MADE is a new annual bike show happening in Portland that replaces the former North American Hand Made Bike Show.
The inaugural 2023 edition happened the weekend of August 25-27 at Zidell Yards, an old warehouse district adjacent to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) buildings.
MADE is envisioned as a multi-day event dedicated to bike builders sharing their stories with the world.
I spent a few hours there just as the event opened to the public.
After a cursory wander, I decided there was more eye candy than I had time to get into, so I just visited with builders' whose bikes elicited a strong reaction.
io̍klîn frameworks
First stop was with Taiwanese Io̍k Lîn (Marc) Tsiu, and an absolutely gorgeous bike:
Io̍k Lîn talked me through his process. After he gets the riders' measurements, he elicits their "story," which he uses as the basis for each build. He considers his frames to be sculptures, and he works with a colleague on the frame painting. In this case, the colored shapes are based on Chinese characters and relate to this client's story. I told Io̍k Lîn I'd be too worried about scratching the frame to ever ride it!
No surprise, Io̍k Lîn was a "best of show" winner at the 2019 North American Handmade Bike Show.
Biciclista US
I was excited to visit with industry colleague Stefano Spedini who owns Biciclista US, based in Portland.
Stefano was one of our first clothing suppliers. He has since shifted gears, and is increasingly focused on distributing boutique bike brands and components. In the US, Biciclista clothing is now available as custom orders.
If you've stopped by our Trailside Shop, you've no doubt heard the story that Stefano and our retail manager Francesca are both from Cremona, Italy, and they graduated from the same high school. Among other things, Cremona is known as the "Violin City" because it was home to renowned luthiers including Giuseppe Guarneri, Antonio Stradivari, Francesco Rugeri, and Vincenzo Rugeri.
At MADE, he was highlighting frames he distributes from BIXXIS and Singular:
BIXXIS
Doriano and his daughter Martina DeRosa selected MADE to unveil the long-awaited BIXXIS Bagarre, a titanium road bike that has been developed to mate with modern components and perform at the highest levels. In the US, BIXXIS Bagarre will be available for pre-orders through Biciclista as a complete bike equipped with the just-released Campagnolo Super RECORD Group Set, Bora WTO Db Dark Label wheels, and a selection of the finest components.
Another Italian industry colleague lamented that Italian makers have been slow to incorporate modern components and design approaches. BIXXIS is bucking that inertia.
