Our 2024 MADE Bike Show coverage from Portland, Oregon, continues with Part 07. Click on through below for selects from Bike Friday, Black Magic, DeSalvo, Outer Shell, Restless, Rodriguez, Sanitas, Small Monsters x Mosaic, and Wheatfall.
Bike Friday Folding E-Assist Prototype
Since Hanz Scholz founded Bike Friday in the early 1990s, the company has built over 40,000 bikes in its Eugene, OR factory. Performance bikes made for travel, commuting, and distance riding, Bike Fridays are custom-fit to each customer and made without proprietary parts. In the past, Bike Friday offered E-Assist conversions on a few of its models, which utilized “bolt-on” systems with hub drive motors.
For MADE, Hanna Scholz (daughter of company co-founder Alan Scholz) brought an upcoming model that is currently in the testing phase. This new frame is the first to feature an integrated motor and balanced battery positioning, which is similar in form and function to touring models like New World Tourist or Diamond Llama folding bikes. Bike Friday chose to work with Bosch on this build, as they are an ultralight option that many customers in the US have been asking for. We pedaled this small-wheeled ripper around the event grounds and had a blast.
Stay tuned to Bike Friday for details on when these will be widely available.
Black Magic Paint
Portland’s own Black Magic Paint had a lot of stunning finishes on display at MADE, one of which is this “plastic bag” finish. This technique was popular in the 1990s and is made by taking a plastic shopping bag and dabbing the frame.
The base coat is cerakote, then the frame is stamped with the crumpled plastic bag before a teal green candy coat is added. You can see a video sequence of the process at Black Magic Paint’s Instagram.
DeSalvo Cycles Restoration Mid-Reach Road Bike
Ashland, Oregon’s Mike DeSalvo brought a prime example of the beauty of a steel road bike. This frame was originally built in 2017 for a custom and recently it was sent back to Mike to have its dropout repaired after the derailleur hanger was damaged. The customer had Mike do the repair and respray it in a Ferrari Azure Blue color.
It has clearance for a 35 mm tire and got a fresh parts kit while it was in for the work. That’s the beauty of steel. Check out Mike’s modern bikes at DeSalvo!
Partington Wheels: Australian Carbon Fiber Manufacturing
Displaying at MADE for the first time, Partington Wheels, a carbon fiber manufacturer of high-end, performance wheels, shared a booth alongside Baum Cycles. The hub shell, spokes, and rims are all manufactured in-house and feature proprietary tech such as Partington spokes that are made from 108,000 continuous filaments that carry the tension of the spoke as it exits the rim, wraps around the hub, and terminates back at the rim – maintaining load and minimizing stresses.
These R-SERIES MKII wheels weigh 530 grams for the front and 1160 grams for the rear.
Froth uncontrollably at Partington.
Restless Custom Bikes Track Bike
You can count on us to photograph track bikes at framebuilder showcases. These simple and efficient bicycles aren’t as popular as they were in the early aughts, but there are plenty of die-hard fans still riding fixed gears and track bikes on the street. Restless Custom Bikes brought along a stunning specimen for a customer with courier roots and a love for NJS and Japanese componentry.
The tubeset, Nagasawa track ends, and components were ordered from Track Supermarket and the Columbus MAX fork blades bowled us over with their sleek and iconic profile.
Check out more at Restless Custom Bikes.
Road Holes Rodriguez Cycles Randonneur Makeover
Road Holes’ Alder from Seattle-based Rodriguez Cycles brought along his latest restoration. This frame was built most likely in the 1980s and it found its way back in the Rodriguez shop. It’s been updated with a few extra braze-ons, cable guides, and is now outfit to run a front rack and randonneuring bag.
The rim brake carbon wheels and cork pads emit a smell disc brake die-hards have most likely forgotten and the pink and white Neapolitan paint job ups the ante, resulting in one stellar project bike.
Follow Road Holes on Instagram.
Sanitas Cycles Pistil XC Flex Pivot
Durango, Colorado-based Sanitas Cycles unveiled its latest model at MADE. This Pistil XC was outfitted with Bedrock Bags and a bikepacking racing setup. Designed to race the Colorado Trail, the Pistil XC provides ample tire clearance and just over 100 mm of rear travel via a flex pivot design and 130 mm of front travel to deliver a smooth ride over all types of terrain.
It also incorporates a unique concentric bottom bracket pivot which allows the rear travel to work as one unit so the bike can be ridden geared or singlespeed.
Follow Sanitas on Instagram.
Small Monsters Projects X Mosaic Cycles Xt-1
Over the years we’ve enjoyed sharing the work of our buddy Ben Frederick and his Small Monsters Project. Ben founded Small Monsters to raise awareness around the impacts of Traumatic Brain Injuries after suffering from one himself in 2016. With help, he has learned to “live with his monsters; to walk alongside them,” and hopes the same for others dealing with TBI mental health issues.
Prior to each cyclocross season, Ben typically updates his team kit and bike design, which we are always stoked to promote along with the messaging of the Small Monsters Project. This year is a special one for Ben, as he is now riding titanium frames from Mosaic. Bringing back the XT-1 frame model, this is the “Away” kit/bike. Reserved for the muddy days, they took the Small Monsters motif and added a good bit of life isn’t perfect to the design. This is reflected on the bike with splatters of paint and not-so-lined-up stripes. Every single partner in Ben’s roster attended MADE and he’s proud they are all US-based and doing really awesome work.
See more at Small Monsters Project and Mosaic Cycles.
Wheatfall Special Ti Hardtail 29er
Editorial disclaimer: This bike is made in Asia, but we were still into it!
Wheatfall is run by Walter out of Santa Cruz, California, home of some of the most iconic NorCal trails. They’re steep, fast, dusty, and rowdy, providing the perfect proving grounds for a fledgling mountain bike brand. Walter’s a big fan of what we’re doing over here, and we’re stoked to have met him at MADE. This brand-new model hardtail is called the Special, and it features throwback details to vintage klunkers and builders like McClung, Oddity, and others.
Walter got to pedal this bike for the first time while we were photographing it and we’ll be sharing more information on Wheatfall as events warrant.
For now, follow along on Instagram.
A HUGE THANKS TO PAUL COMPONENT ENGINEERING FOR SPONSORING THIS POST!
That’s it for Part 07 of our MADE Bike Show coverage. We’ll be rolling out more over the next several days. What’s your favorite from this selection?