs and
the effort behind it. your decisions are not always the best ones. we view the awards
thing as a bad one, or at least one deserving of discussion - which is what we are doing
after carl started the thread. i have been against these since day one, and have put my
money where my mouth is by never allowing my bicycles to be judged once nahbs left
houston. the others can make their choices atmo. the show isn't perfect. some of us who
care about it and have accepted it into our daily routine are allowed to have strong opinions
and we are voicing them here.