When you take a look at the best road bikes available, or the best gravel bikes for that matter, there's been a trend happening for the last few years. At the top end especially, prices have been on the rise. The brands will tell you that it's not a sea change so much as a willingness to also offer an even more expensive option. I'm not sure that's true though. As with anything, as you start to push the ceiling up, there's more room underneath. Mid-range bikes have been pushing up in price also.
The danger for those same big brands who are willing to push up prices is the small builder. An artisan can execute a shared vision for a bike like no one else, but small-scale production always costs more than production at scale. In the past it might have felt impossible to consider a small builder due to this. Right now though, the big brands are pushing up in price and, interestingly, small builders are pushing down.
There's never been a better time to consider finding a builder that speaks to you and buying the bike you've always dreamed of. The challenge today isn't so much an issue of price as it is an issue of finding the right person for you. To address that, Made is a new bike show to add to your calendar.
Made is a celebration of the art of frame building and it's also based in perhaps the most artisanal city in the world, Portland, Oregon. Given that Portland is the city I call home, I was sure to head to the inaugural edition of the Made show and spend some time meeting frame builders from all over the world. Given the breadth of bikes and builders, it's not possible to feature everything. Instead, I walked the floor of the show and picked out a few of the bikes that caught my eye. There are many others I didn't feature so if you like what you see, consider booking a ticket to Portland for 2024. For now, though, keep reading to see some of the most incredible bikes available for purchase.
Mone Bikes
When I wanted to dive deep into the idea of unconscious bias and the effect it has on the bikes we all buy, I found some quotes from Mone. The short of the story is that Mone went to Taiwan thinking he was good at brazing and welding only to get absolutely schooled, meeting a lot of lifelong friends along the way. Today, the New Mexico brand name is "basically a guy in a delivery van that brazes stuff" but that's not what caught my eye. Instead, Mone had a bike for kids. It's not just a joke either. Right now it's preproduction but it starts as a balance bike and can stick with a child as they grow to a 16in wheel pedal. If you like custom bikes, share that joy with your kids and start early.
More info: monebikes.com
Haley Bikes
Behind Haley bikes is a man named Ming Tan who believes in the power of Titanium for bike frames. More than that though, he believes in the simplicity of custom. Instead of a base price and a list of upcharges, one number buys a titanium frame with custom geometry with the accessory mounts you need. There's even a wide range of paint and finishes included.
This particular bike caught my eye because of the Lefty front fork. While the Lefty looks to be a beefy suspension fork, it's actually the fork you want if you prefer to stay as close to a road bike as possible. It doesn't bob and weave when locked out and the axle to crown is shorter than other suspension forks which keeps geometry more road like. Tan knows this and that's why he chose a gravel bike that stands out not only for a beautiful build but also for what he claims is a very snappy ride.
Standard Icon oversized straight gauge tubeset
Cannondale Lefty Oliver fork - 30mm of travel
Cane Creek headset
Campagnolo EKAR gravel groupset
Rolf Prima Hyalite Carbon wheelset
Challenge Getaway gravel tires - 700x40c
Ritchey WCS seatpost and stem
Zipp Carbon road bar
Fizik Antares k:ium saddle
Thomson CNC seat collar
More info: haleycycles.com
Black Magic Paint
Like the name suggests, Black Magic isn't a frame builder. Instead of building frames, Black Magic will take any frame you want and paint it. Whatever you can dream up, Black Magic can do. If you'd rather start with a fresh frame though, Black Magic is also a certified dealer for a number of well known companies. That means, for example, that you can buy a Specialized Tarmac SL8 through Black Magic and Specialized will supply decals and specs for logos and preserve the warranty. Another brand that Black Magic has access to is Enve. This time a customer asked Black Magic to apply some unique paint to an Enve Custom Road build.
Although it may be a bit hard to see, the dark areas aren't black but rather deep blood red with tons of metallic sparkle.
Shimano Dura Ace Di2 with CeramicSpeed OSPW Coated
Shimano Dura Ace. RT-CL900 Rotors 160mm front & 140mm rear
SRM Origin Look Carbon Power Meter crank
Carbon Ti Carbon Fibre Chainrings
CeramicSpeed Coated BB
ENVE One Piece Integrated Carbon Road
ENVE Composites Carbon Integrated Topper
Fizik Vento Argo R1 with custom leather design to match paint
Custom leather bar tape design to match paint
More info: blackmagicpaint.com
Scarab Bikes
While many of the brands represented at Made hail from the US, Scarab bikes isn't one of them. Instead, you'll find Scarab building steel frames in the mountains of Colombia. The brand has been making a push into the worldwide market over the last few years and it is very clear what philosophy sums up the bikes. Right on the home page you will find, "we firmly believe in the scientifically proven principle that if a bike looks good, you're going to want to ride." Of course, this is something I completely agree with so expect to see more details soon. For now, this is the Apuna gravel bike built with a Classified system and a unique paint job.
Shimano GRX 1x
Enve Gravel bars
Classified Powershift rear hub and wheels
More Info: scarabcycles.com
Officina Battaglin
Another brand from the wide world of custom bikes beyond America is Officina Battaglin. The bike on display was a steel gravel bike called the Portofino G. Truthfully though, I didn't get any info about it at the show. Not because I didn't have the opportunity but because I couldn't think straight in the presence of this bike. Each bike carries a number plate with production limited to 70 frames a year but it's the finish that will dazzle you. As told by the brand, "the model-specific paint scheme features polished chrome that fades to a cromovelato colour through a chrome filigree." It's truly unlike anything you've ever seen before.
Campagnolo Ekar groupset
Campagnolo Levante wheels
Columbus GB81 tubing (Custom Officina Battaglin specifications)
Carbon fork
Proprietary steel lugs
1”1/2 straight head tube
T47 bottom bracket
Custom geometry
Maximum tire clearance 700x40mm
More info: officinabattaglin.com
BRIDGE Bike Works
The Surveyor is a bike that's a little different than most of the other bikes at the Made show. Instead of metal and one off, it's designed for production at scale and it's a carbon layup. The final result would almost blend in at your average bike shop next to any of the bigger brands. It's still handmade though and the bottom bracket uses a unique carbon threaded design. Other features are the SRAM UDH compatibility as well as internal cable compatibility without any proprietary cockpit parts, and an aerodynamic D-shaped downtube with a sub-900 gram frame weight.
SRAM XX Eagle AXS rear derailleur
Cane Creek titanium crankset
Sram Reverb AXS dropper post
Enve AR handlebar
More info: bridgebikeworks.com
No.22 bikes
No.22 makes titanium frames. Other people make titanium frames too but it's hard to even consider them in the same sentence as what most people expect from a titanium frame company. Sure, the two materials are the same but the bikes are vastly different and the Reactor exemplifies that even more than the other models you can find from No.22.
In fact, it wasn't the titanium that caught my eye. As I walked across the show floor, it was the raw carbon seat tube that jumped out at me. Instead of a lug where the top tube and seat stays meet, there is what you might call a holder. The seat tube is a solid carbon tube that extends from the seat topper to the bottom bracket unbroken as it passes through the opening at the back of the top tube. This particular bike also featured a 3D printed titanium stem and spacers along with a cerakote finish.
Darmino carbon handlebars
Dura-Ace Di2 groupset
Titanium 3D printed stem
Full carbon No. 22 fork
More info: 22bicycles.com
Mosaic Cycles
In a world with some of the wild designs you can find at Made, Mosaic feels almost pedestrian from afar. The brand makes steel or titanium bikes that have a certain reserved quality to them. They don't stand out until you get up close and look closely at the quality of finishes or perhaps put a leg over one and experience the sublime ride quality.
Exemplifying this understated style, this bike has round tubes and a black to gold fade. If you know what it takes to get the level of quality that this represents, you might recognize that from far away. A lay person might not though. At least until you get close and examine the logos. There's a depth to the splatter effect that forces you to take notice.
Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels
Zipp Handlebars
SRAM Force crank
SRAM XX Eagle AXS rear derailleur
More info: mosaiccycles.com
Argonaut Bikes
Argonaut makes custom carbon road and gravel bikes in Bend, Oregon. Not only can you get custom geometry and paint, you can get custom layup to exactly match your weight and riding style. It's an impressive package but even with a team of 20 people building bikes as quickly as possible, it takes time if you want one. A big part of that, for any custom bike company, is always the paint process. At the same time, most people are able to ride standard geometry, and layup, without any issue.
Argonaut is now ready to close that loop and provide an option called the Supernaut. If you think you can be happy with picking a standard size, geometry, and layup, you can get an Argonaut RM3 or GR3 faster and for less money. You will also have to be happy with only a single paint option. That said, the paint on the road version is incredible.
Actually, it's not paint. While the GR3 Supernaut gravel bike uses a black paint, the Supernaut version of the RM3 puts the heart of the bike on display. There's no paint, just an incredible clear coat over the raw carbon. You can see the layup with only a few simple gold logos and it's a showstopper.
Enve road handlebar and stem
Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset
Ceramic Speed BB
Argonaut 43mm tubeless wheelset
More info: argonautcycles.com
