Industry Ticker: SE Portland’s Renovo launches ‘Aerowood’ road bike

Renovo’s Aerowood is made in their shop in inner southeast Portland.

While there’s been a bit of a shakeout since the artisan bike maker heyday of years past, Portland is still home to many great builders. One of them is hardwood bike specialist Renovo. Under the tutelage of Ken Wheeler, the company (celebrating their 10th anniversary this year) has found a solid niche.

Their latest is the Aerowood endurance bike. Learn more in the press release below:

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Nature’s Carbon Fiber: The Renovo Aerowood Endurance Bike

A Sleek And Beautiful Design That Delivers A High Quality & Smooth Ride

Renovo Hardwood Bicycles introduces the Aerowood, a complete road standout in regards to race geometry, aerodynamic, stealth. The Aerowood features Renovo’s FFSVD© (full frame shock and vibration damping) technology, which delivers a high-quality and smooth ride.

Wind-cheating frame aerodynamics usually come at the expense of long-ride comfort, but Aerowood’s hollow wood frame makes for a very smooth ride. The Aerowood excels at long rides, so one may comfortably reel the miles. The aerodynamic design of the Aerowood’s frame also shows off the beauty of the wood material. The Aerowood goes far beyond its elegant aesthetic with a lightweight hollow and aero main triangle that is pound for pound stiffer than metal, and has a fatigue life that exceeds steel or alloy — and almost being equal to carbon. Wood of course, is also a renewable and non-polluting resource.

Aerowood Features:

— Hollow Frame Construction from Bubinga and Curly Maple

— Lifetime Warranty on Craftsmanship and Materials excluding Finish

— FFSVD© – Full Frame Shock & Vibration Damping

— Club race, Paceline, Endurance Internal Di2 Caliper Brakes Road, Electronic Shifting Only. (Di2/eTap/FSA)

— Seatpost diameter: 27.2mm

— Headset/Steer tube: 1-1/8” internal/ Straight

— Tire Clearance: 25mm

— MSRP: Frameset $4,995 // Full-Build $8,895+

Check out more local bike business news in the Industry Ticker archives.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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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Justin M
Justin M
6 years ago

Looks amazing. If I place my order today do you think I’ll have it before Sasha Obama is president?

Joseph E
6 years ago
Reply to  Justin M

They claim that they now have production frames in stock:

“Frames are now built for inventory, the only delay before shipping is assembling components to the frame.”

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
6 years ago

Those trees must grow fast 🙂

Mossby Pomegranate
Mossby Pomegranate
6 years ago
Reply to  Justin M

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Hotrodder
Hotrodder
6 years ago

Looks pretty. 25c max tire size…I wonder how much a built frame weighs?

Bikey McBikeface
Bikey McBikeface
6 years ago

$9,000 for a wood bike lol

dan
dan
6 years ago

I really need to test ride one of these bikes some day. Wood still beats pretty much every other material for skis and snowboards, why wouldn’t that be true for bikes too? (Though one of the best materials for boards is a wood core with a titanal layer…wonder if that’s possible for a bike frame)

Alan Love
Alan Love
6 years ago
Reply to  dan

I don’t dare Google what “titanal” might be.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
6 years ago
Reply to  Alan Love

Make sure to use DuckDuckGo in Private mode, and don’t do it on your work computer.

John Liu
John Liu
6 years ago

Renovo’s bikes are gorgeous, and even more so in person.

Kyle Banerjee
6 years ago

I find it interesting that wooden bikes are listed complete only with electronic shifting — especially since wide cassettes tend not to be shifted so much.

But then again, I wouldn’t expect anyone in this market to go with a “stock” build.

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
6 years ago
Reply to  Kyle Banerjee

I think you’re going out on a limb with that assumption.

Alan 1.0
6 years ago

You wood say that, but there are plenty more poplar tree puns.

dan
dan
6 years ago
Reply to  Alan 1.0

Don’t be a sap!

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
6 years ago

More like against the grain.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
6 years ago
Reply to  GlowBoy

But personally, I would resist a stock build (and geometry) with every fiber of my being. After leafing my deposit I would be on pines and needles waiting for my new bike.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
6 years ago
Reply to  GlowBoy

Yes. If it doesn’t fit right, it just saps your energy.

dan
dan
6 years ago
Reply to  GlowBoy

And your trunk, don’t forget that!

pengo
pengo
6 years ago
Reply to  dan

really rooting for this to stop right now

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
6 years ago
Reply to  Kyle Banerjee

A stock build might be fine for budding riders.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
6 years ago

pengo
really rooting for this to stop right now
Recommended 0

What, you’re not lichen this?

nc
nc
6 years ago

An Endurance bike, but only with Electronic Shifting, the least reliable out there, makes no sense, as does the inability to run 28mm tyres or bigger.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
6 years ago
Reply to  nc

I wood have to agree.

Brendan
Brendan
1 month ago

Hey I designed that! Or more accurately, this looks like a revision of the bike I designed for Renovo around early 2011. My seat-tube wasn’t hollow for example. Thanks for all your excellent reporting as always Jonathan. I went looking to see what was up with Renovo here in 2024 and found all these great old articles from the downfall days.