Home > Other Fun Stuff > Uncategorized

Oregon Manifest’s Transportation Bicycle Showdown

Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

oregon-manifest-logoThirty-two of the nation’s bravest custom bike builders have thrown their welding torches into the ring to contest the Oregon Manifest’s first annual Constructor’s Design Challenge. Each craftsman will be designing and fabricating toward “the ultimate transportation bike,” a purpose-built bicycle that can navigate modern lifestyles and landscapes with great functionality and style.

The entry list reads like a who’s who of hand-built bike builders, including such well known names as SyCip Design, from Santa Rosa, Calif., Ahearne Cycles from Portland, Ore., and Igleheart Custom Bicycles from Wenham, Mass.

The Constructor’s Design Challenge has presented the builders with the problem of developing an innovative, modern transportation bike – one that is flexible, durable, able to portage reasonable loads with ease, and ready to accommodate the many small and large challenges of everyday riding. Today’s transportation bikes must be sturdy and durable, yet nimble enough to provide all-around utility during a short trip or a longer haul.

“The Constructor’s Design Challenge is the focus of this year’s expanded Oregon Manifest,” explained Jocelyn SyCip, director. “With cycling emerging as the smart, green choice for daily transportation, the need to develop well-considered, versatile, and multi-purpose bikes is becoming increasingly relevant. Oregon Manifest hopes to illuminate this traditionally neglected bike category by issuing a Design Challenge to those who consistently traffic in beautiful, considered solutions: custom bike builders.”

List of builders with links after the break…

Chris King of Chris King Precision Components (and now bikes) understands the bicycle’s unique place in transportation history. “Of all the designs and inventions that have come along,” King explained, “the bicycle has changed the least from its infancy; form following function can’t be more true. It has allowed people to travel, to see places affordably, near and far, at a pace that one’s senses can appreciate.”

To prove that the bikes entered in the Constructor’s Design Challenge deliver function as well as form, the bikes will compete in a one-of-a-kind transportation test. Presented by Rapha, the UK-based cycling apparel maker, the Constructor’s Race will serve up 77 miles of epic on-and-off road terrain inspired by the European one-day classics, such as Paris-Roubaix. Design Challenge builders (or their designated riders) will brave dirt, gravel, elevation climbs, and urban technical trials on the secret, yet-to-be-revealed route to bike victory.

Here’s a complete listing of the bike builders entered:
Ahearne Cycles : San Jose, California

Ahrens Bicycles : San Jose, California

Boxer Bicycles : Seattle, Washington

Cielo by Chris King : Portland, Oregon (not to be judged)

Circle A Cycles : Providence, Rhode Island

Courage Bicycle Mfg. Co. : Portland, Oregon

Curt Goodrich Bicycles : Minneapolis, Minnesota

DiNucci Cycles : Sisters, Oregon

Donkelope Bikes : Bellingham, Washington

Framebones Cycles : Mill Creek, Oregon

Frances Cycles : Santa Cruz, California

Hufnagel Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Igleheart Custom Bicycles : Wenham, Massachusetts

Inglis Cycles : Napa, California

Ira Ryan Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Magnolia Bicycles : Memphis, Tennessee

Map Bicycles : Portland, Oregon

Metrofiets : Portland, Oregon

Pereira Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Parlee Cycles ; Peabody, Massachusetts

Quixote Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Rebolledo Cycles : Glen Ellen, California

Rex Cycles : Sacramento, California

Signal Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Sizemore Bicycle : Tacoma, Washington

Sprout Cycles : Portland, Oregon

SyCip Design : Santa Rosa, California

Ti Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Tsunehiro Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Vertigo Cycles : Portland, Oregon

Winter Bicycles : Eugene, Oregonn

A prestigious panel of cycling experts will judge the bikes on Friday, October 2nd: Rob Forbes, founder of Design Within Reach, now launching Public Bikes; Sky Yaegar, designer of Swobo Bikes, and industry revolutionary; Ron Sutphin, president of United Bicycle Institute, Ashland/Portland; and Bryant Bainbridge, product creation, Specialized Bicycles.
Points will be awarded in the 10 demanding Design Consideration categories The top 12 winners (and the three race winners) will be displayed in the Oregon Manifest Bike Union storefront for more than five weeks.
All entries will be on public display for two days during the Design Challenge and Race weekend, with the top winners to be displayed at the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association Handmade Bicycle Show, among other places. In addition, all participants will be featured in a coffee table book being produced around the event.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.