The claim that Portland is the epicenter of handmade bicycles just got a bit easier to make. Two new builders — Belladonna Cycles and Sprout Cycles — have joined Portland’s already healthy list of custom bike makers.
Belladonna Cycles is run by Mark Simmons. Simmons has lived in Portland for ten years and says […]

Joseph Ahearne — seen here at work in his shop in North Portland — is one of three framebuilders featured in a new PDC video.(Photo © J. Maus)

The Portland Development Commission (PDC) has just released a short video (below) highlighting three Portland framebuilders.
The piece was created by the PDC’s in-house audio-video guru John Cardenas as […]

A passenger strolls by the new Handmade exhibit at the Portland Airport. (Slideshow below)(Photos © J. Maus)

An exhibition of bicycles handmade in Oregon debuted at the Portland Airport today.
The exhibit — which I brought you the details of back in February — is slated to run for six months and airport officials say an […]

(Photos © J. Maus)

This April, the work of Oregon’s burgeoning crop of bicycle builders will be on display at the Portland International Airport.
The exhibit will be managed by the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) and will run for six months (from April through September) and will feature a range of bikes in a […]

Jamie Nichols is a metal fabricator and a partner in “Metrofiets”, a new company that is building a bakfiets-style cargo bike in Portland.(Photo © J. Maus)

Since I first announced that a Portland-made bakfiets (Dutch for “box bike”) was in the works last May, the two men behind the project — 26 year-old Jamie Nichols and […]

Don Walker at the NAHBS awards ceremony.(Photos © J. Maus)

Two Portland builders stood out among the country’s best bicycle craftsmen today at the awards ceremony at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS).
Aaron Hayes of Courage Cycles was voted “Best New Builder,” and Joseph Ahearne won “Best City Bike” for the second year in a […]

Tony Pereira.(Photos © J. Maus)

As you may have noticed, this first day at the North American Handmade Bike Show (NABHS) I’m focusing solely on Portland builders. Yes, I realize there is a lot of amazing stuff here from other builders, but I’ve got two more days for that.
I’m proud of our local […]

Sacha White built this mixte as a birthday gift for his 8 year-old daughter.(Photos © J. Maus)

Everyone in the handmade bike industry must wonder where framebuilding phenom Sacha White gets the inspiration for his always impressive bicycles.
Judging from his famous tricycle that won Best of Show at the 2006 NAHBS (and is currently in […]

It’s opening day for industry members and the media at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS). I’ve spent the morning roaming the aisles of the Oregon Convention Center, shaking lots of hands, meeting up with old acquaintances, and of course taking lots of photos.
My first order of business has been to visit all […]

Ken Wheeler sets up a frame in his shop in Southeast Portland.(Photos © J. Maus)

Ken Wheeler is teaching an old material new tricks — and in the process, he’s doing something that is literally on the cutting edge of framebuilding.
Wheeler, under the name Renovo Hardwood Bicycles, is producing hollow, monocoque bicycle frames out of […]

Joseph Ahearne admires his latest creation.(More photos below.)

This morning I stopped by Joseph Ahearne’s shop to see what he’s put together for the North American Handmade Bike Show.
Ahearne is NAHBS veteran who has come a long way since strapping a few of his custom cargo racks and stems to a backpack and walking around the […]

The hand and the work of Jordan Hufnagel.(Photos: Jonathan Maus)

Jordan Hufnagel made his debut back in November at the Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show.
Since then, the 26 year-old behind Hufnagel Cycles has been very busy. I stopped by his shop just off SE Madison and 7th to see what he’s got up his sleeve for […]

Aaron Hayes in his shop.(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

33 year-old Northeast Portlander Aaron Hayes has gone from zero-to-NAHBS in just six months.
Burnt out from his job as a consumer products designer for Portland-based Ziba Design, Hayes launched Courage Bicycle Mfg., at the suggestion of his girlfriend. “She was volunteering with a school group […]

Inside last year’s NAHBS in San Jose, CA.(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

Bike industry bigwigs, exhibitors from all over the world (including 11 from Portland), after-parties, loads of media outlets, hordes of custom bike fans, and some of the most beautiful two-wheeled creations ever seen are coming to the Oregon Convention Center February 8-10th.
It’s the North American […]

The Vanilla tricycle on display atthe 2006 Made in Portland Bike Show.(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

An upcoming exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design will feature a custom tricycle designed by Portland-based bike builder Sacha White.
According to an article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, the exhibit, “New West Coast Design: Contemporary Objects,” will […]

Painter Jason Varney in the Coat shop.(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

For small, independent framebuilders, each bike that rolls out of the shop takes months to create. From getting to know the customer and purchasing and prepping the frame tubes, to welding and laboring over all the details.
Then, at the end of that process, the frames […]

Crowds were thick all day.View slideshow below(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

I still can’t decide what was more impressive at yesterday’s Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show; the crowds or the builders.
One of the event organizers, Austin Ramsland, says that over 1,800 people attended the show. They were treated to an unprecedented display of building prowess from well […]