Pereira Cycles

Customer Love

2010-05-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

When I finish up a bike and send it off, I never really know how people will react. I mean, they are usually stoked, but there really are no guarantees. So, when I get a nice email from a happy customer it really makes my day. It's really interesting to hear how differently people react to their new, long-awaited bike. This week I got two great customer emails. They happen to exemplify the stereotypical difference between roadies and mountain bikers, but were both teriffic.

From Road Rider:

I put about 150 miles on the bike this past weekend. It continues to surpass my expectations in all ways. Overall, I'm just enjoying myself more. If you had asked me this before I received the bike, I would have told you it was not possible. Now that I've tasted the goodness, my other bikes are a distant 2nd and 3rd now.

In other words, "Mission accomplished."

I hope he didn't mean "mission accomplished" the way Mr. Bush used it.

From Mountain Biker:

Rode the beast for the first time today on the shoreline trail in slc...and all I can say is holy S#%$. It climbs like a mtn goat and decends like a rocket ship. I cleaned the whole trail no pushing and no foot down. This was my first ride ever on a single speed and a 29er so not only was I impressed with the bike but also found I had more strength than I had ever known. I guess you don't really know what you are capable of until you have to put it all on the line...I had more grip, speed, and confidence than I have ever had period. I love the simplicity of it all. This bike is the cat's ass. Bravo Tony Pereira. First ride and I am truly converted.

For the record, both of these guys ride road and mountain bikes. Coincidentally, both of these bikes are painted flat black. Maybe that had something to do with it?

Thanks Guys. It's great to know that I did a good job.

UBI Guest Teaching

2010-04-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

About four years ago I had the good fortune of meeting Ron Sutphin, founder and owner of the United Bicycle Institute down in Ashland, Oregon. UBI one of only a handful of places in the world where you can learn the craft of bicycle framebuilding. I never attended, but was excited to meet Ron and pick his brain a bit. We immediately hit it off and I've enjoyed getting to know him. When he told me that he was looking for a location for a Portland campus I expressed some interest in "helping out," whatever that might mean. The chance to be part of a framebuilding school had me intrigued.

The Portland campus opened up with its first mechanic's courses back in October. Framebuilding courses start in a couple weeks and Ron has hired me to teach a two-week course in July. I'm honored and thrilled to be given this opportunity. My parents' best friends are teachers and knowing them has given me an admiration for educators. I believe that passing on one's knowledge and talents is key to making the world a better place. At this point I'm just signed up to do this one class, but I'm expecting to enjoy it and want to do at least two per year, maybe more as time allows.

I visited Ron in the new shop last week and it is coming along nicely. A few months ago the building was just a shell filled with a jumble of junk left by previous tenants. It now has fresh paint, a new electrical system, brand new machines, work benches and tools. They are working madly to get it set up and its going to be super pro.

Sue Butler's SSCXWC Prize

2010-03-09T11:13:00.001-08:00

For the 2008 SSCXWC (Singlespeed Cyclocross World Chamionships) I furnished the winner of the women's division with a custom bicycle. It took a while to get it done, but here it is, ready to shred for years to come.

View the whole set of pictures on Flickr.

How to Poach (eggs, not trails)

2010-03-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Poaching. To mountain bikers this sometimes means riding trails where bikes aren't allowed. For lovers of delicious food it means gently heating something in water until it transforms into something delicious. I have some things to say about the former, but let's focus on the latter.

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I love good food. 3 squares a day. Just like my mom taught me. Many days start with eggs and for the past few years the go-to cooking method has been poaching. Pre-ride I love a big pile of buttered white rice with a couple of poached eggs, salt and Sriracha hot sauce. If you follow me on flickr you've seen this before.

Lately I've been asked by more than a few people how I poach my eggs. No gizmos, no tricks, just some hints from Julia Child and a little practice. Just like framebuilding, there are lots of ways to do this. Here's my way.

I use a 2qt (2L) saucepan when I do two eggs. I rarely do more than two, but I can get 4 in the same pan. If you need to do more than that, use a bigger pan. Fill with enough water to cover the eggs, about 2" (50cm) deep. Add a glug of plain white vinegar and get it on the heat. The vinegar helps keep the whites together.

I put it on high and get the water to a boil. You're not going to boil the eggs, but it gets the water up to temp fast. Once the water is boiling turn the heat down low. At my old place I had an electric range that kept enough heat and I could just turn it off at this point. With gas, you will need to keep the flame on. I leave mine on "2"--play around with it, this is where the practice comes in.

Next, give the water a swirl with your slotted spoon and while it is still swirling crack your first egg in. Do it quickly and gently. Hold the egg right over the water and let is slip out of the shell into the center of the pan. If you burn your fingers a little you are probably doing it right. The swirling water will keep the egg white wrapped around the yolk, which while not totally necessary, is a step close to perfection. While the water is still swirling (and maybe with an additional stir) drop the second egg right next to the first. It is ok if the water bubbles a bit (which actually helps keep them from sticking to the pan), but it should not really simmer and definitely not boil.

Set your timer for 3 minutes and start it. After the eggs have been in the pan for 30 seconds or so, use your spoon to very gently make sure they are separate from each other and not stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Go get your toast going. I usually make my first espresso at this point too (more on that in a future post).

When the timer goes off carefully lift an egg out with the slotted spoon, let the water rain away and give it a jiggle. If the white seems solid you're done, if not keep them on for another 30 seconds and check again. Don't overcook them! It will take a few tries to get a feel for the right amount of jiggle.

Serve them up.

If you did it right they will resemble the shape of an egg in the shell, the white will be barely firm and the yolk will be warm and runny. Enjoy!

#1 most important tip: use good, fresh, fresh, fresh eggs. Just like coffee, even if the eggs were fresh when you bought them a week ago they are not fresh any more. As they age the whites get runny and they will spread into a stringy mess when you drop them in the pan.

NAHBS 2010 and beyond

2010-03-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Just back from NAHBS 2010 in Richmond, Va. I wasn't intending to attend, but got a last minute offer to go on behalf of the Rapha Continental squad. I've been a double agent with Rapha going on four years, partnering with them as both a rider and a builder. Check out the site to see what we've been up to, riding and telling stories about it. I'm proud to be part of that great team.

It was a very different experience to be at the show without showing bikes. I had the pleasure of seeing old friends and making some new ones, the satisfaction of being recognized by fans and customers (still a slightly strange feeling to have fans) and the inspiration of seeing many beautiful bicycles from both new and old builders.

Highlights included hanging with the legendary painter Joe Bell and listening to his stories, meeting Gary Smith from IF and talking about the business side of things, bellying up with Don Ferris, and getting to know many other people that I don't see too often much better. I think I may be turning into a bit of a business geek and it was really interesting to pick the brains of all the folks at the show.

I didn't take a ton of pictures. Every time I went to look at bikes I'd run into someone and end up talking with them instead of studying bikes. Here are a few. Click on any pics to go to flickr for a bigger view.

Darrell McColloch

The Portland Mafia and Friends
This was towards the end of the show. We were all tired, drinking and very comfortable around each other by this time. Lots of secrets were spoken...of which you'll never hear

Pretty cool to see these crates unfold. Sacha and the Workshop crew have true vision. I am in awe of what they put together this year.

Spent a bunch of time with Marc DiNucci. He's a true master. Look how consistently thin those lugs are. This is the work of a practiced hand. He told met hat back in the 70s he would build and paint 5 frames a week. Even he doesn't know how he did that.

This is the bike Mark built for the Oregon Manifest. It was unpainted then. Won Best Lugged Bike at NAHBS.

My favorite cross bike at the show. Curtis is awesome.

Nice folks for a bunch of grungy hippies! Seriously, they were very cool. Happy to know them now.

Here's the Banjo Rando Bike. Nice Details.

Mike Zancanato had this impressive cutaway frame. No voids here! He clearly know his stuff. I wish I could see all the builder's bikes like this.

Don had at least 8 different kinds of whiskey behind his "bar". Very generous of him. Thanks Don! anvilbikes.com

Met Marty from geekhouse in person for the first time. He's an a-ok dude. Lives up to the name, for sure. This picture cracks me up.

Richard had all the different jerseys from his teams over the years. Cool to see the evolution that way.

The area of richmond around the convention center is pretty bombed out--a victim of people moving to the 'burbs. However, there is an undercurrent of art and culture as seen by this painting hung on the outside of a vacant storefront.

The Rapha booth was a reflection of the many convenience stores that the Conti team visits as we travel around and do our rides. Cary S-H from Rapha did the design work.
Here's the crate the entire store fit into:

That was a ton of work and a ton of fun.

I'm inspired to push Pereira Cycles ahead. Part of that will be more regular blog postings. They will almost never be this long, but be sure to follow along for what I expect to be weekly updates.

NAHBS will be in Austin, TX next year. I'm planning to be there.

Phone Stolen

2009-12-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

My phone was stolen today. I will not be able to replace it for at least a few days. If you need to contact me, please send email.
Thanks

Oregon Manifest City Bike For Sale

2009-10-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm reluctantly selling my First Place Award winning bike from the Oregon Manifest Constructor's Design Challenge. I love this bike and want to keep it for myself, but I'm building out my new shop and need the money.

Details here

No reasonable offers refused. If you are interested, please get in touch.

Northwest Credit Union TV Spot

2009-02-18T17:59:00.001-08:00

I was hired to star in a TV spot for Northwest Credit Union. It was an interesting day and I got a little free publicity for my efforts.

Fun stuff!

Momentum Magazine

2009-01-13T15:20:00.001-08:00

Momentum Magazine is a great little rag coming out of Vancouver BC. My friend Ellee here in Portland wrote a nice piece about Pereira Cycles.

Check it out here.

And be sure to check out the rest of the magazine. It's got an urban/commuter type of focus and has been widening their reach across the country.

Brady's Urban Bike

2008-11-15T09:29:00.001-08:00

Full Photoset
Originally uploaded by pereiracycles.

A perfectly sensible bicycle for commuting, running errands or heading to the theater. I'm seeing much more demand for bicycles like this these days. I'm hoping to build many more in the coming years.

Mixte #2

2008-06-28T12:08:00.001-07:00

Click on the picture to see the whole gallery
Mixte
Originally uploaded by pereiracycles.

I haven't built many of these...yet. Not only do Mixtes look great, they ride and handle very much like a traditional diamond frame, while allowing for maximum wardrobe accommodation. I'm sending this off to be built up by the owner's local shop. Hopefully they will share some pictures of the finished build.

Carl, Lucy and Me

2008-06-18T11:52:00.001-07:00

Carl, Lucy and Me
Originally uploaded by pereiracycles.

Pedalpalooza time in Portland. My favorite time of the year. All the freaks and bike geeks join together to glory in the bikedom of Portland. It's too much fun to take a lot of great pictures, so please enjoy these. I'll have some more after the Mulnomah County Bike Fair on the 28th.

Rapha Continental

2008-06-10T20:35:00.001-07:00

IMG_5715
Originally uploaded by pereiracycles.

I'm part of the West Coast contingency "Rapha Continental" Team. We ride around and document our rides for the web site. Looking forward to doing some epic rides with a bunch of fun folks who absolutely love to play "crush the mountain biker." I am humbled.

NAHBS, Mini-bike Winter, New Painter

2008-03-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

As usual, I rarely make the time to post to my blog. I do post pictures regularly to my Flickr site, so that will always be the place to see what I'm up to.

Here is a rundown:
The 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show was here in Portland and it was an astounding success. Attendance jumped from about 4000 last year to about 7000 this year. My good friends and very first "customers" Jeff Bates and Alex Hamory came out from Salt Lake to help me out. These guys are the roots of Pereira Cycles and it was a huge treat to have them there. Here's the rest of my NAHBS photos.

A week later the Zoobomb crew had their annual "Mini-bike Winter" competition. This is a weekend of parties and events culminating with races in the hills above Portland. The Zoo-crew is a vibrant part of what is often called "Portland bike culture". They are some of the friendliest, funnest, craziest people I've met here and I love hanging out with them. Chariot Wars, Derbies, piggy-back racing and, of course, gravity events. Here's my account in photos.

I've got a new painter and they have changed everything. The guys at Coat, Jason and Kevin, are top-notch pros and are doing some great work for me. Better yet, they consistently turn around my frames in two weeks, allowing me to deliver frames in a more timely fashion. As most of my customers know I've been lagging behind for a little while now. With the new painters I expect to be able to hit delivery dates more consistently. They have also just gotten a powder coat system set up, so I will be offering this more durable finish starting now. I should have pictures of my first powder-coated frame in a couple of weeks. Here are some frames that they have painted:
Doug's Fixie
Ron's 29er
Kevin's City Bike

NAHBS Randonneuse for sale

2007-12-11T10:49:00.001-08:00

After a great year of living with this bike it is time for it to go. In order to finance NAHBS '08 and keep the lights on in the shop I am selling the Rando bike which won "Best Road Bike" at NAHBS last year.

Basic Specs: 56cm (c-c) Seat Tube, 55cm (c-c) Top Tube.

I have put together a web page with description, geometry and photos:
http://www.pereiracycles.com/RandoForSale.php

Feel free to call or write with any questions.

A happy customer

2007-12-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

This is what it's all about. Building bikes that fit perfectly. It's especially rewarding when there are no stock bikes that even come close to fitting. It's tough being 6'8".

Harrison is thrilled to have something made just for him. More pics here.

KBOO Bike Show

2007-11-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

I'm appearing on the KBOO radio bike show this morning at 9am. 90.7 here in portland. I think they do a podcast and I'll post a link when I get it. We'll be talking about the Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show taking place this sunday.

Pereira Cycles in New York Times

2007-11-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

About a month ago I spent the better part of a day with some folks from the New York Times talking about bike building in Portland. The article and video appeared today. I'm still not sure if it is in the print version, but you'll find the online article and video here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/us/05bike.html?hp

How cool is that?

Astoria Halloween Cross Race

2007-10-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

The Cross Crusade Halloween race had a new venue this year: The Astoria Fairgrounds. Excellent place...hope we are invited back. The festivities were a bit muted with Brett still on our minds, but much fun was had. Before the singlespeed race we did a silent lap of the course in Brett's honor. It was a very moving experience: about 150 people quietly circling the course behind Matt Hall (riding Brett's bike) and the Bike Gallery team. Once the memorial lap was over, Brad Ross called up the top 15 racers to the line including Brett who was 8th. The race was a bit of Halloween fun, a bit of tribute and a bit of hard-core racing. Tim and Tommy duked it out while a big group of Brett's friends stuck together and had some mellow fun. I was kitted out in a Motocross costume and rode my old schwinn "BMX" bike. Good times. It was a beautiful day and a great release after such an emotional week.

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79122810@N00/sets/72157602783156064/

Brett Jarolimek RIP

2007-10-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Friend and fellow singlespeed cyclocross racer Brett Jarolimek was killed while riding his bicycle on Monday. The first season I raced cross here in Portland, Brett was the guy that I always ended up "racing." Those of you who race have probably had a similar experience: that same guy who is always just ahead or just behind you. That first year, when I didn't know anyone at the races, I looked forward to duking it out with Brett because I knew at the end of race he would flash that great smile and give me a friendly "great race." In subsequent years he got faster and I got slower, but he became a friend that I looked forward to seeing each week.

Sunday Brett had his best cyclocross finish ever, getting thrid in the tough ss class. Monday was a gorgeous day and I'd bet that he had an excellent last ride.

We miss you Brett.

24 Hours of Moab, take Four

2007-10-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

So it's been over a week since I arrived in Utah and I'm just barely starting to feel normal. Moab is a tough place. The trails are rocky and technical (in a rocky, I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass sorta way), it is brutally dry and dusty and the partying in our camp is hardcore.

This was the first year that I've had custom team jerseys for the race and they looked sharp and abundant with 4 teams (17 riders) out there. Thanks to everyone who came out to join Pereira Cycles. We had a huge crew of helpers that made the whole thing much easier.

We rolled out of Salt Lake on Thursday a few hours later than we planned, so it was dark when we arrived. Got our tents set up and had dinner before crashing for the night. Friday morning we set up the pop-ups and had a little breakfast before heading our for a half-lap. Damn, I love that course! It's got a nice grade for singlespeed, but the rocks are stepped enough that it's a real challenge to clear everything. The descents are fast and sandy with a couple of fun, banked sections where you can pass the timid at high speed, heavy on the throttle!

Friday is the day to party...we had a few kegs from our brewer who will remain anonymous (I don't think it's really legal for him to give us kegs or I'd be giving him a plug). The beer was fantastic and plentiful. Thanks bro!

Saturday morning we drag ourselves up, make lots of coffee and get ready for the noon start. The weather was perfect: Partly sunny with highs in the 70s.

I rode second for our team. My first lap was fastest. After Patrick got back and I was heading out for my second lap we were in third, but the guy blew past me after about 2 miles. They pretty much stayed ahead of us until the end. We ended up fourth, just about 9 minutes behind. The guys that won the SS class got 2nd overall. Time to move up to the Pro class, fellas....you know you can win money there? Might be better than a janky pair of Truvativ handlebars...just a thought.

The Pereira Cycles Clydesdale-class team was the hero of the day. They won their class, beating the guys that topped them last year. Nice work fellas!

24 hour racing is an amazing experience. There is a wonderful camaraderie among all the racers. After four years there are lots of familiar faces and it is great to get reunited again. I also get to have a bunch of really strong riders pound the crap out of my bikes. No problems at all. Even the Roaring 29er held up to some high speed, night time surprise pounding on the rocks.
What great fun. See you next year!

PICS

Cross Crusade Begins!

2007-10-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's opening of the Cross Crusade cyclocross series was the largest ever. With 1078 racers some are saying that it is the largest field of any cyclocross race in the world. OBRA does an amazing job keeping everything going with zero delays and a great course.

There were lots of familiar faces in the crowd and it was great to see many folks that I haven't seen since last year's series. My girlfriend Lucy did her first bike race ever and premiered the Pereira Cycles team! I think she's hooked. Mike Hilbrandt and I were in the Singlespeed category representing for Pereira Cycles among 87 singlespeeders! Can't wait for the rest of the races.

Photos here

How I spent my summer.

2007-09-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Summer was busy. I definitely didn't take much time to write here. I upgraded my shop with two milling machines, a full complement of Anvil mitering fixtures and and Anvil Journeyman frame fixture. We also attended 6 weddings, which were great, but kept us very busy and kept me from writing at all. Instead of re-capping, I'm going to start fresh and try to blog more often.

As always, this is the time of year for the 24 Hours of Moab Mountain Bike Relay Race. I have FOUR Pereira Bicycle Racing teams this year: 5-man Open, Master's, Clydesdale and Singlespeed/Rigid. It's gonna be a regular ol' hoedown. Look for us there sporting the new Pereira Cycles Jerseys! If you'd like to purchase a Jersey send me an email, I've got a few in stock, but they will not last long. $70. I can't wait to get back together with all my peeps from SLC. If you are at the race come find us and say hi. There will be lots of cool bikes under our tents. Look for a banner that resembles the jersey.

With all the new tooling around the shop I thought it would be a good time to do a new frame build photo essay. Check it out on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79122810@N00/sets/72157602227635440/
There are 387 pics in this set representing 4 days of work. Ty should be proud.

HELP....Pereira Stolen!

2007-06-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

Late last night in Salt Lake City a Pereira Cycles 29er was stolen from a home in the Liberty Park area. If you see it don't hesitate to tackle the jerk. Here's some more info:
http://www.criticalspoke.com/posse/

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

"Roaring 29er" goes racing

2007-03-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

Since NAHBS I've finally been able to get some riding done. My "prize winning" Roaring 29er has been amazing. I've mostly been staying close to town and riding in Forest Park--not the most challenging terrain (largely fire roads)--but Sunday brought the first mountain bike race of the year, "Horning's Hustle," and the first real challenging terrain for my new ride.

This was a new mountain bike venue, but they did host a cyclocross race last season. It's some sort of hippy compound--a beautiful place about 30 miles west of Portland called Horning's Hideout which has been used as a music and event venue for many years. They put together a nice, although very muddy circuit course. Laps were about 5 miles long, with some grass, dirt roads, a stream crossing and lots of muddy singletrack. There were two very slick, very steep descents that had a lot of walkers and crashers. Tricky, off-camber turning descents with deep, loamy mud that grabbed at your tires and formed some nasty ruts. It was a blast.

John Dorfer, Brian G and Dave Bisers from Veloshop were also representin' Veloshop. This was John's first MTB race on his first MTB! He got 5th! Nice work John.

In framebuilder news I saw my first Coconino in Portland, ridden by local Matt Mahoney. Nice bike Steve. Ira Ryan showed up too--he's training for the trans-Iowa race, so he had to ride out there and show everyone how tough he is.

Somehow, after only taking two riding days in all of January and February I managed to get 3rd! That's a great way to start the season.

See all my (Lucy took these, so they are mostly of me ;) photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79122810@N00/sets/72157600028462436/

Oh yeah, I got my new bike all muddy:

Pereira Hat Trick at NAHBS

2007-03-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

Wow.

I'm completely blown away by how the show went. There were more attendees, more builders, more bikes, more awards and more beer than last year. I'm not sure where to start.

Saturday was non-stop. I only left the booth once--just long enough to get to the bathroom and back. Luckily fellow Portland pal Matt Cardinal went and got burritos, so I was able to eat lunch--I would not be so fortunate on Sunday. I guess adrenaline can get you through. We rolled into the show Saturday morning just in time for the doors to open. I quickly set up and began to talk to all the great enthusiasts that kept on coming. My booth neighbors were just as busy, but we had a little time to chat. I had Drew, Andy and Montana from Engin cycles next to me and Dave Bohm from Bohemian behind me. Drew just started building a year ago and is building some great stuff--I was impressed. Bohm had a crazy over-the-top-built-for-the-show tandem that ended up winning best tandem and people's choice--more about awards later. His lugged bikes were gorgeous--I thought they said more about his style than the tandem, but I'm just sayin'... Anyway, busy. I got interviewed and photographed by Dirt Rag and Mountain Bike Action's Richard Cunningham told me my cruiser was one of his favorites at the show. Mountain Bike magazine also did a photo shoot with me posing like Zoolander. I'm going to be so embarrassed when those pictures show up.

After the show we got a few beers with Sacha, Jonathan, Ira and some other Portland friends, then some of us went to Japantown for sushi. Great stuff. It was fun to mellow out the pace a bit and enjoy a good meal. Spent some more time with Drew and Andrea at the bar. Also got to chat it up a bit with the Don Ferris.

Sunday was much more mellow than Saturday, but still lots of folks. I chatted with the legendary Ross Schafer founder of Salsa Cycles and pioneer of all things mountain bike. He loved my bikes! How cool is that? My head is pretty swollen, can you tell?

Two other incredible things happened on Sunday. First, I turned around and bumped into an old friend, Matt Dambrov, from the first bike shop I worked at in Connecticut. We hadn't seen each other in 15 years and there he is checking out my bikes. We got to catch up and reminisce. So cool to see him.

Then the awards.

Ok, so I was really hoping to win some awards. I worked non-stop from New Year's until March 28th to be ready and I was gunning for some glory. The first award that I really wanted was "Best Fillet Brazed" bike--when they called my name I was stoked. I jumped on my bike (the cruiser) and rode up to the stage. As I got pretty close, I popped a wheelie, rode it for about 20 feet and then looped onto my back in front of about 300 people! Dramatic entrance complete, I took the stage (unhurt, bike unscratched) and did the fake-handshake-photo-pose with Don Walker. I was pretty damn proud! I left the stage and got lots of pats on the back. Super cool stuff. So, I was also hoping to win best off-road bike, so I hung around for that one. Best road bike came first and I almost fell over when I heard my name. I handed my cruiser to a friend and ran back to get the Randonneuse. Another trip to the stage and I'm stacking trophies on the floor. The best off-road prize came up pretty quickly and I won again! So, here they are, my Texas-sized trophies.

The show finally came to an end, more partying ensued. Chris DiStefano and Jeff Manand from Chris King took Ira and I out for dinner (thanks guys!). I was pretty shot and just about to head to bed when Ira suggested that we get one more beer. Still rolling on the adrenaline, I thought why not and we headed to the hotel bar. We were met with a cheer by many of the friends we'd made over the weekend. What an incredible feeling. We sat down with a crew from Seven Cycles, along with Mike Flanigan and Jeff from Sputnik. After a long weekend of working really hard everyone was pretty loose. One of the Seven guys, Mike, decided that he was going to try to break me and just started shoveling a ton of shit. Ah...it felt just like being home at The Wild Rose. I loved it. No one would let us buy a beer, but they insisted on us drinking plenty. The bartender practically had to throw us out, but we probably left becuase all the kegs were empty.

Somehow Monday came without a hangover and we shot home, only stopping twice in 10 hours. Tuesday I finally got to ride my new bike. I think it looks even better with dirt on it. Don't you?

The orders are flooding in. If you want a bike by the end of the summer you'd better get your deposit in...

Cheers!

Handmade Bike Show

2007-03-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

Had a great trip down here with Ira Ryan on Thursday morning. I finished assembling my last bike at around midnight, got home for a couple of hours of sleep and then hit the road around 4 am, stomping on the rental van until we arrived in San Jose just 10 hours later--including a sit-down lunch! Not bad at all considering that I thought it would take 13.

We rolled into the show and bumped into our friends at the Vanilla booth, got everything set up and headed back out for food and sleep.

Friday morning came pretty quickly and, just like last year, a rush of adrenaline got the show off to a great start. It is incredibly exciting to experience so much enthusiasm for all these amazing bicycles. The crowd (and the other builders) are giving me a huge ego boost with all their very positive comments. I've had different people tell me that each of the bikes I'm displaying are their favorites of the entire show!

There hasn't been any time to take pictures, so I'll turn you over to the intrepid Jonathan Maus at BikePortland for most of those.

I have pictures of two of my bikes in my gallery. One is Jared's fixie and the other is my new Roaring 29er. I'll get some pics up of my Randonneur when I get back, but I know Jonathan has one up on his site today.

Time for breakfast...I'll try to check in later.

Pereira Featured on BikePortland

2007-02-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Maus of BikePortland.org did a little pre-show interview with me and it appeared today. There are two pictures of my dreamy show bikes before I brought them to the painter. I'm hoping to get at least one of them back today and probably to other one tomorrow. I'll try to get the promised preview up here before the show. For now, check out Jonathan's site: http://bikeportland.org/2007/02/26/pereira-goes-for-neo-retro-at-bike-show/

The word is spreading

2007-02-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm still really surprised when my name appears around the way, so I have to share. Yesterday, Pereira Cycles was mentioned twice on bikeportland.org. Once in reference to the Handmade Bicycle Show with fellow builders Sacha, Ira and Joseph. And again about a little photo shoot I was involved in for a Portland based magazine called Wend. I met the Editor of Wend a little while back and he invited a few framebuilders to come and sport some stylin' wool duds for the shoot. It was really funny to "model"--we were all busting out our best Magnums and Blue Steels for the camera. I'm really happy that so many of my friends have seen the magazine--not because I'm in there, but because the magazine is so good and it deserves to succeed. At a time when mainstream magazines like Men's Journal, Outside, etc. are playing to the lowest common denominator and short attention spans with hollow 200 word articles, Wend is bucking that trend with long format articles that span 6 pages filled with great writing and beautiful photography. Check it out.

Another great surprise came to my in box the other day when bike-shop-owner clients Brian and Greg of Bike Pedalers in Lincoln, Nebraska sent me a link to their newly overhauled web site. Turns out they are my first dealer! Every page on the site has pictures of the bikes they bought from me. Greg even went so far to say "... my Pereria rides so fine I hardly believe it. I've got a lot of nice bikes (eisentrauts,sachs, vanilla, jack taylor) but lately yours is the one I jump on for the daily ride." Holy crap! My head is swelling! These are the exact builders whose work has given me the inspiration to do what I do. This is about the biggest complement I could ever get. Thanks guys!

NAHBS March 2nd-4th!

2007-02-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

It's been super-busy here at the shop getting ready for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in San Jose. I've got two really neat bikes lined up and will share lots of photos with you all when they come back from the painter and I get them all put together. That's right, you'll get a special pre-show sneak peek. Hang in there for that...waiting for paint takes much patience. Prepare to be amazed. These bikes will be jaw-droppers for sure. If you're anywhere near the bay area you should try to get to the show.

The new shop is really coming together nicely. I have it pretty well laid out and have been tweaking how I store things. There are lots of hooks for hanging various projects from, but there never seems to be enough for all the wheels and I don't quite know what to do with all the forks I seem to accumulate.

If you are in Portland be sure to ring me up and arrange a visit. I mostly spend the day by myself and love to have visitors from time to time.

I'm also putting the finishing touches on a few bikes not going to the show. Expect updates to the gallery in a day or two.

Cheers!
Tony

Moab Report

2006-11-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a month since the 8 Hours of Moab...yes, that's right the Eight Hours of Moab. As usual, the race started at noon, but was stopped at 8 pm because of torrential rain, flash flooding, hypothermia and the unavailability of ambulances. The course was a mess. When it rains hard in the desert, the rain runs fast down the rocks and quickly digs deep trenches across the desert floor, washing out roads and making a general mess of things. There wasn't much the organizers could do. Once all the ambulances left the venue (they apparently had 5 on hand) none could return, people were becoming hypothermic and the injuries were stacking up.

The race was scheduled to re-start in the morning, but without a plan for how to do this there was a lot of debate throughout the night. A system was decided on, but it didn't work and all results from Sunday were tossed out.

I can't say I didn't have fun. It was great to see my friends. Riding in Moab is always great, even if I only had one race lap. But, it was disappointing to not get any night laps and I missed having the satisfaction of completing a 24 hour race.

I almost forgot...we won our class, 5-Person Men's and got 23rd overall. The overall win went to the singlespeed team that beat us last year--very impressive.

There's always next year!

Photos: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pereiracycles/album/576460762340705013

Summer's Gone...time for Moab

2006-10-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well, the summer flew by without a single blog entry from me. How does this happen? Short summary: I raced short track MTB, built about 20 frames, went on two short bike tours, rode on the road more than ever, one of my bikes went riding with Dubya, and now cross season is here.

Mid October also brings the 24 Hours of Moab.

I'm leaving in an hour to fly back to SLC, hang with the bros and do some racin'! We have two teams this year: 5-man PBR 29 1x1 and clydesdales Big Meat. If you are there, come find the Pereira Cycles banner and say hello. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures when I return.

Pedalpalooza!

2006-06-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Wow.
Two weeks of cycling events were kicked off yesterday with the Pedalpalooza Parade through downtown Portland. While I have been aware of Pedalpalooza for a few weeks now I had no idea how much fun this would be. If the parade and subsequent Zoobomb are any indication of what is to come, I'm in heaven!

Pedalpalooza is Portland's annual bicycle fest and people in this town really love their bikes. There were probably 300 people at the parade last night. Dressed in all sorts of costumes and on every kind of bike. With a police escort the tour of downtown was a lot of fun. Isaac, a fellow Veloshop rider, went down with me and I met a bunch of great folks. Jonathan Maus of BikePortland fame spotted my Pereira Cycles shirt and said hello. A bunch of bike geeks chatted me up about my touring bike. Bethany, who helped paint a bunch of my frames during her too-short time at Acme Paint, surprised me when she said hello in her disguise. Allan Folz and his family were stylin' on their Santana, flyin' a great flag.

After the parade was over, some suspicious looking freaks were rolling around inviting people to Zoobomb. Since I've been wanting to check this out I was all over it. We rolled over to the MAX train and went up to Washington Park to prepare for the Bomb. It was everything I had hoped. A casual party-time got everyone ready while we watched the moon come up. When the time arrived we headed out for our first bomb. I hopped up front and followed Cupcake on the very high speed descent. It was really cool to see how fast these guys can go on 16" wheel kid's bikes. I can't wait for Sunday's official bomb. Sounds like it's going to be packed.

After two runs we called it a night and I headed home along the riverfront where the Navy has docked a few ships for the end of the Rose Festival.

What a great night. I can't wait to hit up some more of the events. See you there!

Utah Visit

2006-05-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I took a "work" trip to Utah to check in on my house and see some friends. Despite the hectic schedule it was a lot of fun. I got to hand-deliver two frames, go on a great Park City ride and saw most of my good friends.

I arrived on Wednesday which is shop party day at Wild Rose--always a great time. There was a huge attendance and we set out for the traditional "Tour de Satan" bar ride.Without going into too many incriminating details all I will say is that it was a riot: Parking garage crits, beer goblets, Temple Square Omnium, Taco stand feasting and other general mayhem. The old crew hasn't changed a bit and it was a pleasure to hang with them again.

Steve Cook, recent winner of two Gold Medals for Nordic skiing at the 2006 Paralympics in Torino, was on hand to receive his new Pereira Singlespeed 29er. It's got one of the fanciest paint jobs yet and I think he was thrilled. The pic isn't the best, but I hope to have some better ones on the site soon. Maybe I can get him to take a few after he builds it up. It's a wicked midnight blue pearl with a "bass boat" gold panel. This should give you the idea.

I spent most of my time working on my house, getting it ready for some new tenants, but I also got a great ride in with the crew in Park City. The trails are just drying out, are in terrific shape and the weather was typical Utah-perfect.

The crew was 11 deep and there were 6 Pereira Cycles! Very cool. Too bad Steve didn't have all his parts or we would have had another.

Right in the middle of the ride we cut through a posh Deer Valley neighborhod and bumped into another Pereira owner, Steve Rescigno. Too funny to see him. I think he was just as surprised as I was. I had called him earlier in the day, but he was working and couldn't make the ride.

I'm back in Portland now and got right back to building frames. To all of you waiting, hang in there, your frame will be done soon!

I just added a mailing list to my site. At this point I plan to use it to announce events, site changes, new pictures, products, etc. Maybe it will make a good forum for Pereira owners and future owners to meet and interact? It probably won't get too much traffic, so sign up and check it out. Let's see what happens.

Thanks to everyone for all your support. 2006 has been a great year so far. Business is booming and the frames are coming out great. Hope to see you all out on the trails soon.

NAHBS Report

2006-03-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Thanks to Don and his family and volunteers for doing a great job. Most of the people I spoke with were as impressed as I was with the turn out. It was pretty well packed all three days.

I wish I had more time to walk around the show, but I got to see quite a bit of stuff and met loads of people that I'd wanted to. Everyone I met was incredibly friendly--I guess that's what happens when you get a group of people together that are following their passions.

Andy Newlands provided the car and we set off for San Jose on Wednesday morning at 6 am. I have a client in Napa who we were picking up a bike from, so we planned to spend the night there before the final push to SJ on Thursday. Andy is a wine enthusiast and gave me a terrific tour of Napa and Sonoma as we made our way south. We turned a 2 hour drive into a 7 hour field trip. After a great lunch at Bistro Ralph in Healdsburg (lamb burger with caramelized onions and goat cheese, topped off with a dry creek Zin) we toured around and stopped at a winery for some tasting. The sun was shining for nearly the entire day in spite of a forecast that called for lots of rain--we concluded that the definition of rain is a little different in Cali than up here in Portland. At this time of year the wine country is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. For instance: http://www.pereiracycles.com/images/healdsburg.jpg

Anyway, that was just getting to the show. The actual show was great. Having so many finely crafted bicycles under one roof was a real treat. I had no idea what to expect attendance-wise, but when the doors opened on Friday it was the beginning of a very steady flow of people who piled on the praise for my bicycles. By the time Sunday rolled around my head had swelled up with pride--as I told quite a few people over the weekend, my ego is completely off the charts! When you work alone and mail your work off to clients you don't get to see their reaction. As a new builder it was really cool to have people admire all the details that I put into my work. On that note, I was impressed by the knowledge of the attendees. So often I show my work to non-bicycle people and they have no idea what they are looking at. At the show people picked up on the touches that make each frame unique. Some of the most rewarding moments for me were when builders who I have admired for years told me how good my work was. Peter Weigle, whose work I've been very inspired by, came over and said "Everyone keeps telling me I have to see your touring bike. Nice work." Keith Anderson had a look and commented on the flawlessness of my fillets (Keith has been building sweet fillet bikes for years). Doug Fattic visited over and over and was very encouraging as well. (Thanks Doug!) I was walking on air the whole time. I forgot to eat lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Adrenaline really can get you by.

Enough about me and my ego. The other bikes at the show were fantastic. Hats off to Sacha and his minions for the work they did on that tricycle. If you haven't seen pictures of this yet, you've got to find some. I think clockwork had a few. The details and the craftsmanship on it were off the charts. Honestly, I didn't have time to vote, but that was best of show in my book as well--even if it wasn't a bicycle. Mike Flanigan had a bunch of bikes inspired by the 1890's era that were off the hook. Wood "tubes" and copper plated components! Yee haw! His eye for detail and mix of modified new parts is really cool. His Iver-Johnson replica with it's truss frame, red rims and drum brake was spot-on. Bruce Gordon had something like 10 bikes there that each had unique details. Nice job on those ti canti brakes. Richard Sachs's lug prototypes were interesting to see. I would have liked to chat with him some more, but his booth was really busy every time I went by. Brian Baylis's Rando bike had tons of details, both ornamental and functional. His accessory attachment system, using tiny wedge bolts, was very interesting. BTW, Baylis and Sadoff rocked the house on Friday night. You guys were impressive. Paul completely shreds on the guitar and Brian is a great drummer.

I could go on and on. The show exceeded my expectations on every level. Thanks to everyone for making it so much fun. Thanks to Andy for providing the car and traveling with me. I may have learned more about wine than I did about bikes.

Bike Show -- Site Changes

2006-02-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show is finally upon us. I've been preparing for months. Two generous clients have allowed me to show their bikes before they have even ridden them. Thanks Jeff B. and Jeff C. If you're coming to the show you're in for a treat. I put tons of work into the bikes and they represent my best work yet. My third show bike is my very own touring bike. I've wanted one for years and went all out on this one.

There are some pictures up on the site now:
JBR-2
FJ-55

There's only one picture of the touring bike since the final details are not complete. I'm packing it today and leaving tomorrow so I'll be finishing it just in the nick of time. You'll have to come to the show to see more.

If you've been to the site before you'll see that I've done some updating. I tried to present a little more up front and I've put some new pictures up on the main pages. Let me know what you think. I'm really proud of the bikes these days. I love building them and keep getting better at it. Hopefully I'll always be able to say that.

Please come and visit me at the show. It's going to be really cool to meet all the builders and see some of the best bikes in the world.

T-Shirts and Cyclo-cross

2005-11-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

Just in time for cold weather and the holiday spending season: Pereira Cycles Logo T-Shirts! Get 'em while they're hot...

The Cross Crusade Cyclo-cross series has wound down. What a riot it was. I met a bunch of great people and had tons of fun racing in a new discipline. I ended up tying three other guys for 6th, 7th and 8th in the Singlespeed class. I'm looking forward to next year...I'm really gonna train...really... Sounds like the Awards Party has a reputation for getting rowdy. See you all there.

Downtown Brown Gallery

2005-11-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Today has been fantastic. My long awaited Singlespeed Cross bike came home from the painter and it is by far the most beautiful bicycle I have ever seen. Ok...that may be pushing it a little, but since I built it I'm going to stand by that statement.

You will have to see for yourselves in the Gallery pages.

Dean and Bethany at Acme Bicycle Paint are incredibly skilled. They even seemed impressed with how well it turned out. They took great care with the details and the results are better than I expected and better than the pictures can do justice. When I have some more time I'll set up some lights and get better pictures of before I scratch it all up in the race on Sunday.

Notice that the bike is wet in several pictures. After holing myself up for the past two and a half days of sun, I finally get my brand new bike ready and it starts raining. Ahh...life in Portland. I'm getting used to it, but I just couldn't bring myself to head out on a night ride in the rain. Looks like tomorrow I'll get to ride during the daylight.

Speaking of riding here in Portland, it is excellent. I have actually developed an appreciation for road riding. On Sunday we had some nice weather and I took my road bike out for about 60 miles on the road with 10 miles of dirt thrown into the return trip. It rained enough that I got pretty muddy, but I kinda like that now.

Acme has helped me take Pereira Cycles to a whole new level. My skills are constantly improving, I'm branching into new types of bikes (look for Jared's fixie soon!) , building lots of forks and stems and with the spectacular paint I am very excited to see what will come in the future. Keep dreaming...your bike is right around the corner.

Joining the Circus

2005-10-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

I can't get into my shop today so I'm taking care of "that list" of stuff I keep putting off.

Can't get into my shop.

Pereira Cycles has been a full-time endeavor for me for about two months now. After moving to Portland, Oregon I rented a space and set up the shop that I dragged here from Salt Lake City. Luckily I found a spot to set up right after arriving...unluckily it is located inside another business, so I only have access while they are open. Eventually the space will be improved and I'll have my own door. Since I couldn't get in today I had the opportunity to make some progress towards that eventual goal: filed my LLC paperwork, applied for a business license, filled out some insurance forms--all things that will be necessary for me to convince the owner of the building that I am serious and ready to take it to the next level. The insurance is the big one. The business I rent from is an auto repair shop. He specializes in some pretty high-zoot stuff. Lots of custom cars. I understand him wanting to cover himself--if I burn the place down or something horrendous like that.

Anyway...I'm Tony Pereira. I build custom bicycle frames. I think they rock. Now I have a blog too...just like everyone else.