Gallery: 2022 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, Part Three

Gallery: 2022 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, Part Three

Finished salivating over galleries one and two from the 2022 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia? Yes? Well, then it’s time for our third and final gallery.

In this last gallery, you’ll find what is likely to be the final Lucentezza (Tuxedo model) from the hands of Llewellyn, a stunningly integrated steel steed from Woods Bicycle Co., and a prototype Curve Belgie that is perhaps more than a teaser of what the company may be working on.

Ok, on to the last act.

Run by brothers Zac and Josh, Woods Bicycle Co produce steel bikes just inland of Byron Bay, NSW. Having first started with custom BMX frames, the Woods brothers have been producing some stunning road and gravel bikes over the past few years. This is their first attempt at a hidden cabling bike (it’s a prototype), and it’s impressive. This is also the first sloping top tube road frame from Woods Bicycle Co.

Your eyes do not deceive you. That is indeed a round 1 1/8in steerer surrounded by a regular tapered head tube. So where are the brake hoses?!

For starters, they run internally through the bar, then through the inside of the stem, but from there …

… the secret lies in a custom expander plug that allows for both brake hoses to enter the steerer tube at the top and then exit lower down. The steerer needs to be slotted for this to happen, something that is done by the fork manufacturer. The fork itself passes ISO testing, but Woods Bicycle Co plan to create their own testing jig in order to be confident that the whole system is safe and reliable for sale. This design was the object of intrigue of more than a few other makers.

A T47 bottom bracket shell provides room internally to keep the rear brake hose enclosed within the frame until exiting at the chainstay.

The colour shift paint by Carbon Steed is an impressive match to the anodising on the titanium parts.

The polished brass headbadge tells you it’s from Woods Bicycle Co.

There’s something about the simple aesthetics of the Woods’ bikes that I find quite appealing.

Zac Woods built a a simple single pivot trail mountain bike for himself. This too is a prototype, but it’s a bike he hopes to add to the range in the near future.

Tyre widths on gravel bikes sure are starting to get out of hand. Just kidding… this is a long-distance fat bike concept that Curve is currently playing with. The tyres on this are 26 x 4.8″.

Curve was displaying a prototype Belgie Disc. This potential next generation of the Melbourne company’s titanium all-road bike features an integrated front end.

Curve is also playing with some machined detailing around certain sections of the frame. Thoughts?

An integrated seatpost binder bolt is another new detail the company is considering.

The integrated cockpit uses a 1.5″ top and bottom bearing in order to run the brake hoses internally past the round steerer fork.

You’re probably distracted by that gorgeous paint, but beneath it sits a 3D-printed titanium headset topcap that perfectly matches the cockpit. Assuming this integrated version of the Belgie Disc becomes a reality, then Curve will likely also offer these top caps in one millimetre increments.

More machined details can be found around the T47 (wide format) bottom bracket shell.

Dropout details.

Curve only had prototype concepts on display at the show. This is Curve’s first build to feature a Pinion gearbox. The likes of TOR and Prova also had bikes fitted with a Pinion gearbox and a Gates belt drive, with the goal being to create a highly reliable and almost zero-maintenance bike that has no derailleur to get caught, bent, and/or ripped off.

Still one of my favourite head badges out. The Curve Cocky (Cockatoo).

Colombus – imported into Australia by Hillbrick Bicycles – are big supporters of the Australian handmade scene. They offer a vast selection of forks, frame tubes, and frame components.

Just a small selection of frame pieces from the Columbus catalogue.

Beechworth-based TOR Bikes had this lovely trail hardtail on display. It’s an example of a Pinion gearbox combined with a Gates belt drive. Builder Shane Flint decided to trial such a build due to the combination of a wet summer and the ongoing industry parts shortages. Impressively the three-colour finish on this frame is Cerakote. You can see more of this TOR Abrade Synchro over at Pinkbike.

MAAP was present at its local show with a few new clothing items on display. Pictured is a jersey from the company’s ongoing collaboration with fellow Melbourne-based fashion label P.A.M (Perks and Mini).

A beautifully simple gravel bike from Devlin Cycles.

The finer details of this bike shine through in the light. Paint is by Wallis Paints.

Sean Doyle of Devlin Cycles started off with traditionally lugged steel frames and has since found his own unique style by using stylised sleeves over certain tube junctions.

Devlin’s bikes typically feature smooth silver brazed joins.

An interesting brake mount. Doyle appears to be using a front flat mount standard on the rear. Such a design removes the need for a thru-hole while still maintaining easy compatibility. Smart.

Details at every corner.

Devlin is still progressing his range of full suspension mountain bikes. This is the Jester, an Enduro race bike with 170 mm of travel and a mullet wheel set up (29er front, 27.5 in the rear). It’s rather nicely finished for what’s effectively a prototype. More details of this bike and a few other mountain bikes can be seen at Pinkbike.

Mark Kelly of Lyrebird Cycles is a winemaker by day, and an innovative bike maker by night. The tubes of his bikes are made by wrapping tone wood veneers with carbon composite. Meanwhile he’s been refining the rear end of the frames which now feature continuous filament-wound carbon fibre.

The frames are given a decorative wrap that’s like no other. The general concept of Kelly’s bikes is that tone woods offer unique control over vibrations and therefore produce a bike with an unmatched ride quality. On display was an all-road bike, something that Kelly intends to submit for a CyclingTips review.

With a past life in the Navy, Kelly suggested the term “stays” is one borrowed from the nautical world and refers to supporting ropes and wires, and is therefore often mis-used in the bicycle industry. The Beechworth-local joked that this was the only frame in the whole show to feature “real stays”. This style of frame has been attempted over many decades and Kelly was curious to see if modern materials could make the concept work. It’s very much an experiment and one Kelly will likely try to break with his home-made ISO-based test jigs.

You only ever get good vibes when chatting with Evan from Terra Rosa Gear. Many of his soft goods and bags are made with repurposed materials.

Terra Rosa Gear makes everything from sleeping bags to hats. These saddlebags looked ready to take a beating.

Helm (website under construction) is a fresh brand out of Melbourne making stylised wall holders for your cycling accessories. Each one is designed to hold a couple of bottles, your cycling computer, a helmet, and more.

With aluminium track bikes, Vechter is one of the few brands looking to keep the street fixie scene alive (although the bikes are ready for the Velodrome, too). The young brand recently started offering accessories such as this front rack.

Has Cool Tool Tuesday inspired you to up your tool game? Abbey Bike Tools (via distributor Lead Out Sports) was present for those wanting to walk away with some functional jewellery.

Penny Farthing Dan is the only Dan I’m aware of that makes Penny Farthings. His creations can be found all over the world.

Dan creates almost everything for his bikes in-house. And he rides the heck out of them, too.

Darrell ‘Llewellyn’ McCulloch is known for creating some of the finest steel lugged frames in the world. Pictured here is what’s likely to be his last flagship “Lucentezza”, otherwise known as his Tuxedo bike. These frames feature hand cut and polished stainless steel lugs that take an incredible toll on the body to create. McCulloch suggests that he can create four of his regular (and still incredibly detailed) bikes in the time it takes to create one of these.

This randonneur-style Llewellyn Lucentezza is still a work in progress. Many more hours await in the creation of this functional art.

The stem is handmade to match to match the frame.

It’s details like this that has given the Llewellyn name a global following. Even the racks are made by McCulloch.

Every angle of the bike presents another example of McCulloch’s mastery.

More details that will likely be hidden by a bag.

Unlike the rest of the frame, the bottom bracket lug isn’t polished stainless steel. McCulloch joked that he only did such a thing twice and decided ‘never again’. Instead this lug will be painted.

The aesthetic of dripping molten steel is a tell-tale sign that you’re looking at an authentic Llewellyn.

McCulloch uses the ‘Stem Captain‘ on many of his bikes.

Darrell McCulloch and Ewan Gellie were considered the old guard of the Australian handmade bike scene. Both of them were instrumental in the forming of the handmade bicycle show, and it was clear that Gellie was still top of mind for McCulloch. These bolts were created by Prototipo in Ewan’s memory.

More from Llewellyn.

You see details like this and then remember that a Lucentezza model takes four times as long to create.

Monday Cycles is a new gravel and bikepacking brand out of Beechworth, Victoria. The brand is testing and finalising its stock-sized steel bikes, something currently made by Shane Flint of TOR Bikes.

Geoff Duke of G.Duke is a low-key Melbourne-based builder and frame repairer. His lugged steel frames are built to last a lifetime of torture.

Duke’s frames often feature a few subtle flourishes that show many years of experience. Duke has also been known to create lugs from scratch when necessary.

South Industries was the only brand from the continent of Africa at the show. They’re a carbon rim manufacturer based in Cape Town, South Africa. Pictured is the company’s RX Road wheelset which features an ultra limited edition hand painted finish by Cape Town artist
Paul Senyol. These limited edition wheels were auctioned off to raise money for Ladles of Love, an organisation that helps to feed the hungry in Cape Town.

Like a number of companies producing carbon composite components, the people behind South Industries come from the aerospace engineering industry. The rims offer a high quality look and feel.

Irish custom carbon frame maker FiftyOne has attended recent editions of the Handmade Bicycle Show via Melbourne store Kaos Custom Bikes. On display were two fresh builds that were painted locally by KMK Bespoke Colouring.

These seatstays are a signature of FiftyOne’s.

A lush red with a little carbon poking through from beneath.

FiftyOne is still producing its custom frames in Dublin, Ireland. The company also recently added the Assassin, an Asian-made production gravel bike to its range.

Serk is a titanium bike company with roots in China (place of manufacture) and Australia. It’s a brand that CyclingTips’ own Andy van Bergen chose for a personal bike. The small company had a range of road and gravel bikes on display.

Serk recently started offering Cerakote as a finish option. This ultra thin and durable finish is notoriously tricky to work with and so this level of detail is super impressive.

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