“Custom frame building is both a science and an art. It is an ever-evolving process of geometry, wizardry and psychology… “
— from Rapha’s website
High-end cycling apparel company Rapha chose two Portland-based framebuilders to build bicycles for their “Rapha Continental” campaign.
The Rapha Continental — which is part team, part documentary, and part corporate marketing strategy — is their attempt to recover the “lost art of cycling and the glory of suffering” by chronicling epic road rides throughout the United States with photographs and blog entries.
To go along with their stylish and functional bike clothes, Rapha collaborated with eight of the most respected bike builders in the U.S.. Among them are Portland’s own Tony Pereira and Ira Ryan.
Ryan and Pereira — who both know a thing or two about long-distance road rides — have produced two gorgeous bikes:
Tony Pereira
(Photo: Daniel Wakefield Pasley) |
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Ira Ryan.
(Photo: Daniel Sharp) |
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You can read an interview with Ira, Tony, and the rest of the builders (and see some great shop photos) on The Rapha Continental website.