Bikes and Builders of MADE 2024 (Part 2)

With additional words by Tyler Dawson and photos by Tyler Dawson, Josie, and Tom Norman

Welcome back for our second and final photo roundup of the 2024 MADE bike show. I had the pleasure of reconnecting with friends, drooling over stunning bicycles, and finding as much information as I could about upcoming products. Other industry events are certainly cool, but few entertain as many creative makers and brands as MADE.

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There’s freedom in being a small company that can quickly and creatively design new products. MADE at Zidell Yards is a great way to put those products in front of the public and other companies that might one day work together. And so, without further ado, let’s dive in.

Paragon Machine Works link

Richmond, California

Without a doubt, Paragon Machine Works had one of my favorite booths at the show. In my time riding bikes, I’ve had the opportunity to see many fancy frames. I have not, however, had the occasion to handle the parts they are made of, which is why the Paragon display is such bike-nerd candy. Being able to examine various dropouts, braze-ons, couplers, and other pieces of hardware in various states is a rare opportunity. In particular, the couplers they manufacture with Santana Cycles are fascinating to play with. The tight machining tolerances and the intricacy of the joint are a display of expert engineering, a testament to the ability and craftsmanship of Paragon Machine Works. I’ve managed to strip the steel slider fixing bolts on my hardtail, and discussing the optimum solution with them was fun. Hint: the titanium combo bolts are a worthwhile upgrade.

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Paragon makes a few parts that function more as accessories than components of your frame. For those of us who want to carry extra liquids but don’t want the sweaty experience of a hydration pack, they make the 2h2o, which carries two water bottles in your headtube’s orbit. This mounting system replaces a stem spacer and allows you to customize the location of your hydration. I have a problem running feed bags as they sit too close to my knees when standing out of the saddle, and the 2h2o would allow me to push the bottles further forward and under my handlebars, where I’m less likely to contact them. Overall, this seems like a great solution for smaller frame riders who want to carry plenty of water while still having room in their framebag for more fun things.

Prandus link

Oakland, California

My favorite ultra-high-performance-aero-optimized bike was on display at the Prandus Bicycle Co. booth. The Barbaquas featured integrated racks holding a Weber grill to the back (for aero) and a propane tank on the front (don’t crash). Combined with the extensive mustard library (for electrolytes) and incredibly long spoon for serving the fork-mounted sauerkraut (for replenishing salts), this bike is set for long rides into the unknown. I can’t imagine anything better than roasting some Nathan’s Skinless beef franks and catching up on your calorie deficit after a big bonk.

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This bike was a huge hit with the crowd and perhaps the greatest application of bespoke manufacturing on display at the event. Of all the bikes there, I believe this one has the highest potential economic return, should you buy one. Imagine serving vegan franks and small-batch sauerkraut at the intersection of two obscure trails in your local trail network. The Barbaquas would eventually pay for itself and put you on a quick path to retirement. Perhaps Prandus should rename it the 401k.

At MADE, the masked man behind the brand was serving hot dogs for the incredibly good deal of one Instagram follow. Based out of Oakland, California, this fun brand offers a whole lot for those who want their bespoke bike with a smaller serving of seriousness. Give Prandus a follow, and maybe an opportune hot dog will be in your future.

Bike Friday link

Eugene, Oregon

I had never ridden a folding bike until I met Daniel Padilla of Bike Friday and his pink Pack Pocket Llama. I’m not sure what I expected, but the ride was stable, pleasant, and solid. After a while, I even felt like I’d forgotten its diminutive size.

I’ll tell a quick story about my first exposure to folding bikes. I was attending choir camp at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Our accompanist would show up every morning on a folding bike, collapse it, and hide it behind the door. I was floored that he was able to stow a bike so quickly and discreetly. I asked more about it, and he told me that he switched to commuting on a folding bike because his third-story office was only an eight-by-eight room, and a normal bike occupied a third of the space. A folding bike was the best solution as it was the easiest thing to navigate through UW’s tight Humanities building. Ever since then, I’ve been folding bike curious. Fortunately, I have not been constrained to an eight-by-eight third-story office.

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Daniel told me a fascinating story about Bike Friday. Since 1992, they have produced over 42,000 frames out of their Eugene, Oregon facility. They have been based in the same building since the start and have gradually expanded throughout it as space becomes available. They have done everything in their power to keep all of their manufacturing under one roof, including knocking down walls to make room for more production pace. Bike Friday employs 25 people, many of whom have been with the company for over two decades. If this isn’t a singing success story of American manufacturing, I don’t know what is. For what they are, their bikes are incredibly affordable. Their All-Packa bikepacking frame can be optioned in complete builds anywhere between $2,655 for a Microshift Drivetrain to the no-expense-spared Rohlhoff equipped build with a frame bag, dropper post, and travel case for around $8,000.

The people of Made

Tyler: What really makes this event stand out isn’t just the bikes—it’s the colorful characters who pedal them. As a photographer capturing portraits of attendees, you start to realize that every smile, every grease-stained hand, and every high-five is a thread in the vibrant tapestry of the cycling community. These folks are the secret sauce that keeps the event rolling smoothly. Their energy and spirit truly bring this event to life.

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Madrone Cycles link

Ashland, Oregon

Madrone is a newer component company. Derailleurs are expensive, and most aren’t designed to be repaired. Madrone makes various parts, like parallelograms and cages, to replace the OEM components on your SRAM derailleuers, should they get too close to a rock at too high of a speed. I recently damaged a derailleur in an undiagnosable way and would like to see how these parts could help.

On display at MADE was an exciting project they’ve been working on: a complete derailleur designed by them from the ground up. At the moment, it’s still in the prototype phase. However, the two on display looked incredibly refined, and I doubt that a production model is too far in the future. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get our hands on it soon. The cage and the clutch mechanism were of particular interest.

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The cage, dubbed the Flex Cage, has some compliance built into it to absorb trail chatter and the occasional smaller impact. This compliance comes from the combination of a rubber bushing and engineered flex of the metal cage plates. Both of these are replaceable should they wear out or get damaged. If you get rowdy enough on a trail, even side-to-side tossing of the rear wheel will cause the chain to switch cogs and affect the next pedal stroke. Hopefully, a cage that allows some of this energy to be absorbed allows for a calmer shifting and pedaling experience when pushing the pace on a rough descent.

The clutch mechanism is also designed to control the chain better when riding hard. It features a mechanism similar to the one you might be familiar with on your SRAM derailleur, but it also features the adjustable tension of Shimano’s clutch mechanism. One thing it does differently than both is that the initial motion of the cage is far softer to allow better shifting. If you’ve ever ridden a Shimano derailleur and turned the clutch off, you know that the shifting becomes far easier and smoother, like that of an older unclutched derailleur. Aaron Bland, the founder of Madrone, told me that the clutch mechanisms currently on the market are tightly patented, so it’s cool to see just how fantastic of a design Madrone has been able to come up with. All in all, this derailleur is a fascinating piece of kit that I look forward to seeing in its final form.

No. 22 link

Johnstown, New York

No. 22 Bikes is known for some of the finest titanium frames and finishes money can buy. Their engineering expertise was on full display, especially with respect to 3D printing. Most of their titanium components are built using the additive manufacturing process, from dropouts to stems. They manufacture all of their frame parts in-house or have them made specifically for them to their specifications. Even their carbon forks are unique to their brand. The result is bikes that look perfect; the aesthetic of every detail matches that of something on the opposite end of the bike.

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Their full quiver of models makes it easy for customers to find their perfect match while allowing No. 22 to continuously improve their engineering capabilities and finish options. An extensive list of add-ons includes titanium fenders, headsets, stems, seatposts, and more. Finish options include anodizing and cerakote, often combined. Though these are pretty standard finishes in the titanium bike market, No. 22 is No. 1 when it comes to how refined the final product looks. I can only imagine the engineering delight that goes on in their Upstate New York facility.

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In the name, the Drifter Adventure is their model designed for bikepacking and riding off the beaten path. It’s designed around 50mm tires and geometry for spirited yet stable riding. The cerakoted suspension fork ups the rowdy capability of the frame. At the show, they also had perfectly printed stands for their proprietary couplers that showed off the tidy engineering inside. The Drifter Adventure pictured had these couplers and showed just how unnoticeable they become. If you had a bike this nice, wouldn’t you want to ride it everywhere?

Onguza link

Namibia

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Unfortunately absent from this year’s show, Onguza still managed to have one of their bikes at the event. The turquoise/animal-print bike is as unique as the wild landscape from which it takes inspiration. It was displayed at the Hunt Wheels booth and is actually available for purchase. You can contact Onguza for more details. It features a SRAM drivetrain and brakes, Tailfin bags, Hunt Wheels, Ultradynamico tires, a Brooks C17, and, most notably, a RockShox SID painted to match the frame.

The Team

Tyler: When Tom Norman and Tom Powell got the green light to create a series of MADE videos, we scrambled to pull our team together and hit the road. Our little crew from Vancouver, BC, piled into the Delica, strapped some bikes to the back of Josie’s RAV4, and made a beeline for the border. It was our first time traveling and shooting together as a team. Once in Portland, we made the questionable yet economical decision to cram four people, four bikes, and all our gear into a double queen motel room. Cozy doesn’t even begin to cover it. But hey, who needs personal space when you’re on an adventure? 

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The whole journey felt like a bikepacking trip: we faced unexpected challenges, hit a few rough patches, and had moments where we just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  We averaged three or four hours of sleep a night and drank our weight in coffee each day. But every setback and challenge only brought us closer together, and in the end, we not only had an incredible time but also came away with some work we’re genuinely proud of. Can’t wait for the next one!

Landyachtz link

Vancouver, British Columbia

Landychtz is an interesting brand, and their largest product catalog is actually skate-related. They make decks, trucks, and even a Snow Skate (not a snowboard and not skis). If those are your thing and you also like bikes, you’ll be excited to know that you can also order custom-built bikes from the Vancouver, BC-based builder.

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On display at the show was a shreddy hardtail owned by We Are One brand manager Nathan Schumacher. In the dark halls of Zidell Yards, I barely noticed the subtle anodized finish and assumed it was a simple raw metal finish. This low-spoken aesthetic is my taste, so I was excited to see the brown details come to light in the overcast weather of Portland. It’s built up using Canadian brands such as We Are One and a moldable saddle from Reform. One thing that caught my eye was the pre-production finish on We Are One’s Da Bar and Stem combo. Nathan told me they’re playing around with finishes for an eventual re-release of their cockpit product.

We Are One Composites link

Kamloops, British Columbia

We Are One Composites isn’t a carbon fiber wheel industry newcomer. Their hoops are known for excellent durability and performance, so much so that they even make the rims for Industry Nine’s carbon fiber MTN wheelsets. They also come with a lifetime warranty should you break a rim while riding. I have broken one myself, and the rim came out far less damaged than I expected, given the acrobatics the bike and I performed. A new rim showed up a few days later, and I returned to riding (a little more cautiously) in no time. I appreciate a company that quickly and reliably stands behind its product.

At the event, they were teasing their new bikepacking wheels on many bikes. There were no special graphics or wild marketing schemes. That isn’t to say there aren’t some interesting things going on. Many of us were a little mystified as to what a bikepacking wheel is. We joked that it might come with a broken spoke, so you can practice fixing it before you get out riding. To clear up the questions, I had an extensive chat with Nathan Shoemaker, the brand manager of We Are One. I can’t give you all the details, as the Kamloops-based company is still testing the product and gathering feedback, but here’s what I can say:

We Are One is looking at the needs of bikepackers and designing a wheel to fit those needs. A few riders came to them with rims that had split like a taco from riding long distances with heavy loads. So, they’ve set out to create a durable and reliable wheel to handle loaded riding yet remain compliant to pull vibration out of the trail for comfort during long days in the saddle.

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The carbon layup will be tuned to be compliant under the increased load of a bikepacking setup. This is tricky; they also want it to ride well when unloaded. The new wheel will use some of the tech we already see in their lineup, like their Convergence Technology. This is the wave-like pattern of the rim that puts the nipple bed plane perpendicular to the spoke angle. This puts less sideloading on the nipple and more symmetrical tension around the interface of the nipple and rim. The result is longer-lasting spoke tension that will keep the wheel truer for longer and can also allow for a shallower rim tuned for greater compliance. You can expect the inner rim width to play well with 2.0 to 2.4-inch tires, the size that most people are likely running on drop-bar MTBs and trail bikes. You will have to wait to read more details as they are still being fleshed out. All I can say is that We Are One is on an exciting trail.

La Marche Bike Co. link

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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A recent theme we’ve seen in the framebuilding world is a love of mini-velos, mini-bikes, small-bikes, or whatever you’d like to call them. A stunning example of this was on display at the Brooks booth—a cargo-capable bike built by Tom La Marche of La Marche Bike Co. With hints of BMX styling, I can only imagine how fun this rig would be to rip around a city in search of 12 pizzas for your friends. Or deep in the woods with those 12 pizzas for your friend. Tom’s bikes are as timeless as Brooks saddles, and it was a welcome sight to see Brooks repairing saddles at the show.

Velo Orange link

Annapolis, Maryland

Velo Orange showed three new products at MADE: a side-loading bottle cage, a saddlebag support, and a new rack. All of them were mounted to a lovely electric green Piolet, their all-terrain bike meant for bikepacking and off-road shenanigans. The frame was so bright it even shone in the meager inside light.

The bottle cage is a welcome accessory in a market where most Nalgene cages require the user to align the bottle vertically, something particularly difficult with large bottles and small frames. This cage is designed to be used from the side, which allows greater flexibility in its positioning and increases accessibility for riders on smaller frames.

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The Saddlebag Standoff is a simple and effective solution to support heavy saddle bags or prop them up for better ergonomics and tire clearance. I wish I had more to write about it, but it is pleasantly uncomplicated. It appears buyers will have the option of silver or black.

Their new rack, their There and Back front rack, is the opposite of the Saddlebag Standoff and is feature-rich. It has plenty of adjustment for practically universal fitment and many accessory mounts for cages (as pictured), lights, and any other doohickeys you may desire.

Beyond the Show

Tyler: The idea behind our upcoming Beyond the Show video was to shine a light on the events and people that make this gathering truly special. Now that I’ve had a few days to soak in the whirlwind that was Made, I realize just how deeply this resonates. So many people I spoke to at the event shared the same sentiment of how wonderful it is to bring this community together. And MADE was also just pure fun—an exhilarating ride from start to finish. I wouldn’t hesitate to return next year, not only for the makers but also for the unforgettable connections and experiences.

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Donkelope Bikes link

Bellingham, Washington

I live in Bellingham, Washington, so I have the pleasure of seeing various Donkelope bikes out and about. Greg Heath, the metal-music-powered human behind the welding mask, decided to go to tech school to learn to weld just so he could make bikes. Working in a bike shop made fabricating a unique frame to his own specifications and desires alluring. Now, he works full-time as a welder on large pipes for heavy industry applications.

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This year, Greg brought a turquoise gravel bike with matching custom-fabricated fenders. The bespoke fender option is a lovely upgrade and makes sense when designing a bike for a certain person with a certain use case. When buying something that is so unique and personal, Greg highly recommends getting a professional fit. Otherwise, making the bike is mostly guesswork.

Wilde Bicycle Co. link

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Wilde Bikes is based out of Angry Catfish Bicycle in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s neat to see a bike that was brazed in the shop I used to work in, and it was great running into former co-workers at MADE.

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This year, Wilde brought a lovely lugged bike to the show. The Sugar Foot is a classic-looking lugged frame made with a Richard Sachs lug set, but it has modern geometry and a racey feel thanks to some thoughtful touches from co-owner Jeffrey Frane. Wilde chose to braze the bottom bracket shell instead of using a traditional lugged one to allow 650b x 55 tire clearance. To keep steering lively yet stable, the bike has a trail number of 58. It featured many matching and complementary components, including the silver and brown Sinewave beacon.

Retrotec link

Napa, California

A longtime staple of the US mountain bike scene, Retrotec brought a lovely yellow and red hardtail to the show. Curtis Inglis, the owner of Retrotec, created stunning integrated racks that mounted to the rear triangle, the Paul Components stem plate, and even the fork legs. Though thoughtfully integrated into the bike’s design—there’s even a peephole for the lovely Paul Components logo—the racks are easily removed to enjoy the lively nature of the bike.

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When asked what people should know about framebuilders, Curtis stressed that it isn’t just one person who is supported when someone orders a frame. Customers are supporting the builder, companies like Paragon Machine Works and Columbus Tubing that supply parts of the frame, painters, bike shops, and anyone who touches the bike on its way out the door. It’s easy to trace how your purchase is helping people when buying a bike from a small builder. This is quite unique compared to the production bike world, and the very human aspect of the industry is one we should never forget.

That’s it for our written coverage of MADE’s 2024 edition. Which bikes and components were your favorite? Let us know in the Conversation below!