Geekhouse Shop Tour

Over the past two summers I’ve had the occasion to visit the Geekhouse bikes HQ twice, once in August of 2010 and then again just about a month ago. Lucky me, in between I got a score of a lifetime in terms of custom bikes with a custom polo bike delivered at NAHBS. On my first visit said polo bike was already in the cards, and it was a pretty great experience being able to see the workshop and really talk with the people that would actually create the bike. Sharing the passion and ideas behind a bike with a pair of people that completely get it and want to make it a reality is something beyond even the standard custom experience, a step that can make an incredible bike and not something I take for granted. Geekhouse owner Marty Walsh and head Sugarcoat powdercoater and fabricator Bradford Smith make it all happen, each with a certain dedication to making the best bikes possible under the Geekhouse brand.

Geekhouse itself is perhaps the youngest well-known brand to one way or the other carry on part of the tradition of Fat City—Marty apprenticed under ANT Bike Mike Flanigan, one of the founders of Independent Fabrication after Fat City closed up shop in 1994. Much of what is considered New England bike style is somehow tied into Fat City, segmented rigid forks perhaps being the most obvious example. The Geekhouse shop is located in a small garage space in a mostly residential neighborhood in Alston just outside of Boston proper. Stocked with the classic Bridgeport mill, drill presses, sanders, alignment tools and TIG welder common to custom steel frame shops, Geekhouse has carved out a niche with their unique style and in-house Sugarcoat powdercoat operation. It will be interesting to see where the Geekhouse brand goes and what comes out of their garage in future years.

Click through for a gallery of images from the Geekhouse shop, the first half from August 2010 and the second from July 2011. See more of the now used NAHBS polo bike at the Geekhouse blog.