Well, this post actually compelled me to get a Tumblr account...consider this a response.
Let me hereby double your count of people who commissioned, bought and actually ride a NAHBS show bike. I sought out a builder, commissioned the work, went for something that in his words was "very bling and very rideable" and he showed it in his NAHBS booth last year.
Bike radar photo is here:http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/photos/nahbs-2012-part-5-baum-to-ti-cycles/211240
It's the tall, dark grey Ira Ryan they said was "lovely". I agree.
Since then, I've ridden the bike 3,214 miles in five states and two provinces. It is my primary ride. I've changed the chain twice in that time, broken it down twice to drain it after being caught in downpours (including an organized fondo) and had the bike re-cabled. Yes, it was dressed up for the show -- I don't ride those tires or that seat, and it has a pump and bottle cages and all that. And, to your other point, it rides exactly like I wanted it to. The custom fit means it's supremely comfortable, and it's lively and bright as I had hoped, but stable enough for all day. In fact, I rode it 118 miles last weekend, in one shot, with a group whom were all on carbon.
Oh, and I chose Ira because of how he rides and how we got on in conversation -- in short, he "gets it" in terms of what bikes mean to me and how I use them. Not because of the artistry he displays at NAHBS. That's great, too, but I wanted a bike to ride.
So, yeah, it's my primary bike and I ride the #%&* out of it. That's why I spent the money. I ride a lot, and I wanted something unique. It's had scratches and bumps, touch-up paint and the like. I like it that way -- meant to be used.
But there is a point here in that NAHBS is becoming more about the art and skill of building bikes more than it is about the use thereof. Think of a car show with concept cars. Lovely things, deeply impractical. But they also tend to show somewhat less flashy models that you, too, can own and actually use without wishing you hadn't. Mine is the latter. No, it didn't get the same attention as Ira's cargo bike / trailer, which was truly lovely but may not have had the same usage as mine over the last year.
But think of it this way: NAHBS is like our car show. Some of the cars are really only concepts, so the builder can show off his or her skills and creativity. And you can buy one, but you may not want THAT one, depending on what you want to do with it. You wouldn't want the concept car, because the A/C doesn't work very well. But it helps drive brand equity, and you can own a car from the company that made the concept.
Interestingly, I've seen the beginnings of builders pushing back on the art-ness of the bikes in the show. Maybe they should add some categories -- like real-world bikes that get ridden and loved for how they feel, not how they look or how clever they are. If they do that, I might even lend my bike back to Ira, especially if there's a new Breadwinner to try in the meantime...
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