The Radavist

I’m here in Portland, Oregon attending the Bike and Beer festival at HopWorks Urban Brewery. While I’ll be documenting many of the frames, I’ll also be capturing the general vibes. For now, let’s just check out some bikes!

For Breadwinner Cycles, it may appear their bikes are designed for racing and ripping. That’s not the case for their Arbor Lodge porteur bike. These do-it-all city commuters are designed to pack versatility in a nimble steel frame while still holding true to that Breadwinner aesthetic. My personal favorite detail is the custom porteur rack and the use of the White Industries VBC cranks.

At the Melburn Roobaix yesterday (more to come on that), I bumped into my friend Ben Kamenjas from Sydney, who I met a few years back when he worked at Deus Ex Machina. Ben’s a wealth of cycling knowledge, especially the obscure / idiosyncratic world of French components and frames. At a certain point in your life, you tire of looking at others’ work and decide to start building for yourself.

What you see here is Ben’s first bike, under his moniker Cicli Spirito (no link yet). It’s a fendered porteur with a customized VO rack that mounts to the vintage center pull mounts and classic French parts with a classic geometry.

It’s always difficult to shoot a porteur with weight on the front, so I asked Ben to act as the kickstand while I snapped a few, very quick photos.

With this weather, I’m sure Ben was stoked on his Swift Industries Pelican bag, fenders and nice, plump tires during the Roobaix. That’s a great looking bicycle!

The Hufnagel porteurs are my all time favorite, especially since Jordan has put the frame building torch aside while he and West America-partner James head south to Mexico on their dirt bikes. The rugged, utilitarianism of these frames is only exceeded by the sophistication and lack of ostentation. Fillet brazed, simple and mostly made with domestically-produced components, they’re timeless…

Caleb’s one of the locals here in Austin that owns one and every time I see it, I get a tad bit jealous. Especially knowing that Jordan has a single speed version in my size for sale right now (56cm ST 61cm TT). If you’re interested in that, email him! In the meantime, check out more photos of Caleb’s Hufnagel Porteur in the Gallery!

The tale of Hubert d’Autremont is an interesting one, but that story will be told another day. Instead, I’ll start the coverage of this unique craftsman off with the bike that he rides the most, this Cycles d’Autremont porteur.

I don’t know why, but I really love the aesthetic of porteurs, especially when they’re owned by a builder. A road bike, mountain bike or randonneur all have very specific uses, but a porteur implies a certain utilitarian aesthetic. Grocery getter, errand runner, bar bike and even quick morning mountain jaunts. A well-rounded bike like this is bound to log more miles than the other arrows in the quiver.

Burlington, Vermont isn’t exactly SoCal, and inclement weather is no stranger in the Green Mountain state, so a fully-fendered bike with integrated lighting quickly becomes an essential tool in these parts. Elegant but rugged, Hubert’s own porteur is exactly that. Like any detail-oriented (i.e. obsessive) artist tends to create, this piece of work just appears effortless… See for yourself in the Gallery!

Malachi’s Northside Wheelers porteur is one of the best examples of how you don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a classy ride, just a little creativity and insight. It doesn’t hurt to have Danny Hale of Shifter Bikes on your side though…

This bike is very similar to Dan’s own singlespeed porteur (which was stolen last year). It’s a Taiwanese frame, painted matte black but has some sneaky detailing. A coaster brake keeps the bike’s silhouette clean, while a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub aids in scaling Melbourne’s hills.

How the bike shifts is one of the most clever details: a Campagnolo downtube shifter is mounted to the seat stay, allowing Mal to “suicide shift” this sleek beauty. Other details include a Northside Wheelers saddle, crafted by Mick Peel of Busyman, pinstriping on the hub / rims, pink nipples, Campagnolo Strada cranks and custom painted fenders. It’s a sleeper! See for yourself in the Gallery.

Over the past few years, the crew at Geekhouse Bikes have slowly grown apart from their brightly-colored, low-pro, bent seat tube, triple triangle track bikes that they became so well known for. This slow and steady move towards class, with a bit of sass has culminated in their 2013 NAHBS offerings in Denver. New this year are the Brentwood Porteur and Hopedale Light Tourer. Both bikes would make ideal vehicles for a weekend camping trip, or around town jaunts. These models will be available in conjunction with Geekhouses’ already established models. Let me just say the brightly-colored Mudville singlespeed disk cross looks so dialed. Even the Adria Klora-designed graphics are top notch. Well done guys!

Check out some more photos, by the lovely Heather McGrath in the gallery!

Detroit has a long tradition of US manufacturing and it’s this very tradition that Shinola is looking to continue with their brand. The company began with watches, a common, everyday object that hasn’t been mass produced in the United States for decades. But Shinola knew that in order to bring that industry back to Detroit, they’d have to enlist in the help of true craftsmen. Ronda AG, a Lausen, Switzerland-based movement manufacturer is working with Shinola on their Argonite 1069 watch movement assemblage and that’s only the beginning.

Similarly, when Shinola began to design their bicycles, they looked to Wisconsin and the Waterford facilities for fabrication. Inspired by French porteurs and light tourers, the Shinola Runwell is an ideal city bike and you don’t need any fancy Swiss movement to get these bikes rolling. An 11-speed Alfine hub effortlessly shifts this mid-trail bike through your city or countryside. Load up the front rack with groceries, post office runs, beer, or what have you and just go! If you need to stop on a dime, the mechanical disk brakes will do the trick.

The Runwell has details. Waterford’s simple and classy lugwork, along with a bright Cherokee red paint job (it’s really bright!) really compliments the mostly chrome components. Even the gusset on the non-drive fork leg resolves any stress riser issue you might have with disk tabs on a mid-trail ride. Shinola went the extra mile with their branded saddle and grips and the 32c Continental Contact tires will roll without getting flats from thorns or glass.

Check out more below.