Local frame builders Travis Cooper (left) and Joshua Bryant will
share their craft with the public at Velo Cult.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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The launch of Breadwinner Cycles drew a huge crowd.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Breadwinner Cycles drew a huge crowd to Velo Cult on Friday night. The event marked the official launch of the company which was started by noted bike builders Tony Pereira and Ira Ryan (we profiled Breadwinner back in February).

At Friday night's event, the highlight for me was the assemblage of locally owned Ira Ryan Cycles and Pereira Cycles bikes. Tony and Ira invited all their local customers to display their bikes as a way to demonstrate the lineages that produced Breadwinner. It was really cool to see all these custom bikes, banged up and dirty from being ridden on local streets by local riders. There were touring bikes, racing bikes, mountain and city ramblers, and everything in between. I was especially keen to meet the owners Ira and Tony's first bikes sold in Portland...
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Introducing Breadwinner Cycles.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Ira Ryan and Tony Pereira, two of Portland's most well known bicycle builders, are going all-in on a new company. The duo plan to formally launch Breadwinner Cycles at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Denver this weekend.

"We're coming together to build more bikes for more people," is how Pereira explained it when I got a sneak peek at the new line of bikes last week.

Breadwinner is more than just a new bike company, it's the beginning of a new adventure for Pereira and Ryan. After spending over seven years (each) building up their own brands — Pereira Cycles and Ira Ryan Cycles both started in 2006 — the launch of Breadwinner as a standalone bike company marks a significant step in a new direction.

"This is definitely a huge leap for us," Pereira said, as he and Ryan bantered over final details prior to loading up their new bikes in a truck and driving to Denver for the Big Show.

Far from just another custom bike brand, Pereira says their five-year plan is to establish a factory, hire welders, and make 1,000 bikes per year. (more...)

Four builders share a shop space at 1515 SE Ankeny. L to R: Travis Cooper (Cycles Cooper), Joshua Bryant (Cycles J. Bryant), Bob Kazmelski (Bantam Cycle Works), Tess Velo (Telos Cycles).
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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Fine bicycles and fine wine at River City
Bicycles last night.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Last night River City Bicycles hosted a launch event for a new bike brand and toasted the ongoing success of an old one. Attendees were treated to fine wine, cheese, and nice nibbles from the in-house kitchen at Chris King Precision Components.

The focus of the event was for River City to announce they are the first bike dealer anywhere to represent Argonaut, a new custom carbon fiber bike brand developed by local builder Ben Farver. River City is also a dealer for Cielo, another fine local bicycle company that sprung from the hands of Mr. Chris King himself.
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Made in Portland for Anthropologie.
(Photos: Signal Cycles)

North Portland based bicycle makers Signal Cycles' new "picnic bikes" will soon be available for sale at Anthropologie.com. The national retail chain contacted Signal after several months ago after learning about the "Fremont" bike they created for the Oregon Manifest Design Competition last year.

Signal Cycles co-owner Matt Cardinal says a buyer from Anthropologie was interested in a picnic-themed bike and it was an idea he and his partner Nate Meschke had already been thinking about. The bikes feature a 3-speed rear hub, a large front wicker basket, a step-through frame, and a hub-powered front light. (more...)

Bike maker Joshua Bryant.
(Self portrait)

Welcome to the latest edition of our local builder roundup. With such a thriving crop of bike makers here in Portland, there's always news to share about what they're up to. Today we'll share more on the continuing carbon influx and a new, emerging builder.

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Introducing Joshua Bryant of Cycles J Bryant
In the last roundup we said goodbye to Mitch Pryor and his classicly-styled randonneuring bikes.

Today we introduce you to a new builder in a similar vein, Joshua Bryant (in a recent interview, Joshua actually named Pryor as one of his influences).
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Portland based builder Ben Farver of Argonaut Cycles
has emerged with a new focus on custom carbon fiber.
(Photo: Argonaut Cycles)

In recent years, I haven't kept pace with all the great work being done by our talented crop of bike makers here in Portland. For whatever reason, I don't do as many shop visits and profiles as I used to. So, in an effort to catch up a bit, here are a few news tidbits from Portland's craft bike industry...

Argonaut relaunches with custom carbon fiber
Ben Farver, the man behind Argonaut Cycles, started making custom bicycles in 2007. He launched as a steel specialist and made beautiful bikes. One of his track bikes won "Best of Show" at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show. But then, a few years back, I stopped hearing about him. (more...)

Alistair Williamson, the man behind Kinn Bikes, standing with a final prototype of his Midtail Flyer back in February.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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