ira ryan

Breadwinner Cycles has purchased Sugar Wheel Works

Ira Ryan (left), Jude Gerace, and Tony Pereira (note their shirts).
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

On the 10th anniversary of her Sugar Wheel Works company, Portlander Jude Gerace has decided to move on. But the good news for Portland’s bike industry is that Sugar has been bought by Breadwinner Cycles.

Later today, Breadwinner owners Tony Pereira and Ira Ryan will announce their plans to welcome Sugar’s existing employees, tools, and inventory into their space on 2323 North Williams Avenue. Jude will stay on as an advisor for three months to help with the transition.

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Two bikes stolen in smash-and-grab theft at Breadwinner Cycles & Cafe

(Photos: Breadwinner Cycles)

Be on the lookout: Breadwinner Cycles in north Portland was broken into last night and the thieves stole two bikes.

Co-owner Ira Ryan contacted us with the news this morning. He said someone smashed through their glass front door, waltzed into the shop and took the bikes and a company laptop.

According to Ryan the bike that was taken is a red, Lolo model road bike with the name “J. Daugherty” on the top tube. To make matters worse, the bike belonged to a customer from Washington that was planning to come to Portland this Thursday to pick it up. The other bike that was stolen is a blue, prototype dirt-jumper model. Scroll down to see both bikes…

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Framebuilders expand as Breadwinner Cafe opens for business

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Customers sit at the bar of Breadwinner Cafe with the framebuilding workshop visible through a big window.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The story behind the new Breadwinner Cafe is Portland at its best.

The two guys behind it — Tony Pereira and Ira Ryan — started over a decade ago as bicycle builders toiling in their garages on frames bearing their own names (Pereira Cycles and Ira Ryan Cycles respectively). Then in 2013 they joined forces to form Breadwinner Cycles. That brand and business has matured nicely over the years; but the duo was still cramped for space. Last spring they leased a building on North Williams Avenue and Page Street and have been working all year to renovate the space.

Today they took a huge step forward with the opening of Breadwinner Cafe, which is directly adjacent to the workshop where they build the 10 different models they currently offer. Tony and Ira have gone from framebuilders to community builders.

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Bike shop news roundup: Two moves, one stays, Breadwinner’s new cafe, and a heartwarming story

Kenton Cycle Repair’s new location off Denver Ave.
(Photo: Kenton Cycle Repair)
Lots of news to get to so let’s jump right in shall we?

There’s been a lot of shuffling of bike shops in Portland in the past few years. There are several reasons we see bike shops move or go out of business. There’s always a pendulum swing and shake-out in a city whose enthusiasm for cycling sometimes outpaces its actual support of it. Rent increases are another major culprit. Bike shops aren’t exactly cash cows and most owners operate on very thin margins. Finding the right space with the right size at the right price is not easy — especially in a city where landlords and developers would rather own multi-story residential buildings.

With that, here are the updates we’ve got for you (scroll down to get all the details):

  • Upcycles moves out of Woodlawn
  • Kenton Cycle Repair moves into much larger space
  • Metropolis Cycles changes plans
  • Announcing the Breadwinner Cafe!
  • East Portland shops step up to help

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Breadwinner Cycles launch draws huge crowd

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
breadwinner launch party-2

The launch of Breadwinner Cycles drew a huge crowd.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Breadwinner Cycles drew a huge crowd to Velo Cult on Friday night. The event marked the official launch of the company which was started by noted bike builders Tony Pereira and Ira Ryan (we profiled Breadwinner back in February).

At Friday night’s event, the highlight for me was the assemblage of locally owned Ira Ryan Cycles and Pereira Cycles bikes. Tony and Ira invited all their local customers to display their bikes as a way to demonstrate the lineages that produced Breadwinner. It was really cool to see all these custom bikes, banged up and dirty from being ridden on local streets by local riders. There were touring bikes, racing bikes, mountain and city ramblers, and everything in between. I was especially keen to meet the owners Ira and Tony’s first bikes sold in Portland…

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Ira Ryan and Tony Pereira team up to launch ‘Breadwinner Cycles’

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Breadwinner Cycles sneak peek-2

Introducing Breadwinner Cycles.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Ira Ryan and Tony Pereira, two of Portland’s most well known bicycle builders, are going all-in on a new company. The duo plan to formally launch Breadwinner Cycles at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Denver this weekend.

“We’re coming together to build more bikes for more people,” is how Pereira explained it when I got a sneak peek at the new line of bikes last week.

Breadwinner is more than just a new bike company, it’s the beginning of a new adventure for Pereira and Ryan. After spending over seven years (each) building up their own brands — Pereira Cycles and Ira Ryan Cycles both started in 2006 — the launch of Breadwinner as a standalone bike company marks a significant step in a new direction.

“This is definitely a huge leap for us,” Pereira said, as he and Ryan bantered over final details prior to loading up their new bikes in a truck and driving to Denver for the Big Show.

Far from just another custom bike brand, Pereira says their five-year plan is to establish a factory, hire welders, and make 1,000 bikes per year.

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In the shop with Ira Ryan

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Ira Ryan Open Shop-1

Outside Ira’s shop.
-Slideshow below-
(Photos © J. Maus)

On Saturday, Portland bike builder Ira Ryan hosted an “Open Shop” event. Ryan, a former bike messenger who grew up in Iowa, billed the event as a chance to, “visit and see where I work, see some new bikes I have been working on, or just talk about bike stuff.”

Ira works in the basement of Weirs Cyclery in St. Johns. By the time I arrived Saturday night, the place was like a speak-easy in the roaring ’20s — packed to the gills with people sipping drinks and having a great time. In the crowd were a mix of Ira’s friends and fans, racers, industry types and fellow builders (Tony Pereira and Jordan Hufnagel to name two). It was great to see such a healthy turnout.

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Ira Ryan wins Trans-Iowa endurance race

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Framebuilder's party

Ira Ryan
File photo: 10/29/06

Local framebuilder, and ex-bike messenger Ira Ryan covered 300+ miles of gravel roads in 25 hours to win the third annual Trans-Iowa Endurance Race.

Ira, who also won the inaugural edition of the event in 2005, beat out 120 other racers for the win.

According to live audio updates provided by ultra-endurance website Ride424.com, Ira soloed for the final 12 hours of the event and was only challenged 20 miles from the finish, when he pulled away from a Polish rider on one of the final climbs.

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