Customer Reviews

S&S Cycle Presents Today's Top Custom Bike Builders

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A nicely produced book that's a quick look over the 50 S&S celebration custom machines. Book includes interesting history of S&S but I would have liked a bit more in depth information about each build. The book is a bit confused by trying to be a "coffee table" publication when only bike nuts like me will probably read it. Overall its pretty good though.

Purchased as a gift for my husband.
Made the mistake of giving it to him first.
Once unwrapped we could not get him to put it down!

This piece of propaganda was financed by S&S Cycle to celebrate their 50th anniversary, but such creative marketing surely merits recognition. Broken into six sections, each representing a type of engine sold by S&S Cycle (P-, SB-, SH-, V-, T-, and X-Series), the book features top custom builders and a bike made by each of them.
It's unfair to generalize yet this volume provides a glimpse into the different aesthetic styles and engineering approaches of today's custom builders. Bertrand Dubet, Kendall Johnson, Jesse Rooke, Aldo Querio Gianetto, and other less familiar names take their place beside Chica, Paul Cox, Kris Krome, the Teutels, and the team at Redneck Engineering. Naturally, Arlen Ness is included, but Cory and Zach who have too long been overshadowed by the creations of the (their) big daddy of customs are also showcased.
One commendable feature of the book is that it doesn't mention that the 50th anniversary project was a competitive build-off with judging by the builders, S&S personnel, media, attendees at the 2008 exhibition show, and by Internet, nor does it include an index listing the winners or their prizes . The fifty bikes -and their builders--stand on their own merits and the reader is responsible for choosing their favorites.
The book is a delicious bit of fluff that has a luscious look and feel to the final product. I love well-crafted books, more so when the glossy pages are filled with photos of beautiful bikes.

This is a beautiful book filled with amazing photos of all the top builders and their bikes. The cover is a synthetic material but it looks like leather. The book is heavy on pictures and light on writing, which we found to be the favorable balance. My dad went to the S&S 50th anniversary bike build-off in wisconsin last year and I can't wait to give him this book for Christmas. Definitely worth the price, especially since the shipping was free!!