The annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) will be held in Salt Lake City this year, and Moab’s own Pierre Chastain of Blaze Bicycles will be there to show off his latest steel and titanium bicycle frames.
The NAHBS is all about the art of the bicycle, and highlights hand-crafted bicycles, accessory makers and component suppliers for the artisan bike industry. This will be the third time that Blaze Bicycles has exhibited at NAHBS, and Chastain said he is particularly excited to show off his made-in-Moab frames in a Utah venue.
“I’m really excited that NAHBS will be in Salt Lake City, and it’s going to be amazing to see all of the talented craftsmen that are showing this year,” he said. “Blaze has its best lineup ever, including the first time that we’re showing titanium frames.”
Throughout the winter, Chastain has been building several bikes to exhibit at the show, including a fat bike, a 29+, a 27+, a gravel grinder and a road bike.
When he started out as a frame builder, he was building steel road bike frames that were fillet brazed, and has worked through several other metalworking processes to get to the TIG-welded titanium frames that he now primarily produces. Chastain paints and decorates all the frames himself. Lately, he has been experimenting with anodizing titanium frames to electrochemically change the color of the metal, and he collaborates with local artists to create “exciting” paint jobs.
Chastain moved to Moab in 2010 to set up a frame-building workshop and transition to running Blaze Bicycles full time. Most days, you can find him in his workshop listening to podcasts and Grateful Dead shows while prepping titanium tubes, welding frames and building complete bicycles.
He is also one of the owners of the Bike Fiend, located at 69 E. Center St.
As a small manufacturer in Moab, Chastain said he has learned how to be more self-reliant, creative and resourceful, but appreciates the chance to cut out the clutter of the city and focus on building bikes.
He said he finds that nothing beats the trails of Moab for testing new products, getting feedback from the biking community and finding inspiration for new bicycles.
“Living in Moab has pushed me to build more mountain bikes and focus on practical designs that will work in the wild when you’re really counting on it,” he said.
Pierre Chastain to promote locally made bike frames
For more information, go to: www.BlazeBicycles.com, or email info@BlazeBicycles.com.
