Introducing the Bicycle Showcase: A place to promote and learn about great bikes
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on May 16th, 2018 at 4:33 pm
We have so many great local bike shops and builders in Portland, and one of our main goals has always been to support them by spreading the word about their business and products.
Today we’re launching a new tool that will take that one step further. We call it the Bicycle Showcase. It’s a paid listing service ($150 per bike) and it’s a simple way for local bike builders and bike shops to spread the word about bikes they have for sale. Similar to our Job Listings, the idea is to get that triple-win we always strive for around here: Help local businesses thrive, support our work, and provide a helpful resource the community.
I personally love visiting bike shops and checking out the latest-and-greatest bikes. My hope is that this new service gives you the information you need to make a good choice about your next bike and/or just gives you an opportunity to ogle something cool during your lunch hour.
Our friends at Joe Bike (SE Lincoln and Cesar Chavez Blvd) jumped at the chance to create the first listing. Check out their very cool rendition of a Soma Wolverine below…
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Ready to list a bike? The form awaits you. You can view the entire showcase here.
If you have ideas on how we can make this service better, please let me know. I’m here to help.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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This is a great new feature, and that is an amazing looking bike! I have a similar commuter with belt drive and generator hub. This bike has all the upgrades I wish I had.
RecommendedI have a bike very similar to this for winter commutes that I love. My only regret is that Specialized no longer sells the Source 11 in the U.S. If I were to buy all over again, I’d love to get it from Joe Bike.
RecommendedThanks, John! The Source 11 was a strong competitor. Check out the Marin Fairfax SC6 DLX, too. Very similar specs and mission.
RecommendedI remember the first time I walked into Joe Bike and looked at one of their belt-driven, dynamo-equipped commuters. I was awed. I’ve been wanting one ever since. One day!
RecommendedSeriously recommend a similarly equipped bike for year-round riding. It’s zero maintenance when the weather is at its worst. You don’t have to remember to charge batteries, wipe down the drive train, etc. and you get excellent stopping power always, and great visibility because of the lights. But you pay for it in a little extra weight — which is why I enjoy my no-frills single speed when the weather is guaranteed to be dry.
Recommended“and [sic} of our main goals has always been to support them by spreading the word about their business and products.”
LoL.
RecommendedWhat’s so funny sven?
RecommendedThis is refreshing. BikePortland actually talking about bikes! How about more articles like these and fewer policy-related stories dominated by a few **INSULT DELETED BY MODERATOR** posters?
Recommended$150 per bike sounds like a lot that going to get added on for cost to customer, great idea though
RecommendedNot necessarily, this showcase of 1 bike could bring many other customers in that liked this bike but ended up buying a different one. So for a store like Joe Bike showcasing a single bike could lead to multiple sales. Also, for those of us old timers who remember the days before craigslist, it was not uncommon to spend $150 on a classified add in the newspaper to sell an old car or something like that. And that was back in the day when you could get a new car for $5000 and beers at the Rajneesh nightclub were 10 cents.
RecommendedThanks for the feedback Justin. I disagree that the listing price will have much impact on the cost of a bike. Glad you like the idea though.
And yes, the listings aren’t just for one bike.. They are an opportunity for shops/builders to show off their values and their brand. One thing I hope comes through is how each bike listed is specifically useful/cool for people who ride in Portland. I love seeing how local shops take off-the-shelf bikes and add custom parts and accessories to make them more “Portland”.
RecommendedI thought the reason for adjustable chainstay length on this sort of frame was to tension the belt.
RecommendedIt is. Is that not included in “tuning the ride”? The other option for tensioning of belt drives is an eccentric bottom bracket (which is what my bike uses).
RecommendedJohn, the ability to tension the belt via the sliding dropout eliminates the need for an eccentric bottom bracket. That saves a lot of time and energy whenever it’s time to, say, fix a flat. A lot of belt-drive bikes used to come with an EBB as several manufacturers went that not-so-great route. Soma and Marin are two of the brands that got it right. The adjustable dropouts do allow you to choose your chainstay length, to an extent, and thus to tune your ride.
RecommendedCorrection: The Marin has an eccentric bottom bracket, but the belt is tensioned independently of it (at the dropout), thus making the world a better place.
RecommendedHey Joe, as long as the dropouts are the vertical kind, isn’t an eccentric bottom bracket a set it and forget it kind of thing? The Gates belts are dimensionally stable (much more so than a chain) and don’t really stretch out do they?
RecommendedRumor has it that the Bagwhan is back with really cheap beer.
RecommendedThis is great! Love bike talk and I’ve been meaning to stop by Joe Bike as I go by it quite a bit but just haven’t found the time. This gives me the motivation to do so. Unfortunately, I just refurbed my daily grinder, more like rainy grinder and don’t have room in the stable for a 5th bike at this time but I am looking to sell some equipment this summer so maybe there will be room for one later this year. Thanks!
RecommendedI really like this. Will this receive a tab a the top of the page just like the job postings list? This could become a very fun collection of Portland’s bikes.
RecommendedHi Adam,
Glad you like it! And yes, as we build it out in the coming days and weeks it will have a tab and will be more prominently featured. Please pass it on to anyone you know who works at a shop or who builds bikes. Thanks.
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