MADE Show Highlights And Commentary

Over the past weekend close to seventy frame builders were in attendance at a show in Portalnd, Oregon called the MADE Bicycle Show. In MADE's own words, this show is: "A multi-day trade event with consumer-facing days, as well as industry-only days for media meetings, content creation, and community building."

One would be probably correct in assuming that the show is a way for custom bicycle builders to get the word out about their services and gain new customers in the process. So, given MADE's statement, which is a nice set of thoughts, this show will continue to exist as long as the custom builders see the benefits of real sales coming out of the show. It is a fairly new show, having only been in existence a couple of years, but boasted over 5,000 attendees last year.

Image courtesy of MADE

I've received a few press releases concerning new bikes and products that were shown at this show over the weekend. I'll share those here with more of my own commentary about the show in general as well. 

MADE is a show which takes the space where formerly NAHBS resided. (North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show) That show grew over time and was eventually weighed down, and maybe watered down is a more appropriate term here,  by component makers, and things not really associated with the pure "handmade" frame building aspect of custom bicycles. The organizer eventually bailed out and the show fell into dormancy after 2019. Given that COVID disrupted everything, it makes sense that the first MADE Show did not happen until 2022. 

MADE seems to be focusing on a more simplified, directed approach where the main thing is frame building. Seeing the show as a way for content creators to aggregate content ideas and stories from, MADE embraces that aspect of current media creation and invites content creators to have more access than NAHBS used to provide to these outlets. Otherwise, it seems to be a very similar idea at its core to what NAHBS had envisioned originally. 

Image courtesy of Sage Titanium

Sage Titanium:

Sage Titanium showed their custom Storm King and Storm King GP with Classified/TRP Vistar drive train and shifting. 

This drive train set up uses the new Vistar TRP electronic shift/brake levers and rear derailleur paired up with Classified's 2 speed rear hub mechanism. Shifting is completely wireless and programmable. 

The Storm King is Sage Titanium's non-suspension gravel bike with 3D printed dropouts. The bike features several mounts for water bottles and a bento box on the top tube. The Storm King GP differs in that it is suspension corrected for a gravel suspension fork, such as a Rock Shox Rudy, or the like. 

Comments: An interesting collaboration between TRP and Classified which brings another choice to riders. In my opinion this appeals to the "I want something different" customer. I personally would be more interested in a TRP Vistar only bike as the Classified rear hub gear system is proprietary and probably not as efficient as a 2X traditional front derailleur. I say "probably" because I don't have specific independently tested data, but traditionally hub gearing doesn't have the efficiencies of an external chain derailleur drive train. 

Image courtesy of Wilde Bicycle Co.

Wilde Bicycle Co. Shows Two New Lugged Frame Bikes:

Wilde Bicycle Co., run by former All City head man Jeffrey Frane, has introduced two new lugged frame bicycles. 

First up we have the handsome "Sugarfoot" 650B wheeled rando inspired bike. This bike is limited to a run of 10 to begin with and will feature Columbus tubing, Richard Sachs lugs, a Pacenti fork crown, and Imron paint. 

There  will be rack and fender mounts, water bottle mounts for three bottles, and internal rear brake cable routing. The rim brake only bike will sell for $3,900.00 USD. Delivery is scheduled for March/April 2025. 

Image courtesy of Wilde Bicycle Co.

Next up we have a lugged version of the gravel bike Wilde calls the "Earth Ship Lugged Frameset". This uses a special Chris Bishop designed lugset and a very thin walled Columbus Life tube set. This has required Wilde to put a weight limit of 240lbs on this bike. 

The frame will come with Wilde's own Wayfinder carbon fork with triple boss mounts on each fork leg. The bike will also feature three water bottle mounts, a top-tube bag mount, and fender mounts. 

Tire clearance for the Earth Ship Lugged is set at 45mm in 700c diameter. The price for the frame and fork is set at $3,400.00. 

Comments: These frames are made by a single builder in the USA, so the price isn't completely out of line here. That said, it isn't a choice for the faint of heart in terms of finances. This will also make these bikes rare and if you ever see one out and about it will be a red letter day. 

It is interesting to me to observe the trajectory of Wilde since its beginnings. They came off, at least to me, as a bit higher-end All City-like alternative and now have veered even further into exclusive and expensive upper end niche territory. 

Image courtesy of No. 22

No. 22 Bikes Shows Wild 3D Printed Ti Aero Bike:

Probably one of the most interesting bicycles I've seen in a while is this fully 3D printed titanium aero road bike from No. 22 Bicycle Company. 

Called the Reactor Aero, the bike uses Grade 5 titanium powder which is monolithically 3D printed into this shape that you see here. The only bit that is not titanium is the aero optimized seat tube which is carbon fiber. 

No. 22 Bicycle Company states that final production Reactor Aero frames will be 3D printed in sections and welded together and machined in house to allow for tighter control of tolerances and finishes. 

The press release has a quote from No. 22 Bicycle Company co-founder, Bryce Gacey:

"3D printed titanium has phenomenal structural properties. The ability to print internal support structures anywhere in the frame gives us a level of control over the ride quality that has not been possible before. We are able to add stiffness in high load areas like the bottom bracket, dropouts, and head tube for very little weight, while playing with structure in fine detail throughout the frame to ensure it delivers the ride quality we need”

Comments: Yeah....wow! That's a crazy bike and a really cool process of manufacturing. No. 22 says that they can actually tune the ride quality and strength of the structure?  Pretty dang cool if you ask me. And.....pretty dang expensive, I would imagine. That said, maybe someday we will all be riding steel 3D printed frames and forks. Who knows? 

Image courtesy of Wheels Manufacturing.

Colorado Copper Available From Wheels Manufacturing:

Wheels Manufacturing brought several pieces to MADE done up in what they are calling "Colorado Copper" anodized finish. Several parts can now be ordered from stock with this hue amongst the many other colors of anodization that they offer on their parts. 

Comments: Yeah...brown. Didn't Chris King call this "Mocha"? I am pretty sure that Surly had a "Jim Brown" hub set in this hue as well. (Actually, I have a set of those hubs!) So, nothing really spectaculary new here but just another choice to be aware of. 

Meanwhile, how about those single speed conversion kits for MicroSpline and SRAM XD drivers? No batteries required!

Image courtesy of @william_bender

 Scarab Cycles Announces Composite Damping System:

Scarab Cycles out of Columbia, (the country) , announced a new rando model called the Andes, but what I found most interesting was the Composite Damping System which is available on the Paramo gravel bike, Apuna allroad bike, and Scarab's Santa Rosa road bike, shown above in the stunning "Fractal Fruit" paint scheme. 

Composite Damping System centers around the addition of a carbon fiber seat mast which is inserted through a short section of seat tube where the seat cluster of the frame is at. The cap on the seat mast allows for a modicum of saddle height adjustment, which should be okay since all Scarab bikes are made to measure. 

The CDS mod adds $800.00 to the base price of the frame and fork which for a Paramo gravel bike is $3,400.00 USD.

Image courtesy of Velo Orange

Velo Orange Debuts New Chessie Model:

Velo Orange showed a new model called "Chessie" which is a non-suspension corrected design in aluminum. The bike is said to have "big tire clearances" and sliding drop outs for a single speed set up if desired. The images showed a tapered aluminum head tube, lots of accessory mounting points, and external, full run housings. Probably a 27.2mm seat post there by the looks of it as well. The show bike had Pirelli Cinturato M's mounted in what looked to be the 700 X 45mm wide size. Velo Orange described the Chessie as "...a monster of a gravel bike".

Comments: Not many details were released on Velo Orange's communications, but details are coming soon. Look for more on this bike in a future "FN&V". I like what I see here a lot though, and given that Velo Orange sells frames at pretty reasonable prices, this should prove to be a popular bike.

Thanks to all the companies represented in this post for sending press releases. All images and information in this post was provided by these fine companies.