Portland — the most populous city in Oregon and one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. It’s not surprising to know that the city also boasts a significant number of companies that pride themselves in manufacturing aesthetically pleasing, finely-crafted bicycles. Here are sixteen bike builders that offer beautifully hand built and bespoke bicycles in Portland.
Ahearne Cycles
Joseph Ahearne is a passionate bike builder based in Portland. A customized frame takes about 12 months in the making or less, and the price is based on the cost of materials and the labor involved. Custom bicycle parts like forks and racks, and accessories for bikers are also in the shop. www.ahearnecycles.com
Argonaut Cycles
Ben Farver is the founder of Argonaut Cycles. Argonaut creates custom bikes using carbon fiber frames and the most advanced tools of technology. They take customization seriously as each bike goes through the “bladder molding construction” process and every frame is made from scratch. www.argonautcycles.com
Beloved
Beloved Bicycles are lugged steel built up by hands, and meticulously produced in small batches. Bikes and frames are available directly from the shop or through approved dealers. www.belovedcycles.com
Cycles Papillon
Cycles Papillon offers ready-made as well as full custom commuters, 29ers cross, and road bikes – all built with titanium frames. A custom geometry frame starts at $1,600. And all frames come with lifetime warranty. cyclespapillon.com
Kesho Bicycles
John McCaffrey named his company Kesho, a Swahili term that translates to “tomorrow”. John is a bike racer and began building his own frames in 2010. Out of love for bicycles, riding, and the craft, John personally builds custom cyclocross, steel road, and mountain bikes. www.keshobicycles.com
Kinn Bikes
Alistair Williamson founded Kinn Bikes in 2012. The name was inspired by two words “kin” which means family and “kinetic” which is related to motion. The first Kinn bike is called the Cascade Flyer which has room for two – a standard one for the driver, and a smaller saddle with handle bars plus adjustable foot pegs for the little passenger – making it an ideal bike for families with kids. www.kinnbikes.com
L’ecu Bicycles
L’Ecu bicycles are built one at a time using raw carbon fiber and the highest quality carbon fiber tubing available. Each frame is fully custom designed according to the needs and wants of the rider. www.l-ecu.com
Renovo Bicycles
Ken Wheeler founded Renovo with the help of his son Stuart. Both are designers and engineers with a passion for bicycles. Together, they developed, built and tested bicycles using wood frames until they were able to produce an apology-free wood cycle. What began as a family business soon evolved into a well-respected bicycle manufacturing company with six wood bicycle models. renovobikes.com
Pereira Cycles
Tony Pereira has loved bikes all his life. He didn’t know that one day he would be building bicycle frames, but that day came. In 2005 – two years after he completed his first frame, and having commissioned numerous custom bikes for friends, Pereira Cycles was born. www.pereiracycles.com
Signal Cycles
Nate Meschke and Matt Cardinal founded Signal Cycles in 2007. Only four years after the official launch, Signal was named the “Best City Bike” at the 2011 North American Handbuilt Bike Show. That same year, Signal joined forces with ZIba to create the “ultimate utility bike” for the Oregon Manifest challenge. Signal is also the creator of the Anthropologie “picnic bike”. www.signalcycles.com
Sizemore
Taylor Sizemore is the sole builder of custom bikes designed to suit the rider’s needs with the primary focus on the utilitarian function. taylorsizemore.com
Sweetpea Bicycles
Sweetpea bicycles is Natalie and Austin Ramsland. They believe that a bike has to perform and be equally beautiful, has to fit your body, and should last a long time time. Natalie designs bikes that are especially createdto fit a woman’s body, needs, and wants. Handbuilt, complete bicycles are available in three sizes. Customers can also request fully custom designed bikes. gladysbikes.com/sweetpea-bicycles
Tonic Fabrication
Tony Batcheller is the man behind Tonic Fabrication. Founded in 2004, Tony and his team of bike builders strive to create high quality bikes, and treat their customers to excellent service at all times. www.tonicfab.com
Vanilla Bicycles
Sacha White is the owner, designer, bicycle framebuilder, and the main man of Vanilla Workshop – a community of designers and craftsmen in heart of Portland. Vanilla bikes uses only the best possible materials – tubing from Dedacciai, and True Temper; and Henry James Lugs whenever possible. www.vanillabikes.com
Vertigo Cycles
Sean Chaney is the designer and sole builder of Vertigo Bikes. Sean prides himself in building outstanding bicycles using titanium frames and hard points from Paragon Machine Works. www.vertigocycles.com
Veloforma
Veloforma is a family owned bike manufacturing company established in 2006. According to Mark Duff – founder and CEO, what sets them apart from other bike builders is “the collaboration between engineering, design and development—each of which is second to none. . .” and that helps them build “. . .better bicycles.” www.veloforma.com
For more info, visit the company’s website. Which bicycle brand do you love?