Oregon Cycling Magazine

by Karl Benedek

United Bicycle Institute and the Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association present the first ever Southern Oregon Custom Bicycle Show, Saturday, September 13 from 9am to 4pm on the grounds of United Bicycle Institute, 401 Williamson Way, Ashland, Oregon.

The day headlines with a show of classy, creative custom bikes from Oregon, Washington and California frame builders.  The West Coast, especially Oregon, is home to a large group of craftspeople who are leading a world-wide renaissance in hand-built custom bicycles. Southern Oregon alone can boast of seven full-time custom builders. “It’s no secret that there’s a lot of creativity on the West Coast,” Ron Sutphin of UBI says when asked why the Northwest is such a hotbed for creative bike building. “It’s a great place to ride, and that attracts cyclists and bike builders.”

In a world of higher energy prices, many people are rediscovering the bicycle, and these custom builders are taking the bicycle to new heights of both beauty and function.

The show also includes an open house for Ashland’s United Bicycle Institute (UBI).  For nearly 30 years, UBI has trained bicycle mechanics and frame builders. It is the only school in the world that teaches the craft of custom bicycle frame building. Many of the builders exhibiting at the show are UBI graduates or current UBI instructors. The open house will offer tours, frame building demonstrations, and bicycle mechanics clinics for the general public. Show attendees can also register to win a custom steel bicycle frame that will be built by UBI.

The Southern Oregon Custom Bicycle Show will also feature bicycle components, bike clothing and other products, displays from local sustainable transportation advocates, food, and other festivities to celebrate bicycle culture. Admission is free, in keeping with the show’s goal of exposing as many people as possible to UBI and the world of bicycle framebuilding. “We didn’t want there to be any barriers”, said Sutphin. “We want everyone to be able to come in and see what we’re doing.”

Participants will include:

United Bicycle Institute, DeSalvo Custom Cycles, Kish Fabrication, Land Shark, Wolfhound Cycles, Keith Anderson Cycles, Terra Nova/Strawberry Biycles, Vertigo Cycles, Goodtimes Bicycles, Hufnagel Cycles, BellaDonna Bicycles, M.A.P. Cycles, Bear Creek Greenway, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, United Bicycle Parts, Bike Tools etc. and more.

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