Portland builders shine at NAHBS

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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yeahbaby
yeahbaby
16 years ago

does anybody know if there is bike parking there….supervised bike parking or at your own risk?

mike t
mike t
16 years ago

there will be according to this website:

http://handmadebicycleshow.com/2008/

it says secure parking. in a way, it would be great if everyone rode to it and overwhelmed the facilities.

Adams Carroll (News Intern)
16 years ago

\”does anybody know if there is bike parking there…\”

Yes, there is indoor bike parking that is secure. . I wrote about it on Page Two a few days ago.

hmgf
hmgf
16 years ago

The packed to the gills indoor bike parking was one of my favorite parts of the show. Watching bikes hunt for parking spots always puts a grin on my face. We should be so lucky to have that problem every day! There were some gems tucked in there as well, sort of like an Easter egg hunt for well ridden hand built frames. Very cool.

Dylan
Dylan
16 years ago

more photos in case anyone\’s not already overwhelmed…