Every week BikePortland.org (or Jonathan) is kind enough to host a community get together called Bike Happy Hour at Gorges Beer Company from 3pm to 6pm! This week is partnered with MADE Bike and had a mini bike show and raffled off free MADE tickets and some MADE socks.

I was particularly interested in the bike show to help gather photos for my passion project I am working on. My goal was to photograph the bike (and rider if they wanted) and their favorite feature or part of the bike. I was able to capture 11 different builds and want to show them off below (in order of when I took the photos)!

NOTE to anyone in the photos below who is reading this: I had a pleasure chatting with each one of you about what makes your bike unique to you, I apologize in advance if I forgot your name, spell it wrong, or didn’t ask it in the first place!!! PLEASE comment below or on the Instagram post and I will happily update and/or tag you.

2022 Surly Midnight Special – Built from the frame up to have as a daily rider once John moved here a couple years ago from New Mexico to get away from the altitude and be closer to one of his daughters. His favorite feature is his cassette and all the gearing available, while I personally loved the pop of sparkle in the paint!

2004′(?) Rivendell Quickbeam – from the original production, 1 of 100 orange Quickbeams made! They did a lot of work to their bike to get it just how they want but the feature they liked the most or were proud of is their handlebar wrap. Looking at it up close it’s hard to disagree, creates a touch of contrasting color that really puts the bow on a timeless bike.

99′ Rivendell (model?)- the definition of a quintessential get around town bike in the best ways. Had tremendous sauce not from spending a buttload of money but from time dialing it in, I spent a good minute looking over all the stickers and patches. Beth’s favorite feature that they wanted to show off is her Brooks Saddle.

’76 Peugeot PA-10 – This bike has a special place in my heart because I have the same one in my garage begging to be rebuilt! This is the first bike I bought and rode as an adult and it started the journey of falling in love with cycling. The story of how they got this bike is a wild ride and took place twenty years ago AND they got it from Beth!!! When asked their favorite feature they said they loved the performance and look of their Simplex Rear Derailleur.

Rodeo Labs Flaanimal 5.0 – Built from the frame up and used to ride across Germany once and Oregon twice! One of the few bikes brought to the show with modern frame and components. Mentioned they have run it in almost every handlebar configuration but currently is rocking the alt-bars. The feature they told me is their favorite is the recessed head tube. Great shirt by the way!

Soma Saga – This bike out of the ones photographed may have the most miles on it, has gone to over 20 states (if I am remembering correctly), and at least one trip totally roughly 2,000 miles. If Beth’s bike is a great example for commuter this is the example for touring! His favorite features were the added light / gadget mounts on the stem and rear rack. When loaded up with bags it can be dangerous relying on the seat post light as well as the cockpit can get crowded fast. LOVE when people creating things outside of the box to suit their needs!

LOOK Bernard Hinault – I have always had a soft spoke for LOOK bikes, something about the paint jobs always draw me in and beg to be looked at. For me it is one of those bikes if I saw a good deal for I would most likely get just to have. I wasn’t able to ask their favorite feature but for me it was the chain rings and how ornate they look.

Billy Sinkford’s Stinner x MADE Custom – Only really noticed this bike and caught these photos as Billy was leaving but what a beautiful bike. If you wonder what the benefits are of showing up for your community and putting on events for those around you: it’s getting a badass custom bike. Billy said when asked about his favorite feature that it would be the fork that was custom designed/made for this bike!

Sycip Java Boy – Another bike I really only caught photos of as they were leaving so we unfortunately couldn’t chat as much as I wanted but this is a dark horse if I’ve ever seen one! For them favorite feature was a fairly obvious answer as the awesome wish bone seat stays because it looks rad and also if you look closely can see the caps for the wishbones are actually penny heads. I also would like to throw out the stem used to mount the basket as low as possible… GENIUS!

Vanilla Cycles Custom Long Tail – Very interesting and unique bike, has twin top tubes which I love to see and reminded me a lot of the Kona Ute (although this was made years before). He was really proud of the MacGyver he had to do with the rear brake housing, it required him trying lot of different things but settled on the curly fry arrangement to work the best!

Unknown bike brand / model (let me know) – I realized editing these photos that I never asked Armando the brand / model of his bike since their was no decals and the headtube was blocked by his basket! He said he was a fan of all the chrome on his bike. I really loved the bar end brake levers, not something I see often because of modern shifting and it requiring a specific bar shape.

Primos Dame – after roughly 70 days with the Dame and 700+ miles I can confidently say I LOVE the way the rear hub sounds. I am by no means saying it is the best sounds hub but there is a special feeling I get when I coast and am able to hear that sound!

The event and talking with everyone was genuinely such a great time that even after getting a flat on Springwater Corridor and having to walk four miles to my car it was all I was thinking about. Well, that AND how I am a dumb dumb for not bringing a tube, pump or tools for the “aesthetics”…