(Photo by Spellbound Flowers)
The love of bicycles in this town is so strong that the number and type of bike-related businesses springing up around it never ceases to inspire us. Yes, it’s that time again when we’ve heard of so many new bikey endeavors that we’ve got to round them all up in one post.
We could do a separate post on each of the businesses below; but for now, check out these brief profiles to get a sense of what each company has to offer…
Cynergy E-Bikes – 3822 SE Powell Blvd (map)
Rich and Ruthellen Fein moved to Portland recently and wasted no time opening up Cynergy E-Bikes, a new bike retailer serving southeast Portland. Rich says he and his wife are empty-nesters who “want to get people out of their cars” and they believe e-bikes can play a major role in making that happen.
Rich told us they chose Portland because we have, “the infrastructure and a strong following for biking that can breed interest in e-biking.”
Cynergy stocks a large selection of e-bikes from brands including iZip (by Currie Tech), BH/Easy Motion and EG
Check out CynergyEbikes.com for more info.
Shift Wellness – 8040 NE Sandy Blvd (map)
Shift Wellness is a new acupuncture and massage clinic in northeast Portland that specifically tailors their services to bicycle riders. Owners Tony Wittinger and Abraham Hawkins love cycling and, according to their website, they’ve made it their priority to “work directly with the cycling community to advocate for cycling and to provide specifically tailored healthcare to the needs of all cyclists.”
Learn more or book an appointment online at ShiftWellnessPDX.com.
Spellbound Flowers/The Petal Pusher Pop-Up – 700 SW Broadway (map)
Spellbound Flowers owner Nico Bella has never learned to drive a car she calls herself the only, full-service bicycle-based florist in the country. She has her Christiania Cargo Trike set up in Pioneer Square (corner of Morrison and Broadway) and she also rides it throughout Portland making deliveries and sales all week.
Next time you need some fresh flowers, stop by Nico’s trike and she’ll put something beautiful together for you.
Learn more at SpellboundFlowers.com.
Circa Cycles
Rich Fox and Demetri Macrigeanis have teamed up to launch Circa Cycles, Portland’s newest bicycle manufacturing company. They say the company — which offers a complete, locally made road bike for under $2,000 — combines the “production efficiency of Ikea the obsessive detail of Apple, and the versatility of Swatch.” And it all comes together right here in Portland.
Their flagship is the Mabel frame and fork, an aluminum bike whose name is derived from their “Modular And Bonded Endless Lug micro-manufacturing platform”.
Circa has definitely piqued our interest and we plan on meeting Rich and seeing these bikes in person to get the full story. Stay tuned for that, and in the meantime, check out RideCirca.com for more info.
Humans on Bikes
You might have seen Humans on Bikes owner Christopher Delaney in our recent coverage of the National Bike Summit. Christopher isn’t just a super-charged bike advocate, he’s launched Humans on Bikes to help more people find their way toward becoming confident, everyday bike riders. He’s just getting rolling, but after meeting him last week I have a feeling we’ll be hearing much more from him in the months and years to come.
You can sign up to learn more about Christopher’s services at HumansOnBikes.com.
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We need rental e-bikes for our out-of-shape out-of-town visiting friends.
A good idea would be : wheatgrass delivery by bike. Get a flat of wheatgrass delivered each week for $8. Someone could easily make some nice pocket money doing this if they had only 50-100 customers. Wheatgrass is cheap to grow….
Not to be a negative nancy, but that MABEL is $1100 for frame and fork. You can still get a Soma or Surly (or other) for about half that price.
But then you’d be riding a Surly or a Soma. And they’s made in a giant factory in Taiwan.
Not to be a negative nancy, but that apple is $1 . You can still get an orange (or other) for about half that price.
I disagree with your analogy. It’s an $1100 aluminum frame that is bonded/bolted together. I wouldn’t classify it as a racer or tourer, more of an all around ” road bike” which in my mind places it in the same category as soma, surly, pake, or a basic of the shelf aluminum Trek, Cannondale, etc.
Is there any empirical evidence that a bolted/bonded frame is not comparable in strength to a welded aluminum frame? There is a lot of science in adhesives, and I could see their approach being more consistent in manufacturing than welding, which by its nature produces variability in strength based on tube thickness. While this is more expensive, it very well could also be better. I am for one, very interested.
Don’t know how long you’ve been into riding, but I’ve been doing this since Vitus, Alan, and Guerciotti all made bonded aluminum frames in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They were the flexiest things ever. That being said, maybe the technology has improved, but historically speaking, aluminum bonded frames were either heavy or flexy. I’m the first to admit that I’m biased by those old bikes, and just think this is a new spin on an old idea.
I have to admit not having been around for that long. The only bonded frame I have ridden was a Trek 8900 carbon from back in the late 90’s, but I am guessing that things have improved since then. Your point is well taken though – this could be a recycled idea with slightly fancier execution.