Monday Blues: Sabrosa Cycles

You know, the more time that passes in this life of mine, the less interest I have in carbon fibre, and the more I find myself drawn to the artistry of the steel craftsmen. I like the individual fit, the unique design elements, the custom paint and finishing. I like the idea of something still being done by hand out of a garage or small shop, rather than by machine in a sterile factory.

I didn't have anything to post up this week for the Monday Blues, so I fell back on the internet and, in the process, discovered Jon Hanson of Sabrosa Cycles.

"Clean and simple lines influence me. Bicycles are simple machines, and I try to keep them that way."

I like that philosophy and the lines and geometry that result from building according to it. There is a short interview with Jon Hanson at Megadeluxe which includes a video from three years ago. Another, more recent, interview can be found at Cycling Utah. Even it, though, is from 2013 and I can't seem to find anything more recent. A blog by Hanson came to an end that same year with the slightly cryptic post title "Selling Out", "i have moved myself over to the dark side". I can't be sure if the Sabrosa Cycles website is current but it has a nice gallery of built bikes

Bummer. An email I sent, inquiring if the company was still doing business, came back as undeliverable. Does anyone know if Sabrosa still exists? If not this really is a Monday Blues, and not just for the color.

Well, good news indeed. That email notification from Verizon was not only deceptive, it was just plain wrong; my question did go through - Jon Hanson is still building bikes, though the building has been scaled back to accommodate family life and other full-time work. So, if after looking through that gallery on his website you see something you like, send him a message.

Blue: A color, a mood or emotion, a genre of music. Tune in each Monday for another installment of the Blues, with a cycling twist.