The Golden Age Of Handbuilt Bicycles

I'm the kind of person who has an inverse relationship to hype: the more people say "you have to see this movie" or "this book is amazing" the more apt I am to avoid it. At a certain point a product becomes the victim of its own hype and the result is disappointment.

This said, let me be perfectly clear about something: if you have any interest in classic bicycles you absolutely must buy "The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles". This book is simply stunning and is a wonderful tribute to classic bicycles, especially those made by French constructeurs who believed that a bike is far more than the sum of its parts. The book presents 50 bikes ranging from porteur bikes capable of carrying 100 pounds to ultralight randonneur bikes. Each bike is photographed in profile along with a selection of close-up shots. Text is provided by Jan Heine, publisher of Vintage Bicycle Quarterly. Jan's expertise is clearly evident as he takes the time to not only describe the details of each bike but in many cases writes about the builders and eventual owners of the bikes presented. This puts a very human touch on the book and saves it from simply being a collection of pretty photographs.

At the back of the book are detailed notes on each of the bikes presented including a list of any non-original equipment present. What is missing would be a listing of the equipment for each bike along with the size of the bike shown. This would make some of the weights listed far more impressive.

As it stands, the book is an invaluable resource for fans of the randonneur/constructeur style of bicycle and a nice departure from similar books that only seem to focus on racing bikes.