The Radavist

We’re here in Portland, covering the 2023 MADE Bike Show, looking for bikes that we thought you, the readers of The Radavist would appreciate. Josh and John have been scouring the halls of the show for bikes to document, and we’ve got Part 04 of our coverage for you to enjoy…

Thanks to 1-Up USA for sponsoring our continued 2023 MADE Bike Show coverage!

When I lived in New York City, we rode our bikes to Philadelphia every year for the Philly Bike Expo. At the time, the event was hosted inside an old armory in the city, and featured a handful of framebuilders, makers, and companies with roots mostly in commuter cycling. Back then, the Philly Bike Expo felt like a family. I moved out of the Northeast shortly after and was really looking forward to reconnecting with old friends.

The last time I made it to an Expo was in 2012, and a lot has changed. While the same soul is still very much present, the venue, size, and impact of the Philly Bike Expo have grown. After a two-year pandemic hiatus and a relatively subdued 2021 year, it was back and bigger than ever for 2022. Cari and I flew to Philadelphia to get out of Santa Fe for a few days, soak in some big(ger) city food, and take in the Expo, so let’s get to it.

It’s that time of year again! The Chris King Open House returned to Portland this past weekend and, with it, a showcase of seventeen custom bikes. Let’s check them out in detail below!

Earlier this year, Locke Hassett had the pleasure of spending a few months riding Breadwinner Cycle’s Bad Otis. This modern 27.5-inch wheel hardtail – with snappy short 415mm chainstays, 66° headtube angle, and 160mm of front suspension – presented him with some interesting considerations about mountain bikes, the sport as a whole, and what it means to him. Continue reading below for Locke’s in-depth review of the Bad Otis, along with some other relevant revelations…

I shoot as many bikes as I could at the ENVE Builder Round Up in a relatively small timeframe and while I wish I could have gotten to them all, there’s only so much one can do in ten hours. Still, I feel like these last five builders represent the kinds of bikes the readership here at the Radavist enjoys. There are some real gems in this last gallery. Without further adieu, here’s an in-depth look at Weiss, Breadwinner, Moots, a new brand called Pine, and Mosaic…

With Covid-19 throwing a wrench in the spokes of the traditional tradeshow schedule, even open houses have had to switch to an online, or virtual, format. We saw this earlier in the year with ENVE and now, the 2020 Chris King Open House. While it wasn’t safe to travel to Portland to document the bikes, Chris King’s in-house photographer Jacob Olsen did a stellar job at documenting all ten bikes, while videography team Modify Content knocked out some great, in-depth video profiles of these handmade marvels. We’ve got part one today, featuring Bingham, Breadwinner, Caletti, DeSalvo, and Mosaic, so let’s jump right in…

Last year, ENVE opened its doors to the public for an Open House event. Once inside, visitors took a tour of its Ogden, Utah facilities and were greeted by two-dozen custom bikes from builders across the globe. This year the pandemic forced ENVE to pivot a bit, holding a virtual tour and framebuilder showcase they’re calling the Builder Round-Up. We’re pleased to once again host this showcase, with two-part coverage, so read on below for a full breakdown on these Beautiful Bicycles along with a few teasers of new ENVE product…

Named after a trail. Well, THE trail that dances along the Little Grand Canyon in the San Rafael Swell, Utah, the Goodwater is a completely capable and versatile hardtail from the team at Breadwinner Cycles in Portland, Oregon. We’ve seen a review on this bike from Gabe Tiller and now here’s Ethan from Breadwinner’s own bike. A massive XL frame with a saddle height so high that I had to use the dropper to get a leg over it, I was impressed with how damn good it looks at a particularly large scale. As a big dude myself, it’s not often I shoot a bike this large!

Spending time at the Breadwinner Cafe was a real highlight of my trip to Portland and maybe next time I can pull Ethan out on a ride. The last ride I had with Tony and Ira resulted in some of my favorite Portland MTB photos…

____

Follow Breadwinner Cycles on Instagram and follow the Breadwinner Cafe on Instagram.

Coffee and bikes. It’s a timeless pairing and one that Breadwinner Cycles, the Portland-based framebuilding operation, has embraced with their new cafe and shop. It’d been since 2015 when I got to visit their facilities, which at the time were in Tony Pereira’s house. Tony and Ira Ryan make up Breadwinner, along with some of their employees. Last year, Breadwinner opened their new shop and an adjacent cafe, along the bicycle expressway off North Williams. Since then, it’s become a hub for people meeting for group rides, or laptop-toting freelancers, and tourists like myself wanting to peek into the process that is making a Breadwinner.

For brands like Breadwinner, nothing is ever 100% finalized in terms of bike geometry and design. Particularly when it comes to Tony Pereira’s pursuit of the perfect hardtail. With already three hardtails – the Goodwater, Bad Otis, and JB Racer – in their catalog, Tony is always looking towards the future of hardtail design, oftentimes experimenting with tubing, geometry and other details to set Breadwinner’s bikes apart from others in the market.

Last month, we took to Bend, Oregon for the Chris King Swarm event, and Tony was riding this new Breadwinner Prototype. Built with Veriwall stays, a vintage Zona downtube – hence the bend at the head tube junction; modern mtb forks don’t hit the downtube like vintage ones used to – PAUL Klampers, PAUL Boxcar stem, and SRAM Eagle GX. Tony has always been a Shimano guy, but was interesting in trying out a lot of new parts, as well as some geo tweaks on this 150mm travel hardtail mountain bike. Then, to top it off, the chassis is rolling on Sugar Wheel Works wheels!

Breadwinner, like all small brands, wants to avoid stagnant bikes and one way of keeping the waters moving is experimentation. From the looks of this prototype, they’re moving in the right direction.

Keep an eye on Breadwinner for more updates! Got any comments or critiques? Let’s hear them!

____

Follow Breadwinner Cycles on Instagram.

Bicycles are often the by-product of their environment, their peer group, and their community. Sure, that might be extending a lot of credit to an inanimate object, but over the years, it’s easy to see that people often kit out their bikes based on these conditions. For people like Annalisa, from Endurance PDX and the We Got to Hang Out podcast, her road bike is a by-product of her community in Portland.

Next door to Endurance PDX is a little company called Breadwinner Cycles. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? Tony and Ira, along with a very talented team, build beautiful bikes, designed to be ridden hard on various terrain. The Lolo is their classic, rim brake road bike with room for chubby road tires and a beautiful paint job. Annalisa built her bike up with Chris King parts, another Portland, Oregon-based company and wheels built by none other than Sugar Wheel Works, you guessed it, yet another company that calls Portland home.

While Annalisa was in town doing bike fits at Golden Saddle Cyclery and interviewing Jen Whalen for their latest podcast, I took this Red 22 eTap-equipped roadie to the photo wall for some up close and personal photos.

Thanks to Annalisa for being such a positive and supportive voice in the cycling industry. I can’t wait to come hang with y’all later this summer.

People often refer to steel road bikes as “lifetime” bicycles. A few years back, Reilly was looking for just that, a lifetime road bike. He scoured the internet, looking at all the offerings before settling on Portland’s Breadwinner Cycles and their Lolo road bike. These frames are made in-house, at Breadwinner in Portland and can be configured with various options directly from their website. Reilly’s build is beautiful, without being flashy, relying on Shimano Ultegra’s longevity to keep the wheels and gears turning.

Little details really make the build, like his Yanco handlebar bag, Manual for Speed bar tape and Vittoria Corsa tires on Pacenti rims. Bikes like this are just so right…