John and Cari are en route to the 2024 MADE Bike Show and stopped along the way to see the Paul Component Engineering fam in Chico, California. While there, we checked out Paul’s Meriwether Cycles touring fat bike. This collaboration bike with Oddity Cycles is a three-year project, but if you’re like us, you’ll agree it was well worth the wait. Let’s check it out!
“2023 MADE bike show”
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Radar
Camera Corner World Premiere MADE Tickets Are On Sale!
Camera Corner will have its world premiere at the MADE Bike Show Movie Night on Friday, August 23rd. It will screen at 8 PM at the Zidell Yards in Portland, Oregon, and your entry to the film is free if you have a MADE ticket for Friday. Otherwise, it’s $10. Yakima is sponsoring the movie night and We Are One is buying the first 400 beers for the evening events. Do not miss out!
We recommend buying your tickets ahead of time as this show will sell out and there are no guarantees you’ll be able to get in the night of. You can buy tickets at MADE.
Read on for more information about 2024 MADE.
Radar
We Asked 150 Bike Shops What They Recycle, and 32 Of Them Responded
It’s hard to gather massive data about how careful or careless our industry is with waste. A lot of manufacturers take transparent sustainability pledges, but a lot more don’t. Bike shops, on the other hand, have open doors. So, Travis surveyed several dozen bike shop recycling programs (and got a few dozen responses) about how their waste is managed. Answers ranged from recycling to donations to landfills to something involving art projects and Burning Man.
Reportage
From Beretta to Bicycles: Tom Ritchey on Investment Casting and 1990 Eisentraut Mountain Bike
We’re in a seemingly new era of bicycle framebuilding with the proliferation of 3D-printed components. While this movement might feel “unprecedented,” a similar thing happened with framebuilders in the mid-1980s and into the 1990s with technology borrowed from the Beretta gun manufacturer in Italy.
In what has to be one of our most intriguing Vintage Bicycles articles to date, John hops on a phone call with Tom Ritchey to discuss a rare 1990 Eisentraut mountain bike that Tom had recently acquired and the technology that made it possible.
Reportage
More Kids on Bikes: How NICA is Changing the Culture of Youth Sports
Stacked on a foundation of building strong minds, bodies, characters, and communities, The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) has been getting more kids on bikes through mountain bike racing, adventure riding, trail building, community outreach, and scholarship programs since being officially established in 2009.
Katie Sox spills the beans on her experience photographing for the Oregon League and how NICA continues to expand its offerings while cultivating a healthier and more equitable approach to youth sports.
Radar
A List of Drop-Bar 29er Mountain Bikes
Three weeks ago, John laid out a quick look at dirt drops on early mountain bikes by using his 1983 Steve Potts as a vehicle for the discussion and today we’re looking at our favorite modern drop-bar 29er mountain bikes. But first, we’ve got to define what a drop-bar 29er mountain bike is!
Radar
Ronnie’s Rons Bikes ALUMAX MADE Build Video
If you want a sneak peek at Ronnie’s ALUMAX gravel bike he brought to MADE last year, check out this build video!
Radar
2024 MADE Bike Show Returns to Portland, Tickets on Sale
MADE, the bicycle framebuilder showcase, returns to Portland this year on August 23 – 25th 2024, and the tickets are on sale today. Head over to MADE to purchase tickets and check out our 2023 MADE bike show coverage below…
Radar
2024 MADE Australia is June 28th and 29th at the Darebin International Sports Centre
MADE Australia is just around the corner. Discover the world of handmade custom bikes under one roof at DISC before the raucous rumbling of Roobaix!
Radar
Bike Hacks: Add Extra Bottles and Gear with Wolf Tooth’s B-Rad System
Last week when Josh published his Otso Hoot Ti hardtail review, he fielded a lot of questions about the accessories used to add extra bottle cage and accessory mounts to the bike’s frame. As a companion to the bike review, Josh takes a closer look at Wolf Tooth’s clever B-Rad System below.
Radar
This Manzanita Cycles Hardtail is For Sale and Benefits Reno-Area Bike Park
Manzanita Cycles, a Reno-based framebuilder we featured in our MADE coverage, is selling a 130mm-travel smooth-riding steel hardtail and donating all profits to support the growth of the Sky Tavern Bike Park in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area. Let’s take a closer look.
Radar
Bike Hacks: How I Made My Custom 85 mm Suspension Fork
Travis‘s Otso Fenrir shows up a lot in his reviews. So does the 85mm-travel Fox Step-Cast 34 he customized for it. We’ve gotten some questions about how he finagled this hack. He’s here to give answers, but not to recommend you try it.
Radar
Introducing the New 1UP USA Super Duty Bike Rack
Coinciding with this week’s Sea Otter Classic, 1UP USA just announced a completely redesigned Super Duty hitch-mount bike rack. With a new one-handed push-button system, adjustable tray spacing, 100 lb rating per tray, and more, there’s a lot to like about this rack. Josh, our resident rackaholic, has been testing the new SD and shares a review below…
Radar
ENVE Fray Endurance/All-Road Bike First Look
Released today, the Fray is ENVE’s new all-road/endurance road bike. The Fray is positioned in ENVE’s lineup between the Melee and the MOG, with a geometry optimized for tire sizes between 700 x 31c and 700 x 35c, and clearance up to 40c.
Petor stumbled on one of the first production Fray bikes ahead of its release for a long weekend in Girona last October. Below, he shares a first look and some initial ride impressions…
Radar
BTCHN’ Bikes Paul Crank Adapter
The problem with the PAUL cranksets is the chainrings wear out and they’re not compatible with narrow-wide 1x setups, so you’ve gotta run a chain guide. They’re also not compatible with 10, 11, or 12-speed drivetrains. BTCHN’ bikes have been there… so they made this PAUL crankset adapter. This is 3D printed in aluminum and will bolt up to your Paul Crankset using their factory chainring bolts. It will adapt to any 104BCD chainring using standard 1x chainring bolts while maintaining the original chainline.
First debuted at the 2022 MADE Bike Show and pre-ordering now for $95.
See more at BTCHN Bikes.
Reportage
Monē Bikes SB2 Review: Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’
We talk a lot about the early klunkers, from Breezers to Cunninghams and Ritcheys, but what about the very first MTBs in the US, the coaster cruisers, aka mountain cruisers? These esoteric singlespeeds rely on a coaster brake hub to control their speed and were adapted from old Schwinn newspaper bikes.
Read on as John reviews his coaster cruiser, a Monē Bikes Small Batch Straight Bar, aka the SB2. These bikes are the simplest mountain bike you can ride: No hand brakes. No gears. Big bars. Balloon tires. This is peak coaster cruiser!
Reportage
Examining Purpose During 126 Hours Racing the 2023 Across Andes
After thirty-five days spent bikepacking from Bolivia to Peru across three sub mountain ranges of the Cordillera de los Andes, Leo Brasil finds himself with the unique opportunity to explore a completely different part of South America with a much lighter bike. Read on for his race reflections from the 2023 Across Andes
Reportage
Forever Bike: Josh’s Custom Oddity Singlespeed With Ignite Components
Nearly three years ago this week, Josh picked up a custom titanium singlespeed Oddity hardtail that was originally Burnsey‘s show bike for the 2021 Philly Bike Expo. It’s become his most-ridden bike and has been subject to plenty of component swaps over the years, yet it hasn’t been fully documented with a dedicated article here on this site. Josh recently outfitted the bike with Ignite Components and (finally) shares a review and breakdown of the build below, including an interview with Ian Colquhoun of Ignite…