Bicycles at an Exhibition
The MADE bike show came and went in a blur. Like most builders, I was not immune from the last-minute paint work, late nights brazing, and begging for frantic favors from local bike shops. But the end result of this was three new bikes that proudly display the range and capability of Liberation Fab.
“What kind of bikes do you build?” was a common question from MADE attendees. And a good one, too! Many builders find a niche in the industry and work to hone their designs within that space. Whether it’s the stunning road frames of Rob English, the mountain bikes from Acoustic Cycles, or the bikepacking builds from Chumba, it’s clear when a builder has a deep understanding of a subset of the cycling world. But what about Liberation? At first I sidestepped the question - “I’m still figuring that out,” I’d reply despite that not feeling entirely truthful to me. I had brought what appeared to be three very disparate bikes to the show, but they were all connected by a few important ideals.
Every bike I brought was crafted specifically around finding delight, love, and connection in its own special way. To me, what makes Liberation special is optimizing for those three parameters above all else. While most bike reviewers focus on things like weight, component choice, and specific features, this self-promotional mini-review will focus on the more qualitative side of my bikes.
Y’All-Road
Photo credit: Miles Arbour, bikepacking.com
Delight:
The Y’All-Road is Liberation Fab’s first “Frameworks” bike for one simple reason - it’s the bike I think most people should be riding most of the time. It’s designed around finding delight in the ordinary, whether that’s running errands around town or commuting to work. The considerations for comfort, utility, and versatility are front and center so all you have to think about is where to ride next.
Love:
As a machine, the bicycle does an amazing job at extending our abilities to go further and do more. The Y’All-Road inspires love within self-reliance, independence, and endurance. Its geometry and stylings are inspired by a long heritage of randonneur frames which means the Y’All-Road is the perfect bike to quest out and explore the limits of your body and mind, finding a new level of self love along the way.
Connection:
Perhaps my favorite part of riding a bicycle is the everyday connections I make. I love running into a friend at a stoplight, waving to a stranger on their porch, or just being a regular fixture in the neighborhood. As an everyday bike, the Y’All-Road helps to forge these connections and bring the world to a more human scale.
Empty Bee
Photo credit: Miles Arbour, bikepacking.com
Delight:
The Empty Bee embodies the Liberation philosophy of delight. I was lucky to get into mountain biking through friends who was also new to the sport. We grew in our abilities together, laughed off every crash, and never pressured each other to do anything we weren’t comfortable with. As I met more folks in the mtb community, I was sad to learn that this experience was a rare one. Many folks I talked to discussed feeling pressured to push themselves harder, uncomfortable with the attitude of their riding partners, and a general sense of “is this supposed to be fun?”
The Empty Bee emphatically says “Yes, this should be fun!” To ride a mountain bike is to engage in play and play should be an absolute delight.
Love:
Perhaps the coolest things that come from riding a mountain bike are the intimacy and love formed with the land. Since starting to ride frequently, I’ve found myself much more tuned in to local weather, vegetation, dirt, and rocks. There’s no better way to understand an area’s topology, smells, and sounds than the visceral experience of slowly trudging uphill one crank rotation at a time. To ride a mountain bike is to be immersed in nature and what’s not to love about that?
Connection:
Maybe more than any other cycling discipline, mountain biking is a great way to make personal connections. There’s a vulnerability inherent to being out in the woods and (in an ideal world) a camaraderie with other trail users. The reality of mountain biking these days is that it can be an exclusionary and homogenous group of folks, but the Empty Bee is a vision for a radically (and radical) inclusive future.
Cacophony
Photo credit: Robert M Huff & Dylan VanWeelden, MADE.bike
Delight:
Many devout road cyclists like to emphasize the “pain” and “suffering” aspects of training and competing. So much so that I was apprehensive about ever getting into what sounded like a pretty miserable sport. It took some well-timed peer pressure for me to even consider racing on pavement. I spent a season riding my cyclocross bike, competing against my friends in the local crit series and a few road races, and enjoying every moment of it. This frame is a gift to myself to celebrate the delight of road cycling and a reminder that bikes should be fun even if they’re being ridden in fast circles.
Love:
To me, there is something magical about the accountability of a race. Every participant is expected to go in and try their absolute hardest with the hope of coming out on top. When I inevitably get passed in sprint finishes, I find myself in awe of the folks who beat me - to know that I am at my absolute maximum and to be passed is an incredibly humbling experience. And when I’m lucky enough to find myself in a breakaway, I feel an instant bond with the other riders. To put your heart and soul into riding is so immensely vulnerable that it must come from a deep love of the sport. I built the Cacophony with that same love, putting hours into carefully shaping the tubing and hand-filing the fillets.
Connection:
The road race scene in Pittsburgh isn’t that big and the women’s race scene is even smaller. So when the same people show up to every event, it’s pretty hard not to become friends. Post-crit pizza and beers became a summertime staple and “rival” teams set aside their differences for post-race conviviality. To me, racing became synonymous with deepening relationships with my friends and forging a new, better cycling community together. To a similar end, this frame was designed for a stiff and precise connection to the road - deep rims, oversized tubing, and a short wheelbase means that this bike will respond to every movement without hesitation.
