Report from the Made in Oregon Bike Expo
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on September 11th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
See all my photos from the show.
Today was a layover day on Cycle Oregon. That meant that we could either do a ride up and around Crater Lake (which I did; it was awesome), or hang out at Diamond Lake.
Ride organizers thought this would be a perfect opportunity to showcase some Oregon-made bike products; especially the work of our large and talented crop of framebuilders.
Showing up to show off their work were:
- Jeff Jones / Jeff Jones Bicycles
- Bill Stites / Stites Design
- Jim Bombardier / Bi-Saddle
- Natalie and Austin Ramsland / Sweetpea Bicycles
- Ira Ryan / Ira Ryan Cycles
- Conor Buescher and Garrett Clark / Vendetta Cycles
- Tony Pereira / Pereira Cycles
- Dwan Sheppard / Co-Motion Cycles
- Joseph Ahearne and
MitchPete Hedman / Ahearne Cycles
I loved Jeff Jones’ bikes. He’s an interesting guy, sort of an iconoclast, and has some very different perspectives on mountain bikes. He goes for “vertical compliance” and does some amazing things with titanium (so amazing that a frameset will set you back $4,300). He aims to give you a comfortable, well-handling ride without using suspension shocks. I’ve heard he’s got an eight-year waiting list so he must be on to something.
The work of Jeff Jones.
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A sweet little ‘cross bike from Sweetpea.
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The big news from Jeff Jones is that he’s now having Merlin make some of his bikes so he can concentrate on development instead of manufacturing.
The bikes of Vendetta Cycles from Albany also caught my eye. They plan on coming to Portland in November and you should definitely spend some time in their booth.
My favorite bike of the day was Joseph Ahearne’s latest creation. It’s an off-road touring beast of a bike. Like all of Joseph’s bikes there’s more than meets the eye. How about the head badge? It’s a detachable, titanium spork. And he even attached a cute, little owl on the stem.
When I posted about this show a few weeks back, some of you were bummed you couldn’t make it up to Diamond Lake on a weekday. Well, you’re in luck, because all of these builders, and many others will be coming to Portland for the Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show on November 11.
Until then, take a gander at all of my photos from the expo.
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September 11th, 2007 21:58
Oh, by the way, I rode around Crater Lake today. Are you kidding me?
That Ahearne bike is pretty cool. It seems that between cyclocross, lots of commuters in PDX, and the notion of a heavy-duty utility bike, there is finally a third class of urban bike, somewhere between a classic roadster and a fat tire mtn bike. I'm accepting requests for proposals to build me a titanium (or other lightweight material) bike that will allow me to commute, carry stuff, race cyclocross, ride on the weekends, and bomb down Forest Park fire lanes. Any takers?
That Jones model is pretty sweet, too.
September 12th, 2007 09:07
Jonathan, excellent photos. Simply beautiful, that blue sky is amazing! I'm longing for a ride in that kind of awesome scenery!
Darn work! :) I think I'd be in trouble if I took the rest of the day off to go riding.... :)
September 12th, 2007 09:51
Nice article and photos! However, you forgot to mention one more exhibitor at the bike expo - Wild Heart Cycling! We were right next to the awesome frames and super people of Sweetpea Bicycles. We guide road bike tours in Oregon without a smog belching SAG wagon, but with yummy food provided by our guides. (Sorry for the shameless self promotion, but I was disappointed to not see us on the list of exhibitors.)
September 13th, 2007 12:32
Jonathan,
Just for the record - my name is Pete, not Mitch.
September 13th, 2007 14:58
a.O - you serious? Sounds like a challenge ;) Give me a call and we can talk about it. vertigocycles.com
September 13th, 2007 14:59
BTW - that Ahearne bike is just sick. Props to Joseph. I hope I can see it in person
September 13th, 2007 15:35
Sean, I am semi-serious: I want a ti bike that will accept disc brakes, fenders, and a rack and that runs 700 slicks and knobbies. Basically, something that's light and fast, yet tough and versatile... something similar to my Trek Portland but 5-10 pounds less, and perhaps with a little more aggressive stance. And I may well take up cross at some point.
And I like the idea of using a local builder and of having a unique bike.
I have tried navigating the "sad, sad" web page a few times but I can find no contact info anywhere! You can leave a private message for me on the forums, if you're a member, or (if Jon doesn't mind too much) leave it here. I'm about a year away from wanting to take delivery, so there's no hurry.
September 15th, 2007 09:53
[...] Bike Portland By Rocky [...]
September 16th, 2007 12:36
a.O. Contact is right on the front page. I'll find you on the B.P. forums and PM you there.