versed in "kustom"- both amateur and professional. From this wealth of talent come the enthusiasts who make Detroit a stronghold of North American kustom bicycle culture. The roof was leaking in Cobo Hall, but not over the Al Petri & Sons Bicycle Show. This was the news I was hearing on the TV at my motel in Livonia. I laughed. I arrived at Cobo on that wet Sunday morning, and parked at an outdoor lot about a block and a half over. I made my way in and found that the Petri bike show seemed even bigger than the year before. Again the variety of bike styles on display varied greatly, from rat bikes and kustom cruisers to show choppers. And of course not to be outdone was an abundance of non-kustom machines on display- made up of classic cruisers, muscle bikes and BMX models. I'm happy to relate that the kustom bike scene in Michigan is as strong as ever - the great turnout at the Petri bike show makes this obvious. I'm certain that Don and Deb Van Cleve were very pleased with the participant turnout, and the positive response from showgoers. Chalk up another successful year for the Al Petri and Sons Kustom Bike Show, held at the one and only Detroit Autorama. See you there next year. John Brain |
A T T H E A L P E T R I A N D S O N S K U S T O M B I K E S H O W 2 0 0 9 ~ D E T R O I T A U T O R A M A |
Commentary and Photography by BR&K Associate Editor John Brain. Don and Deb Van Cleve were smiling. It was another excellent turnout of kustom bikes for the Al Petri and Sons Bicycle Show. The Detroit Autorama is one of the rare venues that has had an unbroken chain of kustom bicycle competition since the mid 1960s; and is possibly the only kustom show remaining that has this degree of continuous history. This tells you something about Detroit (and Michigan) in general; it has a reputation for being one of the greatest homes for creative mechanical talent- from a wide variety of disciplines. It is true that Michigan has gone through some tough times as of late, and Motown itself has struggled to find a way through some of the recent difficulties it has faced. But at its core- holding on fast- is its best natural resource, a deep reservoir of highly skilled craftsmen well- |
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versed in "kustom"- both amateur and professional. From this wealth of talent come the enthusiasts who make Detroit a stronghold of North American kustom bicycle culture. The roof was leaking in Cobo Hall, but not over the Al Petri & Sons Bicycle Show. This was the news I was hearing on the TV at my motel in Livonia. I laughed. I arrived at Cobo on that wet Sunday morning, and parked at an outdoor lot about a block and a half over. I made my way in and found that the Petri bike show seemed even bigger than the year before. Again the variety of bike styles on display varied greatly, from rat bikes and kustom cruisers to show choppers. And of course not to be outdone was an abundance of non-kustom machines on display- made up of classic cruisers, muscle bikes and BMX models. I'm happy to relate that the kustom bike scene in Michigan is as strong as ever - the great turnout at the Petri bike show makes this obvious. I'm certain that Don and Deb Van Cleve were very pleased with the participant turnout, and the positive response from showgoers. Chalk up another successful year for the Al Petri and Sons Kustom Bike Show, held at the one and only Detroit Autorama. See you there next year. John Brain |
Above: Don Whitt brought his radical rat bike named "Ratical". Tail-gaters had better beware of this rolling flame thrower! |
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Don & Deb Van Cleve, organizers of the show. |
Above: Durrell Robinson brought his beautiful kustom "Dyno Roadster" to exhibit at the show, and we're glad he did. This is one fantastic street prowler that must be seen. Durrell is a member of Detroit's own "Downriver Highriders" bike club, a group that sets the kustom standard in Motown's cycling culture. |
Mary West's Giant Stiletto chopper: "Girl Gone Bad" |
Tom Adams' "Skelebike"- a rolling piece of macabre art, was very popular with everyone who saw it, and was one of the most photographed bikes at the show. |
Left, Right Above: Paul Coleman's wild kustom trike "Pain Killer" features some incredible engineering. It features a hand tooled seat, a Firebikes billet shifter, and a posi rear end with independent suspension. |
Rob Steinfurth is the owner of this well-put-together blue mini kustom that competed in the "Lil' Ones" show-judging category. |
Dora Johnson is the owner of this hardcore ladies' cruiser she has named "Teachers Nightmare" Dora and her husband Jim are members of the Michigan chapter of the Freak Bike Militia. |
Lindsay Myers was back again this year with another pop culture-inspired machine she calls "Burning-Up" which is a tribute to the Jonas Brothers music group. |
Kelly Eitniear displayed his Firebike-framed chopper called "Final Assault", Kelly won the frame through a contest put on by the coolest kustom bike webzine in the world "Bike Rod & Kustom". This bike is well-put-together and looks great with that ChoppersUS springer front end. |
"Goody-2-Shoes" is a cool kustom bike owned by Ronnie Whitt. Ronnie and his father Don make some pretty wild machines |
Jim Johnson put together this wicked little machine called "Hackamania" I'm looking forward to the day that I can see big Jim (Chainsaw) mount this little beast, and compete in a jousting match. |
Now here is something you don't see every day. It's a kustom-made 60's Hiawatha tandem, converted to a trike! This incredible machine was made by Leonard Henning. |
Classic lowrider style is alive in Michigan, and is well represented by machines like this one created by Edgar Garcia. |
Eddie Jackson brought his "OG Black Bike" to the show this year, it's a full size lowriding cruiser, that is clean enough to eat off of. |
Dave Caul definitely turns heads when he rides this machine on the streets of Michigan. This is his "Iron Cross" bike. It's clear that a lot of work went into the making of this bike. |
Another frequently-photographed machine was Marco Kaleugher's "Tiger Bike". This feline-themed ride attracted a lot of positive attention. |
Zazzy Miller is very proud of her lucky green kustom bike called "Boba Fett" The flake in the paint is pretty awesome. |
Mercades Montour has a fine-looking lowrider called "Fair Lady" gold accents highlight the bike and go well with its floral paint job. |
"Low Tolerance" was the name of Aaron Smith's fine twisted lowrider, a great display. |
This chopper with a pontoon-like sidecar was quite the project to behold. Brian Brown is the owner/fabricator, and he christened it his "Bomber". |
Anthony Kaleugher brought his wild yellow "Wild One" chopper. This bike had some fine style going for it. |
For a classy lowrider trike you didn't have to look any further than this beautiful blue example called "Twisted Illusion" the proud owner is Jason 'J-Rock" Sieradzki. |
Carl Smith brought his "Ricky Bobby" to the competition this year, this kustom cruiser would make for a great riding machine by our estimation. |
Here is a classic 1952 Schwinn Hornet owned by Jamie Chapp, it has the appropriate name of "Sentimental Journey". |
Jeff Chapp owns this classic bike he calls the "Chrome Patriot" it's a 1955 Columbia. |
Here's a great mild kustom made from a 1955 JC Higgins bike, the owner Larry Hornsby gave it a surfing theme that had "hang ten" written all over it. |
This kustom tandem had a paint job that was really an assault on the senses, and I mean this in the best way possible. The retina-burning paint scheme really made my day. M.V. Carroll is the owner and it was given the name "Daisy Daisy". |
Don Davis displayed his "Big Tool" for everyone to see at this year's Al Petri & Sons bike show. This was one classy chopper bicycle built around a 2005 Giant Stiletto platform. |
Nostalgia was clearly part of this exhibit at the Petri bike show. |
Below: Spectator views |
Below: It's Trophy Time! |
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