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It’s official: Sixth Law Cycles will be exhibiting at New Builder Table 7 at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, March 10-12, in Salt Lake City. It would be great to meet you if you are in town during the show!

The fact the the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is almost literally in my back yard was too good to pass up, so I registered for a New Builder table at the show. If you are in town, please support me and the craft by dropping by to say hello. I’ll post my location once it has been confirmed. Now to build some bikes!

Bespoke—anything commissioned to a particular specification. It may be altered or tailored to the customs, tastes, or usage of an individual purchaser.

I get this question a lot: why should I buy a custom bike? After all, the big brands do an awfully good job of manufacturing bicycles. Can Sixth Law Cycles make them lighter? Here are some thoughts on why you want a custom bike:

1. A custom bike is an experience. Most things you buy involve going into a store and picking out what you want from among the things on the shelf. Sixth Law Cycles provides an experience. Creating a bicycle starts with a conversation about your hopes, dreams, and desires. From this conversation, we design a bike together. A bike that you will enjoy riding. What does that mean to you?
2. A custom bike is crafted. I have a passion for making things that people love with my hands. My tools are modest but effective. I wield them with great care. You will find no production lines in my workshop. Are you the sort of person who appreciates fine craftsmanship?
3. Know your bike builder. After completing the process of creating a custom bike, you and I will have a relationship. Above all else, you will know your bike builder. How many things do you own like that?
4. Become part of a community. Owning a custom bike makes you part of a community. It includes you, me, the partners I work with, the vendors who provide the materials I use in my craft, and the teachers and mentors who passed on their skills and encouragement to me. Whenever possible, I engage others who dedicate themselves to these ideals to procure materials or supplies. I like to personally know the people who contribute to my livelihood. Are there places where you feel like you just belong?
5. Ride something as unique as you. With a custom bicycle, you will never find yourself at a club ride on the same bike as your friends. Only you can decide what makes the perfect bike for you, but no matter what it is, a custom bike will reflect that perfection—your perfection. What word would describe the perfect bike for you?

Buying a custom bicycle follows the laws of electrostatics. It starts with a potential—a desire, in this case. Without some connection, however, that potential goes nowhere. It collects, looking for an outlet. As with static electricity, it can dissipate slowly, the desire fading away into the moments of life. But under the right conditions—a strong enough field and a connection with a ground—it can create lightning.

Do you have a desire for a bike that will make you smile?

Make a connection today. You deserve it.