We knew what we knew,
but we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

We should write more about this, and we will, but this short post is about something electric that pegged the dial recently within the NAHBS team.

Don Walker went to Japan for the Bespoked show in Osaka. Having announced the return of NAHBS, Don needed to see which way the wind was blowing among the international frame builders.

Handbuilt Bicycle News needed somebody with some proper knowledge to get frame builder interviews in Osaka, since HBG’s EU reporter, Rory Hitchens, was otherwise engaged. Don was willing, and his framebuilder to framebuilder interviews are racking up impressive viewing figures.

So here’s what we knew when Don arrived in Japan: NAHBS was coming back.

What we didn’t know was how many builders and manufacturers he’d meet there would be delighted to hear the news. ‘Celebrated’ would not be an overstatement. We had no idea that Don would be a minor celebrity at the Bespoked show. He was stopped by attendees, recognizing him, wanting a selfie. We had no idea how much energy Don’s trip to Japan would inject into the NAHBS28 team, and we’re not talking about our in-house energy, we mean the collective energy of the frame building community, not just the builders, but the attendees too.

The pictures on Facebook tell the story. This is the dawn of a new era for NAHBS.

As they said at one of those eternally famous Mont-Sainte-Anne parties on the Mountain Bike World Cup circuit back in the golden era, Elvis lives and rides!