The Radavist

It’s kind of sad to see fewer and fewer frame builders showcasing track bikes and fixed gears at shows like the Philly Bike Expo. There’s nothing more elegant than a cleanly-proportioned bike meant to travel around the city and this Royal H Cycles fixed gear is exactly that. The colors just pop in these photos. Check out more below.

During our ride to Philly from Brooklyn, I had the pleasure of staring down this beauty. My friend Harry Swartzman is close friends with Jamie Swan, a frame builder residing on Long Island, NY. Jamie’s work is very precise, clean, classy and yet, Harry’s bike falls into his atypical character.

Harry wanted a light tourer, with modern lines. A long, slammed stem, with a sloping top tube and fits much more like a road bike than a tourer. Just look at the drive-side elevation. It’s mean! Jamie often prefers more traditional road, randonneur and tourers but I think this frame is exquisite.

If my Geekhouse Team Mudville was a little too subdued for your taste, maybe Brad’s team bike is more up your alley. Brad’s bike was the only one in the Geekhouse Philly Bike Expo stable but the bright purple powder attracted crowds all weekend.

This purple race machine has yet to see the mud but if you follow Geekhouse on Instagram (@GeekhouseBikes), you’ll see it covered next weekend. Til then, check out more photos below.

One of my favorite bikes at the Philly Bike Expo was this Chapman Cycles townie. At first glance, it may look like a pretty standard parts build but when you look closely, you’ll notice a lot of vintage parts in a dark black anodized finish. Brian Chapman really took his time with this one and it shows. The custom anodized Honjo fenders did it for me but don’t overlook all the frame details!

Each year, the guys at Landlords always come to the Philly Bike Expo bearing vintage bikes, parts and chill dub vibes. This year, they set up a shrine to the cycling gods and demigods of yesteryear. Check it out!

This year, I took on the Philly Bike Expo a little differently than year’s past. I didn’t want to even bother trying to cover it all, much less photograph all the Beautiful Bicycles in less than ideal lighting. Instead, I shot what I thought was interesting inside many of the booths and took bikes that I admired outdoors for some lens love.

We’ll start this off with a simple gallery, check it out below and there will be many more bicycles covered here over the next few days.

The 2012 Philly Bike Expo is approaching fast and one of my favorite bikes from last year’s show wasn’t on the floor in a booth, it was outside being ridden by Alan of Cycling WMD. This Hail Satan Porteur rack caused quite the stir and it wasn’t just its fluoro pink powder. Check out the HED 3 disk conversion! Alan’s always got something sneaky up his sleeve. Hopefully I’ll see him in Philly! Check out more of this Photoset Re-Up in the Gallery.