Bob Roll called it his favorite bike of all time. It was a Huffy-stickered frame, painted in 7-Eleven team colors, produced in the Serotta shop. And the lug set, designed and made by Kelly Bedford, would be in hot demand for decades to come.

Hierarchical show awards have long been regarded as lifting some ships on a rising tide while leaving others high and dry. With a little imagination, shows and expos can point the cycling media to coverage of the custom framebuilding industry with different, but still engaging, content that is more floodlight than spotlight.