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OREGON MANIFEST and the Leftbank Project

OREGON MANIFEST would like to thank its partner in this event the Leftbank Project. Previously home to PICA’s TBA, the Leftbank Project and the Leftbank Greenroom will host the handmade bike show as well as the Rapha Roller Races. Both buildings are unique in their elements: raw wood and concrete will be a perfect backdrop for the color and exuberance of the weekend’s events.

You can learn more about the Leftbank Project and their plans for the space here.

BUILDER PROFILE: Steve Hampsten

Steve calls it “a life gloriously mis-spent with bicycles.” But the more I learn about Steve Hampsten, the more I realize that there is more to this than just bikes.

The story started in North Dakota in the early seventies with two brothers starting to race just before the big bike boom. One went on to suffer and achieve glory in Europe; this is a story that you probably already know. But the other brother, the one we are going to talk about today, has spent a lot of time around heat and around metal, and bringing those two together in the pursuit of a complete, yet fresh, design.

Bike builders and designers learn their lessons from a number of places: they see what other people are doing, they experiment, they practice. But in the end, its a lifetime of experiences that define their approach and their aesthetic. Steve Hampsten has done more than spend years in a bike shop; he has built bikes, worked as a blacksmith, done industrial manufacturing, has taught karate, and is an expert in classic French cuisine. And when you boil all that down, Hampsten Cycles is about the pursuit of design and developing something that is both classic and modern.

Steve Hampsten’s cycling education coincided with his cooking education. Having worked in French and Italian restaurant kitchens for almost 20 years, Steve sought to “make food that tastes like it was made by someone’s grandmother”. It wasn’t the flavor of the moment; it was building on the classic cuisine and letting the rich history of the tradition come through. It is this same approach that guides his bike designs today.

Most custom builders work with the same ingredient: steel. Steve on the other hand has a range of materials that he works with. Hampsten Cycles builds the design around the person, and then coordinates with some of the best builders around the country in each material for the fabrication. The goal: building on the classic themes of great bike designs while making them modern, personal, and complete down to the font of the logo on the down tube.

The story that describes this design process in action involves Steve’s brother Andy who wanted a bike for riding hitting the pavement and the gravel roads around Tuscany. Steve tried a number of approaches to determine the right design basing it on the experience of riding in new places with rough roads. It took a couple of iterations to get it right, but solving the problem of the gravel road opened the bike up to other uses. The result is the Strada Bianca, which you can see along with the designer during Oregon Manifest weekend.

Friday Night at w+k: Filmed By Bike Retro

FILMED BY BIKE RETRO - PRESENTED BY RIVER CITY BICYCLES

8:00 PM, 9:00 PM | W+K Theater | FREE!

A short screening of favorites from the past six years of Portland’s own Filmed by Bike film festival. Lost footage from the early days. The unveiling of the 2009 trailer. On the street footage from the 2008 festival. More bike love than you can wrap your arms around.

OREGON MANIFEST Launches Sophisticated Web 2.0 Marketing Strategy

OREGON MANIFEST is now on Flickr!

BUILDER PROFILE: Jordan Hufnagel

“Last night, I baked the best batch of cookies in my entire life.”

This is Jordan Hufnagel–a guy who has lived in many places and collected a wealth of experiences, yet still finds joy in a batch of well executed cookies. The first thing that strikes you about Jordan is how nice the guy really is. Despite spending hours in the shop hovering over metal work, he’s always completely approachable and disarmingly funny.

Jordan Hufnagel

Jordan spent most of his life in Indianapolis, IN, but yearning for more art and a place where he could live without a car, he moved to Austin, TX. For a while, Austin satisfied; it had good music, good folks, art, and cute girls. From his new home base Jordan started a clothing company and spent most of his time designing, riding BMX, and traveling. One of his trips took him to Portland. It was a love match. He visited, returned home to Austin, and immediately bought a one way ticket back to PDX.

Jordan has been vegan for 11 years saying simply “We live in a society where you don’t have to rely on animals to survive, so I don’t.” Typically it takes a little digging to discover this fact, as Jordan considers it a personal choice, not something that he wants to publicize. Yet it’s clearly part of the larger Hufnagel manifest: live happy, live healthy, and have fun while building something beautiful.

Jordan is best known for his track bikes, but notes that all the bikes in his queue now are either cross or touring. He says that working within the constraints of track design has helped his work in other areas–he works hard to make braze-ons as subtle as he can and likes to keep his lines as clean as possible. Jordan finds that now most of his customers trust both his design sense and aesthetics.

Jordan learned to build at UBI two years ago after taking welding courses at Mt. Hood Community College. And while people usually take a two week class at UBI, Jordan signed up for a four week tour in both TIG welding and Brazing. And while the team at UBI gave him his start, Jordan notes that he also finds inspiration in the larger builder community noting the work of Ahearne, Periera, JP Wiegle, and Dan Polito.

Come meet Jordan and see his work at OREGON MANIFEST and in the meantime, here is his Secret Hufnagel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe:

1C margarine
3/4C white sugar
3/4C brown sugar
2 egg substitutes
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 C oats
1C chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 375.

Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl together till creamy.

Mix the next four in another bowl.

Then combine, add oats, and turn in the chips.

Take a large spoon full of dough and form them into balls, placing each on a cookie sheet with a nice amount of space around them. Then–and this is important–flatten each ball out a bit so they are about 1/2 an inch thick. Place in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. They may seem too soft when you pull them out but they will solidify upon cooling. Once they’ve cooled a bit pour a glass of soy milk and enjoy!

Oregon Manifest Schedule Set

For three days we’re taking everything you have heard about cycling in Oregon–handcrafted bikes, Portland’s diverse bike culture, and all the eclectic exuberance that surrounds them–and we’re boxing it up into one tight little package. It’s a gift. It’s for you.

This is your guide to an amazing weekend in October.

OREGON MANIFEST Handmade Bike Show

At the heart of OREGON MANIFEST is a handmade bike show. These aren’t the bikes that can be seen in a shop. These are built by hand one at a time, each one with personal elements tightly sewn into every design. These are bikes with soul. Meet your future builder.

W+K Opening Night Throwdown

In 2007 Wieden + Kennedy hosted the Teams of Portland which celebrated the unique personalities of Portland’s cycling teams, from the talking acorns of Super Relax Concept, to the non-traditional stylings of Team Beer, to the über-Belgie HUP United. This time they’re celebrating the bike builders themselves with an exhibit of their personal bikes. There’s something special about each bike these craftsmen build, but it goes deeper when they build for themselves. These bikes are intimate, utilitarian, and represent the signature style of each builder.

Rapha Roller Races

In events that have spanned from Portland, London, Austin, and back, Rapha will be hosting roller races in conjunction with OREGON MANIFEST. In an event that will combine messengers, roadies, triathletes, and the not-so-average bike commuter, competitors will vie for a custom frame, audience adoration, and one night of glory. Qualifiers to be held for wild card entries. Start training yesterday.

Cross Crusade

The bikes you saw at the show were pretty, but they’re designed to be ridden. A special batch of rigs are going from the show to the cross course, and they’re going to get muddy, very muddy. Some brave builders are going to compete in a one lap exhibition race, and you’ll get to see what those bikes look like pedaled by the folks who built them.

If you’ve never jumped into a cross race before, or have yet to experience Portland’s legendary cross scene, now’s your chance. Like coffee, microbrew, and urban farming, cyclocross is in the DNA of Portland. Come see what it’s all about at one of the most vibrant race events in the country. You’ve never had so much fun on a bike since you rode through puddles full speed at age six.