Category: 2011 Oregon Manifest

Our views on the Oregon Manifest, amazing engineering and cool bikes

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2011 Oregon Manifest Event Coverage

Oregon Manifest 2011 – Three Bikes

I judged the entries by how they incorporated the mandatory design features outlined on the Oregon Manifest site:
-Anti-Theft System
-Fender System
-Lighting System
-Load System
-Free-Standing Under Load (While Parked) System
With a heavy bias toward integration, quality of execution and aesthetics.
In no particular order, I thought these bikes were outstanding.
YiPsan Bicycles
This bike has a two legged kick stand and, depending on how the load is distributed, is balanced in such a way that either the front or rear wheels are off the ground, facilitating flat tire repairs.

Rear wheel removal mode

 

Front wheel removal mode

 

To help stabilize the bike when parked, this pin runs through the fork brake bolt hole and into a custom hole in the frame’s downtube

 

When riding, the pin is retracted and held against the fork magnetically.

There is a Dutch bike style lock which is attached to the frame and locks the rear wheel so that it can’t be turned, and Renold inserted a braided steel cable into the seat post of the bike which can be pulled out and locked into the wheel lock mechanism.

Yep, that cable disappears into the seat post.(Photo from YiPsan Bicycles website)

With fenders, internally geared rear hub, belt drive, generator lights and great load carrying capacity, this bike’s got it covered. And it fits Leah like a glove.

Bauhinia – YiPsan Bicycles from YiPsan on Vimeo.

The more I looked at this bike, by Geekhouse, the more I liked it. I talked to the builder at the lunch stop and took these pics.

Geekhouse touring bike

I thought this was a really creative frame design. Not a traditional double diamond frame, rather an inverted curve or an arch, the other strongest shape, basically forming the seat stays and rack. The double top tubes curve down and sweep back to form the rear rack, also establishing a low stand over height.
The rear skirt guard and front fender design could be improved to provide better spray coverage. And again the ubiquitous Shimano Alfine internal gear rear hub and front dynamo hub. The front light was actually integrated into the stem.

Geekhouse touring bike
The front light is part of the stem, but I think the bag is in the way. Should be an easy fix though.

The shaft of the u-bolt lock is built into a short piece of tubing welded to the two pivot points on the top tube. The shackle portion of the lock is strapped down when riding and pivoted up and removed to lock the bike to a post or bike rack.

Nice work integrating the Brooks bag carrier into the handlebars.

Another bike I was drawn to is the Fremont a collaboration between Ziba and Signal Cycles.

This is one of several side-car designs at the event, but it seemed like the most practical of the bunch to me because the side car folds up over the rear fender to become a rack. And the side car met the additional requirement of providing a support for the parked, loaded bike. The canvas bags were made for the team by a local Portland seamstress.

The locking system is a little clunky since one needs to remove the cable and stash it when riding, but then again it’s not that much of a hassle and there is plenty of room to carry it.
Side Car flipped up and now is a rear rack

I thought these bikes met the challenge requirements in elegant ways and I can see how they would be practical and functional in the real world.

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2011 Oregon Manifest

Great interviews and articles on the Oregon Manifest

The Freemont Ziba Design & Signal Cycles

As the Bike Hermit makes his way back to the bike cave from Portland on Chief,  Sky King thought it would be a good idea to provide a link to the updates on the Oregon Manifest Website.  Some high quality photos and interviews with the builders and the judges.

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2011 Oregon Manifest

Oregon Manifest/Cargo Bikes – Part Two

Dan Boxer makes Boxer Bicycles. For the 2011 Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Challenge he came up with this “cycle truck” He told me it’s a departure from his normal bike, but he has a pretty new addition to the family (congrat’s Dan) and he wanted a utility bike that he could ride to the store and bring his son along.

Boxer Bicycles
160mm steel stem
Custom made 160 mm steel stem
Typically a cycle truck's front carrier is an extension of the frame, the steering is independent of the front rack.

One feature that does seem to recur with Boxers (I remember the same thing on his 2009 entry) is the chain catcher on the rear dropout. Instead of a cog, the 9th position on the 9 speed cassette body is a steel ring which is part of the frame. the last position of the 9 speed shift lever will drop the chain onto this ring where it stays while the rear wheel is removed in the event of a flat tire. I expressed my concern that I personally would continuously inadvertently shift onto the steel ring, but Dan said it’s a pretty short learning curve and it doesn’t happen that often.

Boxer Bicycles steel ring
The chain drops onto the small steel ring for easy, grease free removal of the rear wheel.

Folk Engineered / Discovery Charter School

The FE/DCS entry at the first checkpoint, where each rider was given two parcels to carry.
This was a tough course for a straight up "utility bike". Some riders expressed frustration with the length and number of hills.

“An industrial designer collaborating with a shipbuilder” is the description Art+Industry gives their working relationship. My initial reaction to a plywood bike is to wonder how durable it would be. But then boats and high performance aircraft have been made from wood for a long time.

Watching this bike being ridden up hill and out of the saddle I could see no flexing of the body. The designer, Michael Downs, was riding the bike and he was lamenting not having an easier gear. Another entrant who maybe was a little surprised by the difficulty of this ride for a full on, robust utility bike.

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2011 Oregon Manifest

Oregon Manifest/Cargo Bikes – Part One

Inside at the Oregon Manifest at Pacific Northwest College of Art
plywood cargo bike
Only in Portland are the bikes on the street as interesting as the bikes in the show.

With over 30 entries the 2011 Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Challenge is a challenge for the reporter. I have decided to break the reviews up into categories, the first installment of which will be cargo bikes. These are bikes loosely in the tradition of the Dutch Bakfiets or freight bikes with a large platform or container in front of the front wheel or in between the two wheels.

Team Metrofiets cargo bike.
Lock, stand and head light on the Team Metrofiets cargo bike.

This bike was a collaboration between Metrofiets, Tonic Fabrication, Suppenkuche, Vulture Cycles, and Bespoke Cycles. You can listen to our interviewwith Phillip Ross from Metrofiets in Portland, OR.

The Oregon Manifest Creative Collaborations partner three of the world’s top design firms with accomplished custom bike builders, to push the boundaries of what a modern utility bike can be.
This bike

was a collaboration between Fuse Project and Sycip Cycles. For the first ten miles of the ride part of the challenge this bike carried human cargo. It didn’t look too comfortable, but showed that the bike was capable.

Francis Cycles is Joshua Muir from Santa Cruz, CA.

These custom frame tubing couplers were provided by Paragon Machine Works from Richmond, CA.
I liked Josh's custom clipboard holder.


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2011 Oregon Manifest

Oregon Manifest – The Route

The Bike Hermit joins the group today as the Oregon Manifest Field Trials get underway.  The entrants are only allowed to take a tube and tire levers as the ride is the true test of the bikes integrity.  We hear that surprises are in store along the way.  Am counting on the Bike Hermit to give us a full report.

Last nights meet and greet was packed and the bikes were well received.  Today’s ride wraps up with a big celebration at Chris

Chris King

King.  We were able to score a great tour of Chris King on Friday,  feeling pretty special to be considered part of the “Press”

Donakelope's entry, complete with Side Car for the Border Collie
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2011 Oregon Manifest

The Best Utility Bike – Oregon Manifest 2011

All of the photos used in this post were taken from the Oregon Manifest site. Credits should be given to PDXCROSS and/or Mike Davis

 

In 1934 a group of young riders in France organized the first technical trials, conceived to determine the best touring bicycle. Over the course of three days the entrants were required to complete a very demanding 290 mile course. Bikes incurred penalty points for any equipment that malfunctioned or failed. Bikes had to meet some restrictions in geometries and tire size (minimum 35 mm width) and generator lighting was required. Every bike also had to carry the designated 3 kg load from start to finish. The idea was to promote the innovation and development of lighter, more responsive machines.

In 2009 a group in Portland, OR started the Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Design Challenge, a one-of-a-kind design/build competition, in which some of the country’s best custom bike craftsman and select student teams vie to create the ultimate modern utility bike. Now it seems as though the history of the bicycle might slowly be describing a full circle. In the last eight decades, and particularly the last two or three, there has been a frantic, headlong rush towards the lightest possible bikes and components with less emphasis on durability and practicality.  The organizers may be looking back at the beginning of the circle yearning for useful, durable bikes that can also be beautiful and can perform at a very high standard even though they are not the lightest.

Bike Touring News will be at the 2011 Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Challenge in Portland on September 23-24 to see firsthand the latest developments from the best minds and hands in the business. Never mind that there will be beer, that has nothing to do with our decision to go. We will be bringing daily reports and updates and photos to this space. If you have specific questions for any of the builders or want to see more details about anything we post while there, leave a comment and we will attempt to address them. Hopefully we will have mad pod-casting skills by then.

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2011 Oregon Manifest

Oregon Manifest

From the site of the Oregon Manifest:

The two-wheeled revolution won’t come on the saddle of a race bike or a specialty bike. The utility bike is the transportation mode of the future for millions of Americans who want to live healthier, more sustainable lives, but don’t think of themselves as “cyclists.” The key to realizing this future is thoughtful, innovative bike design that fills multiple needs and fits into their lives.

Stronger, lighter, simpler designs for bicycles and bike parts are not always the progeny of racing. In the early part of the last century, trials were held in France which rewarded lightweight designs capable of completing really difficult courses in a self supported way without breaking. The Oregon Manifest is resurrecting that tradition, and that can only lead to good things! Of course, the cynic within the Bike Hermit’s soul expects representatives from companies which shall not be named but whose initials are Trek, Gary Fisher, Specialized and Giant to be there in force to steel and deploy ideas from the best minds in bicycle design. Oh well, it’s not as if it’s a zero sum game. The more utility and transportation bikes the better I say.

Vintage!

The Oregon Manifest Field Test

The moment of truth in the 2011 Challenge will be the mandatory Oregon Manifest Field Test. This rigorous road trial will assess the real function of every bike in the challenge, in real world environments including hills, byways and off-road sections. It will include several on-road check points where mandatory features of each bike will be evaluated. The Field Test requires riders to keep a brisk pace that will stress their bikes to the limit, and demands a well-crafted, expertly assembled entry in order to complete the route in good time. Final evaluation and point tabulation will occur after all bikes have completed the Field Test.