Three Portland-based bike builders — Pereira Cycles, Ira Ryan Cycles, and Ti Cycles — earned top honors at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) in Sacramento today. Another company, Corvallis-based Vendetta Cycles, also took home an award.
NAHBS organizers announced 15 winners in a variety of categories today. Three more awards — People’s Choice, Best in Show, and the President’s Choice — will be announced tomorrow. See the full list of winners and photos (of some of them) below.
Portland based Ira Ryan and his collaborator Ben Leonard took home the prize for their ‘Ned Ludd Market Bike’. The bike (which I shared more about last week when it debuted in Portland) was built for restaurant owner Jason French. French, who owns Ned Ludd Restaurant in Northeast Portland, is also here at the show. I snapped a photo of the happy trio a few minutes after the award was announced…
This award must mean a lot to Tony. He calls this bike, a singlespeed 29er, the “Jeff Bates Racer.” Jeff was a close friend of Tony’s who died from cancer in August 2011. The two were mountain biking buddies back in the 1990s and Jeff owned one of the first bikes Tony ever made. Tony made this bike as a raffle prize as part of a fundraiser held for Jeff in April 2011.
“It is exactly the kind of bike Jeff would have loved, and is the latest evolution of the first bike I built for him,” reads a letter that was displayed next to the bike in Tony’s booth along with photos of Jeff.
Dave won this category with the bike he entered into the Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Design Challenge. We shared more about his bike when it was first revealed back in September. The bike has changed in one significant way since September, but I did not photograph it at NAHBS. I’ll update this story when I can.
Buescher and Clark took home Best Finish for his “Screaming Eagle” track bike. The paint work was done by Harry Phinney from Corvallis and the pin striping was done by Jim Carmichael from Eugene.
Levy also won third prize in the Gates Carbon Drive competition for this jaw-dropping randonneur. Built for a client who plans to ride it at Paris-Brest-Paris, the bike is a cornucopia of custom — from the special-ordered red Rohloff rear hub to the only pair of red TRP brake levers in existence.
Other highlights of the bike include: TRP hydraulic disc brakes; a Gates carbon belt drive; a customized (by Dave) Rohloff shifter adapter; a customized iPhone mount; lots of internal wiring and a USB mount in the headset cap; a Schmidt front hub dynamo that powers a custom Light On! front light that also has a one-off, trickle charge battery pack system; a custom front rack bag and leather mudflaps by Loyal Designs; a twin-tube titanium chain guard; an intricate Keith Anderson paint job, and more.
Here are a few more photos of the bike…
*Note: The judges picked multiple winners in some categories, where no one bike “was clearly superior.” The full list of winners, including photos of some of them, is below…
Chris Bishop (pictured below) took home three awards, showing once again showed that he is hands-down one of the finest builders in the industry.
I profiled this bike earlier today. Learn more about it and see photos here.
We’ve got more photos and stories to share from Sacramento. The event wraps up tomorrow and there are a few awards yet to be announced. Will a Portland builder come away with the show’s top prize? Stay tuned.
— This is part of BikePortland’s special coverage of NAHBS 2012. Read more stories and browse more images here.
[NOTE: This post has been edited. When it was originally published, I had the wrong bike shown for Ti Cycles. I regret any confusion.]
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Ned Ludd Market Bike – !