Randoms From the Made Bike Show
As a festival in its inaugural year, there was a lot of excitement around the Made Bike Show. Like kids returning to summer camp, the vendors and attendants were excited to see who showed up in Portland to display their wares. Thanks in part to that excitement, there was a healthy showing of talent, with little spare room in the Zidell Yards warehouse space.
We'll start with something we recently saw on the site, the Apogee Module prototype from Albatross Bikes.
Peek into the guts.
The module itself is surprisingly light, albeit without a shock.
Connections are tight and true on this early proto.
As a celebration of the handmade, custom side of bike culture, it makes sense that Made featured a ton of niche parts that catered to some of the moment's trends, in addition to the timeless bikes that will continue to be relevant for decades to come.
Everything old is new again. Risers with crossbars, so hot right now.
And banana seats, apparently.
I actually love the look of this thing. If it looks fun it must be fun.
Serious shock, getting ready for the not-too-serious Cruiser Classic being held in September.
Shortest headtube of the show award goes to Onguza Bikes.
This Sour Bikes Bad Granny was full of delicious details, and a whole ton of handmade bits.
I mean how cool is this - maybe impractical - but very cool.
Matching cranks from Cyber Cranks.
Lots of the builders brought personal rigs, with finishing touches that usually only make it to their own builds. Not that customers wouldn't appreciate such things, but it's the little things you add over the course of ownership that add some texture.
All the swoops.
I want all my bikes to have this paintjob. At least at this moment.
Vintage full-suspension lugs.
In addition to all the one-off bikes, there were quite a few component manufacturers showing their wares at Made. From tried and true names like Paul and White Industries, to plenty of newer players, there was no shortage of beautifully designed and anodized parts.
Ignite Components hails from New Jersey, and comes correct with a full lineup of drivetrain components.
This bottom bracket features a very clever built-in bearing extractor that allows you to easily replace a worn bearing without any special tools.
135mm cranks for those at the cutting edge of bike fit. Or kids, maybe.
This CNC'd saddle was made as a bit for the Philly Bike Expo, but apparently it's not terribly uncomfortable.
Speaking of classic names in the industry.
But with a steady stream of fresh colors and designs.
Not really a bike thing, I just really like this dragon boat that was sitting outside the show.
I'm always happy to see a simple fixed gear on display. This one from Significant Other features a cleanly integrated U-lock.
And a very sleek bar-stem combo.
Same.
A beautifully filleted single pivot from Rosario Bikes.
A custom creation for the maker's daughter.
Also beautiful, but slightly more complicated.
Wrapping this round up, we have some updates from the Machina bikes project.
They've been experimenting with different stay materials and constructions.
As well as seatstay bridges of varying stiffness.
Cable routing and general packaging is looking very clean, as well.
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In french, a "truffe" is both the dog's nose AND the famous black mushroom you might know, so I guess it's the same in english... ;-)
theradavist.com/?s=2023+MADE+Bike+Show+Coverage%3A
I, umm, have absolutely no idea what any of that means..
None whatsoever.
You’re speaking to an extremely old school rider who happens to be smack in the middle of a mid life crisis..
Extreme old, and only now a mid life crisis you ask? I have a one word answer to that query- denial.
Now that’s doin it right dude! Carry that torch to the grave!!
I’m only slowing down because of old injuries causing chronic migraines. And it sucks..
Though my fastest laps on a Moto bike came at 40yrs old- I was running pro speeds.
And my best on a Mtn bike came at 49yrs old, training in Crested Butte for a summer. I was a beast.
Power on, my friend..
forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?t=8437
generationmountainbike.com/project/1979-motobecane-mx30
That filled my soul. My 57yo soul..
Will be back, tell my pathetic little story of how I never left the state of NM to be a real pro..
The Gary Bailey school.. Such a simpler time.
I was put on a bicycle at 3yrs old, a Honda 50 at 6yrs old. I firmly believe my Moto skills ruined my bicycle skills because until 1987, I was on bikes that were too big for me.
I didn’t do enough organized racing because it was all in Albuquerque, and I wasn’t, and I had no support. But the enduro series was lots of fun, I just didn’t take it serious enough. Even when I was hanging with the fastest in the state.
Life got in the way for a while, then at 39yrs old I bought a YZ250F. had that thing fully modded by a road race engine builder.
My swan song was a knock down drag out with some pretty boy from Albuquerque on a Rocky Mtn fire road.
God he was fast, but I got him right at the last corner. Turns out he just turned pro that week, shipping out to run the motocross series.
Then I dropped a valve in my Yamaha, and eventually turned to Mtn biking..
My riding style downhill is probably like yours- let the bike dance under you, as if there is no suspension.
I brought the YZ250F to silicone valley with me, but never got it running again. Driving for an hour to ride my bike just took my motivation, and I turned me to Mtn biking.
Oooohh, he beat Mark Bernett with an age difference like that! That will always be there..
What is the point of having such a short headtube / no stack at all??
I guess it can use any second hand fork, but nobody else will buy your old fork if you own one or those!!
forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?t=8437
generationmountainbike.com/project/1979-motobecane-mx30
Cross bars, banana seat, shock position and mine was yellow too.
"Ride, ride, little chic! Sit on me, I'm a bicycle seat!"
Surly does sell a DH-rated, 780mm steel flat bar called the Cheater Bar. At 400g, I think that is the lightest production steel bar I've seen with that rating. A comparable aluminum flat bar is under 300g, and I'm curious how the comfort compares
Steel riser bars with a crossbar seem to usually be above 700g though. Surly sells one of these as well (the Sunrise), but its 788g and not even DH rated. A few years ago I was building a klunker-inspired bike and ended up with a steel moto was sold for Yamaha dirtbikes. However, it also weighs more than three times as much as an average aluminum riser bar (1033g!) and is uncomfortably stiff. A well-made DH-rated steel riser probably weighs somewhere closer to the Surly Sunrise though
@waltworks you should try running silicone or non-lock on grips. as they provide much better dampening.
Cool! Or, Yikes..
Guess I missed that. Not well versed in Mtn bike history.
I think the fact that Trek went there, then left it, sums up the “yikes”. Seemed to work well for Suzuki MX bikes in the early ‘80’s. They moved away from it too.
The complexity and added weight seems redundant with the shock and linkage tech available today. Though if it works to let Apogee adapt their bikes, then fantastic!
risseracing.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=246
The focus was definitely on the bike show inside and the food carts and beer garden sort of felt like an afterthought. No biggie, the bike show was amazing!