Philly Bike Expo 2025: Bikes, Booths, and Builders (Part 2)

Part two of our Philly Bike Expo 2025 coverage features a variety of exceptionally talented framebuilders and industry folks who, while brilliant in what they’re able to create, are fantastic people in their own right. Speaking to each and every builder listed was a true pleasure, as the passion and care for their craft emanated in both the conversations I was lucky enough to have, as well as through the builds I was fortunate enough to document. If you missed it, be sure to check out part one of my coverage. Otherwise, jump in to the second installment below.

Wake Robin Cycleslink

Ontario, Canada

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One of my favorite builders at the show was Dickson Bou of Wake Robin Cycles. I’ve quietly frothed over his builds for a number of years now, but getting to know the Bou behind the bikes was a pleasure all its own. Despite the maturity of his elegant frames, Dickson is still early on in his framebuilding career. Working three jobs to make it all come together, the London, Ontario-based framebuilder is entirely self taught. Sourcing lugs from eBay and machine shops all the same, his classically styled randonneuring frames are something to behold. Made from lightweight Kaisei tubing, his all-road 26er was understated yet exemplary. A low-trail ripper with some serious miles on it, Dickson also had a few personal touches that made it all the more special.

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The front rack features removeable struts for when he isn’t running panniers, effectively turning into a small tombstone rack that supports anything from a massive rando-style front bag to a small daily driver. Potentially the coolest bit of custom fabrication was the handmade front derailleur. Made from tandem spokes, the “suicide-style” seat tube shifter was truly something else. Dainty and dependable, it’s an affectation indicative of Dickson’s appreciation for tradition with his own modern spin. While Wake Robin Cycles is small and focused on custom builds, it feels like one of the relatively undiscovered gems of the framebuilding market.

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Builder Bonus: The Nivex

Given how much of it is featured on his bikes, Dickson clearly has a soft spot for Rene Herse products. The crown jewel of his fandom, however, is the Nivex derailleur. Though its release faced a fair bit of pushback, seeing it in the hands of someone like Dickson made a light bulb go off just above my head. The Nivex was likely never made with the average consumer in mind—it was made for framebuilders. People who could build their bikes around the simple yet entirely modular shifting system.

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A bold choice to make for sure, but Dickson nonetheless swears by it. Citing its repairability and solid price in relation to the higher end of the electronic market, it was interesting to see this upside-down version of the bike industry. Where one spoke to convenience and performance, the other end referred to repairability and simplicity in design. A far cry from SRAM’s Transmission, the Nivex seems to offer something conceptually similar: unwavering dependability. How these two ends of the market arrive at the same promise is interesting to think about, but for Dickson, it was the path that made more sense.

Memento Cycleslink

Montreal, Canada

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Though Memento Cycles needs little introduction after winning both the 2024 and 2025 people’s choice, this small framebuilding outfit started when Éliane (pictured) was working as a messenger and needed a cargo bike but couldn’t afford one. Calling up an old friend who later became a partner in the business, Ronny, Memento has grown to include a third member, Aube! This year, the trio hit Philly Bike Expo with their best shot, and it may have been more than many of us were expecting. Their first hardtail, this frame is made with Columbus Zona and features hand-carved decorative stainless steel lugs with laser-cut plates to connect the seatstays. Taking nearly two weeks to hand file the lugs, this one-of-one Memento frame was truly a labor of love.

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As their 43rd frame, Memento wanted to make this special model a nod to their previous award-winning frame, using the heart details as a callback through the lugs. Most importantly, there’s a special bit of trans representation in their bike with the trans logo on the headbadge, and a pink/cyan alternate spokes in the wheels to represent the journey as a transgender person in framebuilding.

Bassi Bikes / Keystone Bicycle Co.link

Montreal, Canada / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Bassi Bikes from Canada has partnered up with a local bike shop in Philadelphia, Keystone Bicycle Co, to bring forth their newest production model, the Belmont. Keystone is a worker-owned, cooperatively run bike shop that intends to fly in the face of typical bike industry standards. Talking to Zachary Rachell, one of the owner-operators, about the inception of the Belmont, he said, “We wanted to create something that made sense for the kind of riding we love here in Pennsylvania. Something light, something that’s easy to ride, but ultimately something that can serve our customer base well. We’re really proud of what came out of the design process, and couldn’t be happier about our partnership with Bassi—a company we look to for a lot inspiration.”

Speaking to the Belmont, it’s a 650B-oriented, randonneuring-inspired frame with mid-trail geo and roughly 2″ tire clearance. A bike fitting nicely in the space a brand like All-City left behind, it features a lighter tubeset, steel fork, and semi-internal cable routing for both brake cables and dynamos through the front and rear. Swinging a leg over it myself, it was exactly as described. It has the zip and punch of stable road bike but without the less-than-ideal characteristics of a true low-trail rig.

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Over a breakfast burrito and the groggy mid-morning light of day two, I sat with Zachary for a bit as he told me of the origins of the shop. One born of the pandemic, they’ve experienced year-over-year growth that has guided them through even the darkest winters of their young business lives. “Big bike companies these days are always trying to cut shops like us out. They benefit from the work and space that shops naturally occupy, but don’t want to share the cut of the larger pie. We’ve seen five or six shops in Philly close recently. We know things aren’t great. That’s why we’re doing things differently. We offer classes on how to build wheels, work on your own bike, and so much more. It’s not the most typical business model, but it works for us.”

When asked about what makes the Belmont different, he said, “It’s our twist on something we like. We do a lot of brevets, a lot of randonneuring-adjacent riding. But we wanted something affordable and approachable from both a price and geometry perspective. We think we hit that on the head with the Belmont.”

Speaking to Zach and the rest of the crew at Keystone felt like a breath of fresh air. Amid “industry headwinds” was a group of people in this for the right reasons: serving community. Not here to make a massive margin on some half-baked idea, Keystone was committed. Not just to their own investments, but to a city they wanted to serve well. I’ll be interested to take a closer look at the Belmont a little on down the road, and I’ll be sure to make a trip to Philadelphia for a more in-depth view of Keystone in the near future.

Bits & Bobs: SILCA and Yellow Bird Threadworks

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New from Silca is the Ultimate Sealant—a new version of their sealant that’s set to make things more simplistic. Instead of their two-step system that required two distinct formulas for their tubeless systems to work to best, the Ultimate Sealant combines the carbon strands customers loved in the two-step process and makes them a simple, industry standard one-step application. Another Silca gem on display was their signature chain waxing system with a twist I thought was quite cool. Depending on the chosen wax puck, users can wax their chains for speed or endurance purposes and dial it in based on their own needs.

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Brian from Yellow Bird Threadworks was also at the show and had his fantastic stem caps out, glittering for all to see. I’ve grown quite fond of Brian and these reltively inexpensive pieces that have made my bikes all the better. Knowing a little about his process, it’s interesting to note that Brian’s day job, while also machining-related, is at the opposite end of the tolerance spectrum. Where aerospace parts require he be well within thousandths of an inch for the sake of consistency and security at a high level of engineering, making these stem caps and bar ends in the off hours lets him experiment with the more artistic side of his machine-oriented brain.

King Fabricationslink

San Francisco, California

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Li King is a framebuilder and racer operating out of the Bay Area in California. Building a bike with the intention of defending their crown at Mid-South in just a few days, Li King’s Philly Bike Expo showpiece was one in the mold of a truly aggressive, modern, fat-tire gravel bike. With a paint job that evoked the candy red sparkle of an aughts era low-rider, the devilishly good stuff is in the details with this one. From the protruding badge work to the straight-blade steel fork, it’s a bike that, while atypical, is emblematic of King’s aggressive, accomplished, nimble racing pedigree.

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That’s part two done and dusted! Keep an eye for the third and final installment of our Philly Bike Expo 2025 coverage later this week…

Further Reading

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