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Now that Golden Pliers has settled into their new Portland, OR location, it was time for us to make another visit. Just a few days after the MADE bike show concluded, Spencer Harding stepped into the welcoming arms of the Golden Pliers crew for a much-needed decompression from all the bike show hubbub. Below, let’s look inside one of our favorite bike shops that is filled with beautiful bikes, nice things, and wonderful humans…
SimWorks will have a booth at @made.bike in Portland, OR August 23-25 and will do its first ever Ramen Outside Ride with @peace.sports. Join Sim Works for a ride celebrating the MADE show and riding bikes and all of the amazing people who make it possible.
The Sim Works team will ride from MADE (Zidell Yards) to Washington Park to eat ramen and hang out. Then, they’ll ride to SimWorks HQ to eat some homemade Onigiri to finish the ride and party!
Details:
Saturday, August 24
3:30pm: Meet up at MADE BIKE show (Zidell Yards)
4:00pm: Roll out
Make Ramen outside at Stevens Pavilion Picnic Shelter in Washington Park 🍜
6-8pm: End Onigiri Party at SimWorks HQ
Check out more at the Sim Works Instagram.
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…
Cyclepath is hosting Custom Bike Love: A Bike Show for the People on June 16th to highlight all the rad bikes around town in Portland. If you have fancy stem caps and want to talk about them, you have a custom bike and, they want to see it, ALL BIKES WELCOME!
The highlight of the show will be a curated selection of bikes from @adangerpdx who you are probably already following and if not you should be.
Cyclepath will be raffling off items from @rockshox @silca_velo @ultradynamico @wolf_tooth_comp @smithoptics @cyclepathpdx and more. All proceeds will go to @girlsbuild_org
Think cars and coffee, but with bikes and pizza, good times are guaranteed, or your money back (it’s free).
After an eleven-year hiatus, Ira Ryan is back building bicycles under his namesake moniker, Ira Ryan Cycles, in Portland, Oregon. While Josh was visiting the City of Roses earlier this year, he stopped by Ira’s to catch up and check out some new projects. Continue reading below to look inside Ira’s workshop and drool over some of his exquisite recently built bicycles.
Wow. A Cherubim Triplecrown track bike for a Readers’ Rides?! What is this, 2008? We’re all here for it. Track bikes. We can’t quit drooling over them. The most simple form of bicycle that has been sculpted and crafted into stunning machines. Julian, who happened to work on this website’s design, submitted his stunning Cherubim Triplecrown track bike for this week’s Readers’ Rides. Let’s check it out!
While many of us attempt to adhere to a bike-centric lifestyle most of the time, vehicles are an unavoidable aspect of transportation. Especially for those of us living in the expansive Western United States. And for folks who like to travel distances for recreation, or need to travel for work, having a vehicle that doubles as a somewhat self-contained living space is more than just a luxury. Josh learned long ago that #vanlife wasn’t for him, and pull-behind campers were more of a hindrance than help. So a few years ago he outfitted his pickup with a bed-mounted wedge-style canopy camper. Then earlier this year he swapped that camper for a Super Pacific X1.
Josh has been fielding a lot of questions about the X1, both at the trailhead and on social media, over the past few months. In advance of a long-term review, he shares an overview of Super Pacific, the X1 camper, and aspects that differentiate the brand in a crowded truck camper space…
With this year’s Chris King Open House coming right after the 2023 MADE Bike Show, the event decided to shift gears and focus on the Portland area’s outdoor brands. Chris King opened its doors to the public, unveiling the process that goes into machining bike parts in the USA, while inviting the broader outdoor industry to display their products. It was a full day of bikes and more! Check out our Reportage, sent in by Chris King and let us know your favorite bike in the comments!
Earlier this year I was able to spend some time on the Chris King GRD23 wheelset. It was during the tail end of Portland, Oregon’s rainy season and I rode the wheels, photographed them, and started typing, yet I kept thinking about the wheels and have revisited this “short and quick” review many times over. I was just trying to figure out what I was hung up on or why this particular review was so difficult. Even though I had almost nothing but good things to say. Sometimes it turns out that great products are simply hard to talk about.
The GRD23 is Chris King’s first foray into their own “house” wheels. Featuring a FusionFiber rim (we will get to that) with, you guessed it, a 23mm internal width paired to their legendary center lock R45D hubs. King’s design intent for these was for an all-road wheelset or a perfect wheelset for someone who wants to swap between their slightly-plump-road bike and their gravel bike.
Note: since I did the testing and took forever to wrap this up they have followed up with the deeper more road oriented ARD44.
MADE Bike Show is right around the corner, featuring over 200 bicycle fabricators and brands at Zidell Yards in Portland Oregon. The show will feature builders and makers from all over the world, with an emphasis on community and inclusivity. Read on below for a sneak peek of what’s to come, plus a 15% discount on tickets!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
SimWorks is pleased to present our latest offering in the Doppo lineup of framesets: The High Plains Drifter. These framesets are handcrafted in small batches by our friends, and adept framebuilding cohorts, at Simple Bicycle Co. here in Portland, OR. It’s a modern twist on a time-honored favorite, sure to bring back more than a few pleasant reminders of some of our earliest memories on a bike, while opening up a world of possibility for future off-road explorations.
Perhaps you’ve seen this bike from 2013? Well, it’s got an interesting story…
“Back in 2013 I was invited to show a bicycle at the Portland Art Museum. I was told there would be a collection of around 40 historic bicycles on display, and there would be space in the foyer for myself and other local builders to show off some of our work. At around this time, hand made bicycles were at the peak of their popularity, and I thought, Wow, this is likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I mean, how many people get to make something with their own hands and display it in a major museum?”
… and it’s for sale! Ahearne Cycles is asking $24,998 $19,950 for this beauty. If that’s a bit rich for you (it most likely is!) then check out this Page St. Tourer for $3850 and Classic Randonneur for sale ($6950) too!
You’ve seen the bikes from the 2021 Chris King Open House in today’s Reportage and now, here’s the video!
For the past five years, we’ve hosted in-depth documentation of the annual Chris King Open House and for the second year in a row, this showcase has gone virtual. Yet, don’t fret, because we have a beautiful showcase of some incredibly talented, international builders for you today. With a catalog spanning the globe, ranging from Australia to Italy, Spain, and France, we’re bringing gravel offerings from Baum, Bixxis, Legor, Prova, and Victoire to the web for you to enjoy from the comfort of your home or office. These bikes feature an extremely limited run of grey and turquoise Chris King bits which won’t be available to the public but have informed the paint designs for each of these noble steeds.
I hope you’re ready for some delicious gravel bikes! Let’s jump right in…
This morning Chrome Industries announced its new Pedal and Pro Series footwear, equipped with an exclusive rubber outsole from legendary Panaracer Tires. The launch video alone is worth the mention! Check it out above and see all the models at Chrome.
My normal yearly schedule usually includes a visit or two to Portland, Oregon, a mecca for bicycle framebuilders. Over the years, I’ve been a part of documenting the projects that come out of the Vanilla Workshop, so when a sweet project like this comes along, I like to elevate it to the Reportage section of the site. Sure, this bike isn’t going to be for everyone, nor is it by any means accessible, but as cyclists, we should be able to appreciate beautiful pieces of craft and thoughtfulness. At least that’s how I look at it!
Anyway, this Vanilla Classic road bike build with custom CycloRetro Engraved Shimano Dura Ace is a blast from the past… and that’s its intent! Read on below for more words and beautiful photos from the Vanilla Workshop.
The 2020 Chris King ‘Not So’ Open House brings together a group of the very best bike builders and bike brands to showcase the brand’s new colors and products for 2021. Each of the ten builders being featured stepped up to produce an amazing bike that showcases the new additions to their new color offering (black with gold infill text and gold!) There are also some great edits from brands like Yeti and Specialized, so see those below!
CKPC had a lot of fun putting the video edit together, so enjoy!
