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FEATURES: OREGON MANIFEST GALLERY OF HANDMADE BIKES
Press Release
September 30, 2011
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TI CYCLES
David Levy fell in love with bicycles when he rode RAGBRAI across Iowa at 13 years old; soon thereafter he built his first bicycle, a BMX frame made from tubing cut out of a crashed airplane and built with the same torch he uses in his business today – a gift from his father.
David raced and coached on and off for 25 years. He built custom frames at R&E Cycles in Seattle for four years before starting Ti Cycles in 1990 to expand beyond his steel-frame focus to include titanium. Titanium’s higher strength and lower density allow him to build lighter, higher-performance and more comfortable bicycles. In his career he has provided well over 1,500 frames, doing exactly what he always dreamed about: making wonderful creations to help people find the perfect solution to their cycling needs and desires.
YIPSAN CYCLES
Renold Yip’s bikes reflect a balance: traditional building skills and cultural heritage meshing with modern materials and techniques.
For example, the name YiPsan rhymes with “Mr. Yip” in Renold’s native tongue, Cantonese. And there are deep meanings in the logos and motifs on his hand-built bikes; a circular one is a stylized version of his last name, Yip, in simplified Chinese, while a square one simulates a stamp used by ancient kings to signify their approval. Finally, four Chinese words spell out “Hand made in steel.”
Renold was raised in Hong Kong and has been living in the U.S. since 2002. His bike-building philosophy embraces what he has learned from both Eastern and Western cultures. Every bike is built with an integration of modern fitting concepts, frame tubing and components with traditional building skills. YiPsan bicycles are built by hand, one at a time, and every bicycle is unique. Fit, ride quality and design for application are at the heart of each project. YiPsan was honored at the 2010 North American Handbuilt Bike Show for “Best City Bike” and “People’s Choice Award.”
RETROTEC
Curtis Inglis got his start building frames at Retrotec in 1993. Today he builds cruiser-style bikes under the Retrotec name and more traditional straight-tubed bikes under Inglis.
Curtis handcrafts his frames in a small, one-man shop in the world-famous Napa Valley wine growing region. The unique terroir of the Western hillsides receives morning and bright afternoon sunshine for full ripening exposure. Overnight fog, coupled with ideal daylight sun, cures his frames to a gentle perfection, enhancing the curves of the steel tubes without losing any of their rich, full-bodied, concentrated flavors. The dense alluvial-fan soils contain centuries of history and the exact moisture content needed for optimum welding conditions year-round. Frames show ripe red cherry, blackberry and hints of cocoa upfront, followed by raspberry, plum and Frame Saver notes throughout the long, satisfying finish. His frames are enjoyable upon release, but will only get better with age.
Curtis builds one bike a week. He is a perfectionist in most areas of bike-building, but doesn’t like to go overboard. He likes to have a very nice, even flow to the bikes he makes, which is what he thinks he’s known for, besides riding in dresses from time to time.
IRA RYAN CYCLES
Raised on a steady diet of hard work and long country roads, Iran Ryan now lives in Puddle-town USA (aka Portland), where he has been building, riding, racing, crashing and having fun on bikes for a long time. He started Ira Ryan Cycles in 2005 and has been building bikes for people who actually ride bikes since day one.
Being a one-man show is hard sometimes, but the chance to develop a better bicycle to fit a person’s needs is the best part of his job, and what keeps him going. He strives to learn how to make bikes better, lighter and stronger but with a touch of class, tradition and history – keeping the craft something that everyone can understand.
Ira has built over a hundred bicycles since he opened the doors of his workshop. They are all the result of a love affair with the bicycle as a tool for discovery, a vehicle of efficiency and one of the most elegant machines man has ever made.
GEEKHOUSE
Geekhouse Bikes is a steel TIG welding operation based in Boston, MA, founded in 2002 by bespectacled bike-geek Marty Walsh. Geekhouse Bikes are the perfect amalgamation of classy and cool, functional and fashionable; their bikes are whatever you want them to be.
Marty’s small staff of builders and designers loves nothing more than watching each and every build take on the personality and individuality of the customer. Using a combination of classic New England technique and modern aesthetics, they create bikes borne from a deeply rooted respect and passion for cycling. They work hard to source as much as possible from within the United States, and they hold green business practices in high esteem. They adore the Boston cycling community, and contributing to their neighborhoods, city and state is a cornerstone of their business.
In the end, the bikes come out a balanced expression of their builders and their riders. They are bike geeks; they are Geekhouse.
DONKELOPE BIKES
Greg Heath has been building Donkelope bikes since 2002. What started out as an interest has turned into a passion for the love of the ride. When not hanging with faithful canine sidekick Rastus, listening to metal or riding, Greg can be found in his shop building custom frames, forks, stems, racks and other fabrications. Steel is the material and Tig welded or silver brazed are the methods. Most of the time.
ART & INDUSTRY
Art and Industry is a collaboration between Michael Downes, an industrial designer with deep roots within the bicycle industry, and Jeff Sayler, a master shipwright with a particular focus on wooden boats.
Michael Downes is a former bicycle mechanic who grew up in London, England. He was previously senior designer at Giant Bicycles Inc, and currently freelances and teaches industrial design at the Art Institute of Portland. He moved here four years ago, in part to live a car-free lifestyle after 10 years of driving around Los Angeles.
Jeff Sayler has been working professionally as a shipwright since 1986. Drawn to woodworking from an early age, Jeff laid a course to becoming a shipwright in his teens when he began sailing and racing one-design sailboats at Willamette Sailing Club and later at The Evergreen State College, where he began his first boat-building project. He went on to apprentice at the Maine Maritime Museum Apprentice shop.
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