Custom Bicycles: A Passionate Pursuit

by Christine Elliott, David Jablonka

A unique study of the names and bikes of the world's most famous, innovative and legendary makers of contemporary bespoke bicycles.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2009

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A starry-eyed look at (mostly) American framebuilders.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically bike porn. A bunch of very beautiful pictures of handmade bespoke bicycles from different craftsman throughout the world (St.Paul, MN had two featured--Anderson and Brown--way to represent!). Gets one salivating, but then realizing that these machines are way out of the price range of the average Joe. One theme everyone seemed to strike was how there was nothing like riding a custom made bicycle that was perfectly tailored for the owner. Without sensing the irony, these same people would often talk about how they had an heirloom piece that could be passed to descendants.

An interesting book if you love bikes. The discussion that different artisans had about their materials and individual aesthetic made you see that bikes can be brought to the level of functional sculpture.

[Chris Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book for those who are already into cycling. The text is sparse: only one page for each custom maker, and that is printed in a larger sized typeface.

The photographs are the book's main attraction, and they are quite lush. Generally there is only one bike featured, maybe two. There is not a lot of explanation, either. That's why I think it's a better book for those already close to being a cycling gear freak.

If you want more photos, many of these brands would have heaps of images on the web. A lot of these makers I'd seen via images from the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, so you could search for NAHBS.

This is a beautiful taster, rather than detailed technical manual. If you read it like a taster, you will enjoy it.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Granted, I'm not especially into bicycles. Also granted, I was just checking this out to see if it would make a good present for my dad (it might, but only if I can get it cheap). But, unlike the book on Victorian narrative painting, this book did not make me interested.
If you're into custom bicycles, this might be a great coffee table book. But I just kept looking at the pictures and thinking how ridiculously much those bikes must cost and what sorts of awesome travels I could go on with that kind of money.

[Richard]

(reading a review copy)

A colorful coffee-table picture book of handbuilt bicycles from around the world.

[Smellsofbikes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of beautiful pictures of beautiful bikes, with some fairly fluffy biographies of the different framemakers on the side.