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The Brazin' show makes a welcome addition to the calendar not only for custom bike enthusiasts and frame builders in Scotland, but also in the north of England, and possibly farther afield. For everybody from Newcastle northwards, the Glasgow location is the closest high-end bike show of the year.

At the time of writing, 18 exhibitors had signed up for booths at the Civic House in Glasgow for the show, which runs 12 noon—5 p.m.

In 2023 the inaugural show came together when two Glasgow frame builders got together with Richard Andrews, an event organizer they knew from the cycling industry, to feed off the excitement of the UCI road world's in Glasgow.

Andrews said, "We got so caught up in the hype of it we didn't really care if we made a loss, but it was a sell-out so we didn't make a loss, which was great. The two other founders and I went back to our respective lives with an agreement to do it again. We're using the same venue as last year, it's a 1920s print-house. It has a lot of natural light, and it's had a fancy face-lift, so it's got that ex-industrial feel, but it's nice."

Located very close to the M8 motorway, the Civic House venue is easily accessible for out-of-town visitors. 

Glasgow has long been associated with heavy industry, ship building in particular, but bicycle frame building in the city goes back to 1901 with The Flying Scot brand, which ran as a Glasgow business until 1982 when the brand was purchased by Newcastle, UK, frame builder Dave Yates, who continued it as Flying Scot.

Lovers of vintage bikes will be pleased to know the Brazin' show is again hosting part of the collection of The Flying Scot bicycles.

In addition to frame builders, organizers say some accessory manufacturers will be represented, as well as a project named The Ice Ride, in which earth scientist Charlotte Slaymark rode her bike to trace the outline of Scotland's glaciation in the last ice age. Bikepackers and cycle tourists take note!

The wide range at Brazin' 2023. Photo: Brazin' Scotland

Back in the early aughties, there were a few vintage bike shows here and there, and custom builders would sometimes show up at the big cookie-cutter bike shows, but NAHBS was really the only serious expo for custom frame builders. NAHBS started a worldwide movement.

Now, almost 20 years after the first NAHBS, in Houston, Texas, 2005, Brazin' is part of worldwide proliferation of regional shows, with a growing number within large geographic areas such as USA and Europe. The founder of NAHBS, Don Walker, is a frame builder with Scottish heritage. Who knows, one of these years maybe Don will take a bike to Brazin' and get back to his roots!

www.brazin-scotland.com