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NAHBS 2013: Gängl Custom Cycles

published 25 February 2013

The finest frame builder and painter you've never heard of

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Rich Gängl built this titanium road frame several years ago but even today it's a stunningly beautiful machine.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Red, white, and blue all over - plus 23 heart cutouts scattered throughout the frame.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

World championship accent colors on this Campagnolo crank.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Check out the paint detailing on the front derailleur braze-on tab.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Simply stunning. And lest you can't manage to pull your eyes away from the paint and lug work, check out the routing on the front brake cable.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Commemorative world championship stripes on this Selle San Marco Rolls saddle.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

More incredible paint detail.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

One of the original Masi bikes in the movie, Breaking Away, was later damaged in a crash but Rich Gängl replaced the top tube and down tube and restored it to its original glory(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Rich Gängl was inspired to build this bike for himself after seeing Francesco Moser break Eddy Merckx's hour record in 1984.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

This Regina hollow-pin chain certainly establishes the vintage of this track bike.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Seat stays extend all the way to the base of the saddle on this Rich Gängl bike.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Hoshi bladed spokes were noteworthy for their trick double-bend heads that didn't require you to slot the holes.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

A Mavic track hub on this Rich Gängl rig.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Rich Gängl built this bike in 1985 with Reynolds 753 steel tubing to celebrate the 1986 world championships being held in Colorado Springs, Colorado.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

These Campagnolo Cobalto brakes are more than two decades old and are rarely seen.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Hearts are Rich Gängl's trademark. This one distracts from the flawless fillet brazing on either side of it, though.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Rich Gängl builds every frame from start to finish and does the paint himself, too.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Rich Gängl incorporated a hydroformed top tube and Easton seat stays into this aluminum climbing bike.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

The pearlescent green paint covers up the smooth welds on this aluminum climbing bike.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

This classic fixed-gear bike was built by Rich Gängl in 1987.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Check out the paint detailing - and the drilled-out chainring - on this Campagnolo crank.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Flutes were prime candidates for paint detailing back in the late 80s - and it still looks good today.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Rich Gängl built this bike in 2011 using a Reynolds double-butted titanium tubeset and Reynolds carbon wishbone rear end.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Gorgeous polished titanium dropouts on this Rich Gängl creation.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Rich Gängl's novel seatpost clamping mechanism requires the back of the seatpost to be slotted. The rear wall of the seatpost is then sandwiched between the seat tube and a convex-shaped wedge as you tighten the bolt. Check out the carving at the top of the seat tube, too.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Two guesses what brand of tubing Rich Gängl used on this track bike.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Tiny cutouts in the Selle Italia SLR saddle shell on Rich Gängl's personal track bike.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

This is Rich Gängl's personal track bike.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

Rich Gängl has been quietly building world-class bikes in Golden, Colorado for over 30 years.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)

This article originally published on BikeRadar

Rich Gängl's awe-inspiring, jam-packed booth at NAHBS almost didn't even happen – but you should be glad it did.

Despite having over three decades of experience building and painting world-class frames, Gängl had never displayed his wares at any sort of trade show. Gängl's countless customers, however, not only insisted that he have a booth at the Denver show (especially since it was just half an hour away from his workshop in Golden, Colorado) but they even donated the money to pay for it.

Gängl brought six of his own bikes to show in the booth with the rest being loaned by customers and all of them were fantastic to behold, from the craftsmanship to the paint to the detail work and even the build quality.

Gängl builds just 20-25 frames annually in titanium, steel, carbon fiber and aluminum but specializes in TIG-welded titanium and fillet-brazed and lugged steel. He also does exceptional restoration work, his frames have won world and national championships, he has a 6-12-month waiting list, and he himself is a two-time world champion on the track.

You wouldn't hear about these accomplishments from Gängl himself though – in fact, getting him to boast is near impossible. Humble almost to a fault – hence the forced display at NAHBS – his work is anything but.

We'll certainly be paying Gängl's workshop a visit for a tour soon.