Everyone has to start somewhere. And in 2005, I began with the mighty Schwinn Suburban. 1978 Schwinn Suburban Before the acclaimed food accolades began pouring into Portland, before the New York Times brought the crush of tourism, before the “America’s bicycle capital” mural (and subsequent removal two years later), before Portlandia and so many other Portland-centric creations there was… Portland. A gritty, quirky, wet, dark-in-the-winter-brilliant-in-the-summer, bookish, DIY city with a slew of bridges, lots of and a lot of people who opted to get around by bicycle. I relocated to Portland ..read more

Y2K fizzled into a nothing burger but bicycle frames were poised for a massive shift to carbon fiber dominance. Built just prior, this LeMond epitomizes the demise of steel perfection. 2000 LeMond Zurich Greg LeMond. Arguably considered to be the greatest American cyclist of all time, winning the Tour de France three times and the Road Race World Championship twice. His ticket to the 1984 Tour was achieved through the Tour of Switzerland where he won the Professional World Road Championship in Zurich, one of the toughest single-day races in Switzerland. This bicycle is an homage to that day a ..read more

Aggressive 80s racing geometry. Screaming bright red paint. Full Campagnolo. There is something special about a pure, Italian bicycle constructed solely for speed. 2000 Francesco Moser (F. Moser) Forma For those who have historical competitive cycling knowledge, there are former racer names that are respected for their past decorations and spoken about in a god-like status. Merckx. Coppi. Indurain. Hinault. And many would also say Francesco Moser. A Road World Championship rider. 1st at Paris–Roubaix, the Giro d’Italia and an Hour Record in 1984 that beat Eddy Merckx long standing time. One t ..read more

A lead for an “old bike on the curb” proves once again how one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure. Above is a Twitter post I put out the day I approached the hot mess spilled onto the sidewalk and overflowing into the street. A 1988 Specialized Rockhopper Comp. In pieces. Next to a massive piece of cardboard with the words, “FREE” scrawled by multiple passes from a pencil, turned on its side, to make the line thicker and still not nearly adequate for the job. Even though I couldn’t load it up quick enough, there is no sugar coating this bike. Yes, it was free but, nothing good co ..read more

The bicycle gods once again shepherd another sad, neglected Raleigh Portage my way. How could anyone turn down those big, puppy dog eyes? 1986 Raleigh Portage I have had the incredible fortune of bringing back a small handful of Raleigh Portage bicycles. Some, a mere whisker away from utter uselessness. I understand how this slow process of dilapidation can occur over a few decades but it is difficult for me to pass on any Portage when one comes up as I know what they can be sculpted to with time, patience and a thoughtful rehabilitation. Their mid-80s pedigree has aged gracefully, shuttling ..read more

In 1984, Italy was churning out showstopping frames. Raleigh had their own answer. 1984 Raleigh Prestige Colnago. Cinelli. De Rosa. Tommasini. Bianchi. Italy. The racing bike circuit was dominated by sexy, svelte Italian frames for decades during the 20th century. Their allure is clear. Superior builds with top end tubing, bright chrome, deep, rich paint with pantographed everything. Not many other countries dare came to the table of such pedigree. Most who did were either easily dismissed or raised eyebrows and potentially able to join the cycling Illuminati. To step to the big boys at say, t ..read more

What would he have wanted for his Traveler? This. 1984 Schwinn Traveler He was a simple man with basic needs for travel in a small town. Just a handful of miles to and from the job on a straightforward, flat route. He drove a bus for a living, purchased a house and built a family on those modest wages. A simple world created and this was his bike. Sadly, I met my friend in the twilight of his years. He contacted me as he heard I “tinkered” with vintage bikes. We created a friendship but soon after, health problems began with his wife, then, ultimately him. We had connections on a number of lev ..read more

The Schwinn Voyageur, undoubtedly a workhorse touring steed. The 80s were so good to the model. The 90s… not so much. 1991 Schwinn Voyageur I have a long history with the Schwinn Voyageur. It has a soft spot in my heart as “the one that got away”. In 2011 I had just turned the corner on becoming a full-time bike commuter in Portland Oregon, purchased a stunning 1991 Schwinn Voyageur, a set of gray and black matching Ortlieb Back-Roller panniers and was doing just fine getting around the city on two-wheels. Then, I was struck at a 4-way stop by a Nissan Sentra. My body was banged up but the Voy ..read more

In 1978, Paul Sadoff of Rock Lobster was just beginning his career building custom bicycles. The story of his 1960 Girardengo doesn’t start there, but it wasn’t much later. Paul originally posted the story of how the Girardengo came to be on his blog. After reading it, I was compelled to introduce myself to let him know how profound the verbal journey was to me. Isn’t this story just about a bike? Sure. I suppose. A bunch of steel and some rubber tires. But, oh dear reader, we all know it’s more than that. You wouldn’t be here, visiting a site like this, if you believed otherwise. It spans bey ..read more

What was life like in 1970s France for a bicycle tourer? Four Cyclotourisme magazines offer a snapshot of an age long past in an era of simplicity. The essence of Cyclotourisme magazine is summed up simply: People. Parts. Places. Bicycles. And not necessarily in that order. A few ads in the back half, featured bicycles and component spotlights in the front half and a handful of black and white snaps of smiling people riding bicycles through glorious locations make up the bulk of these 40-plus-year-old pages. But most emblematic is an overall tone less serious in nature, more simple and whi ..read more