Portland builders shine at NAHBS

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 builders.

Over the past three years, I’ve watched their businesses mature and several of them have grown into a force on the national framebuilding scene. And, as new builders spring up, I’m sure they’ll find their place and succeed.

This morning at the show, veteran custom builder Carl Strong (Strong Frames) gave his annual seminar on how to run a successful framebuilding business. I was happy to see a few Portland builders in the crowd, listening attentively.

Sean Chaney/Vertigo Cycles

This year’s NAHBS also caps months of attention focused on our growing bike-making industry, spurred by a sizable crop of talented builders and frequent media attention from the likes of the New York Times and most recently, the Christian Science Monitor.

One of those talented builders is Sean Chaney.

The second half of my day began at the booth of his company, Vertigo Cycles. You might remember Sean from my profile of him back in August.

A titanium specialist, Sean was eager to show me the swoopy curves and the custom, integrated bottom bracket on his latest road bike.

Here are a few more photos from Sean’s booth.

My next stop was Vanilla Bicycles.

Once again, Sacha figured out a way to put together one of the most impressive displays at the show. In addition to a new bike for his eight year-old daughter Cybelle, Sacha had several of his Speedvagen cyclocross bikes to gawk at. He also showed off a brand new track bike and a fully racked touring/rando rig (above).

Check out all my photos from Sacha’s booth.

Next stop was the latest addition to Portland’s bike economy, Rapha. I can’t wait to hear more from these guys as they settle into Portland.

Right next to Rapha was Ira Ryan Cycles. Ira made his big debut at last year’s NAHBS and it’s great to see him still going strong. Ira, who himself is equal parts bulldog and teddy bear, knows just how to pull off that delicate balance between class and grunge.

Ira displayed a stout, electric blue touring rig with a custom rack painted to match, a gorgeously sweet little mixte, a road tourer, and best of all, a plate full of sugar cookies.

Take a closer look at Ira’s bikes here.

Just across the way from Ira was Jordan Hufnagel, a NAHBS rookie who launched Hufnagel Cycles at the Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show held back in November.

Jordan was proud to show me the bike he built as part of his new sponsorship arrangement with the Organic Athlete cyclocross team.

Check out that bike and a few more shots of Jordan’s booth here.

That wraps up my coverage for today. Join me tomorrow for more stories and photos from the show.