Bikes and Builders of MADE 2026 (Part 4)

Given the types of bikes on display at MADE this year, I’d consider it to be an absolute stellar show. In years past, there seemed to be more builders focused on road bikes and models that didn’t exactly fit our audience, I’m happy to report that this year’s venue had a variety of amazing options that were both built for, and, in some cases, had already experienced bikepacking trips in some of the coolest places on Earth. So, without further ado, let’s dive into part four of our Bikes and Builders of MADE 2026.

• 
• 
• 

Black Sheep Bikeslink

Fort Collins, Colorado

It was an absolute pleasure to meet and chat with James Bleakley of Black Sheep Bikes. He started making bikes in 1991, and has been building at his shop in Boulder since I was four years old. His 35 years of experience shine through in the two builds he brought to the show. While both feature 32” wheel sets, the first bike, with its “exploded” front fork, was actually built seven years ago and has seen several iterations. James initially built it around the limited 32” technology available at the time. “It rode horribly with the stuff I got from the unicycling world. But it’s so much better now.” Later, it was ridden by Boulder local Josh Hicks as a suspension-oriented bike.

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

Regarding the build, James said, “83mm of offset seemed right for a low trail setup designed to work well with weight on the fork and in the basket. It is all TIG welded titanium, and the fork is our three-leaf design. It’s called a Deathsplosion fork, and I designed it for my fatbike just over a decade ago. It is a short-ish travel fork that takes the edge off of washboards and roots, but requires no maintenance.”

The bike also features his signature HACS chainstay adjustment system. It allows 25mm of adjustment, which James said is simpler than sliders and bottom solutions for native singlespeed setup. While chatting, he mentioned that it’s the system that Cjell Mone based his chainstay-oriented tensioner system on, as Cjell interned with James when he first started building bikes.

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

To my amazement, James has completed the Leadville 100 10 times on a singlespeed, but has now moved on to other, more reasonable forms of self torture. Sporting some Boone Ti cogs and 5DEV Ti cranks that allow him to run almost any system he likes, it’s the dream dinglespeed build that speaks to his dedication to quality and craftsmanship.

Drop bar Gravel Plus

With all that said, we’re not done with James. He also had this drop-bar gravel 32er on display that weighs under 20 pounds as a singlespeed. The ATAT bars of his own design provide the perfect aggressive position for cruising, with enough leverage and extra grip when you need to crank up the climbs. Like his other bike, it’s TIG-welded titanium and has 30mm of rear wheel travel, tunable by stacking another leaf into the system to lock it out or adding an elastomer for a more supple feel.

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

Per James, “I built it to be a fast gravel rig, comfortable and capable, mostly for single-day adventures and races. I changed the fork offset to 70mm since it won’t carry much load on the front end. This bike nods to the first soft tails I built 25 years ago, but with contemporary geometry and a simple, tunable spring. The super light carbon wheel set from Industry Nine is precise and nimble, letting the leaf in front of the seat tube do the suspension work while transferring maximum power to the ground.”

• 
• 

• 
• 

Intent on dispelling the myth that 32ers are heavy, James knocked it out of the park with both bikes. He’s an incredible builder with tons of in-depth knowledge, and still enjoys all of the projects he gets to work on. As it stands, he’s maintained a healthy six-month waiting list for almost a decade. So, if you’re interested in a Black Sheep, be prepared to wait.

Soma Fabricationslink

San Francisco, California

Riding in from the airport, Luke from Soma took the opportunity to test the capability of the brand’s latest prototype. Made by one of their Chinese production partners, Blacksnow, this head tube mounted cargo system is one of many I saw at this year’s expo. Slightly different from other cargo bike offerings, Soma only plans to release this model in one size, citing a proliferation of mechanical droppers that allow families and multi-rider households to potentially share the same ride.

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

While still in the development phase, Luke told us that the rack will be rated for a 30kg capacity, and he has carried his wife on its massive front platform. The bike uses quick release axles in the front and rear, and is designed to fit a 26 x 2.4″ knobby tire in the back. It has a 1 1/8″ threadless headtube, 100/135 spacing, and will have braze-ons for a city lock. The rack will be removable as well, and this is just a prototype color Luke says will not be the final paint scheme.

As far as sizing goes, the SOMA cargo bike will accommodate an 83cm saddle height, but it’s optimized to be in the 70 to 80-ish range. We’ll be sure to stay tuned on the development of this bike, and give you more as we have it.

Teravaillink

Denver, Colorado

Aside from the denim tires we spoke to in part three, Teravail also had some prototype stems peppered throughout the show. The brand was tight-lipped about any specifics, but it looks like they have mountain- and gravel-oriented versions of these alloy stems. They were on some of the coolest builds at the show, including one of the tamer offerings from Daren at Woodpecker.

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

Woodpecker Dirty Bird

Per Daren, this gravel bike uses a 3D-printed yoke to clear larger tires, a bigger chainring, and his integrated seatpost binder. The paint on this bike also uses an alcohol ink effect in a nice blue to purple transition with gold downtube decals.

• 
• 
• 

English Cycleslink

Eugene, Oregon

One of the coolest bikes I happened upon while wandering the venue was one of the many English Cycles on display. Though Rob had a number of bikes at different booths as he ran around getting photos for his own coverage, this blue and white topographic bike kept popping into the corner of my eye. After asking him about it, he was pleased it was this one that caught my attention. As it turns out, it’s his personal bikepacking rig. It’s over seven years old, has a custom front truss fork that fits a purpose-made bag system, and clears a 27.5 x 3.0″ tire. Rob says he’s started hoarding 27.5+ tires as supplies at this size dwindle.

• 
• 
• 

The bike features an asymmetrical rear triangle that’s pushed 6mm to the right so that he could keep the chainstays short, but still fit massive tires using 12 x 148 boost spacing. The bike also un-bolts and breaks apart so he can easily travel with it. It’s an incredibly impressive design. I also had the pleasure of watching Rob do trials-esque bunny hops, and I got to ride it a bit myself. Though the gargantuan tires needed some air, the bike felt responsive and aggressive.

• 
• 

• 
• 

Other details include the offset mounts on the truss fork that allow him to fit two sets of water bottles on the front when he has his custom bolt on frame bag in the center triangle. The bike is made of a mixture of straight-gauge tubing, with the front triangle made from several different tubes from Columbus. The truss fork is made for a custom bag that he had commissioned after taking his first trip with a bunch of borrowed gear. “The front bag kept bouncing all over the place and it really irritated me, so, I built the fork with some bags in mind. That protrusion near the head tube slots nicely into the bag I had made for it, so it’s snug and secure when I’m rolling around in the forest.” Though he hasn’t had the chance to go on too many extended trips since getting the bags made, he’s planning on taking it on the Oregon Timber Trail in the near future.

Silcalink

Indianapolis, Indiana

Silca’s big entrance into the tire market was hard to miss at MADE this year. They did an excellent job at getting their tires on various wheels across the show, including a number of eye-catching 32-inch rigs we’ve already shared. Instead of scaling up road tires for gravel, Silca distilled XC mountain bike performance into high-efficiency gravel and road tires. According to Silca, the result is a tire collection that is proven to be faster and more durable than the competition, both in lab and field testing.

• 
• 

The collection of tires, known as Protocol, pairs large volume rubber with thinner, high-density 120 TPI casings. They use a solution-polymerized styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) and silica-reinforced compound, which they say minimizes internal energy loss during rolling while maximizing braking and cornering grip. All the tires in the lineup use a carbon bead—instead the traditional kevlar bead—to eliminate moisture absorption, stretch, and tire wobble for a precise rim fit over the entire lifespan of the tire.

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

The Silca Protocol collection consists of four different tread patterns. Each comes in a variety of sizes in 700c diameters, and one 32-inch option. Protocol RCG-1 is their fast hardpack and mixed-surface gravel tire, Protocol RCG-3 is their all-around rough gravel tire, Protocol RCG-4 is their adventure/loose trail tire, and finally the Protocol RCR is their high-volume road tire. The RCG-3 comes in a 32 x 2.4″ option that was specced on a number of 32-inch bikes at the show. If you’re into super nerdy tire development talk, stay tuned for Neil’s interview with Silca’s CEO, Joshua Poertner.

Singular Cycleslink

Studham, England

Sam from Singular Cycles made the journey across the pond with his fleet of 32″ bikes. Though we’ve featured the drop bar Pterodactyl before, the Albatross is the brand’s latest foray into the new wheel size, and one that Sam says he’s quite fond of. “It’s the bike I reach for in my everyday riding, and, selfishly, I quite like the developments in the 32″ wheel size because they fit me.” Sam is a taller guy at just over 6″ and says that he doesn’t believe the push towards 32″ is some bike industry plot to sell more bikes, just a nice, proportional development for those who are a bit taller.

• 
• 

• 
• 

The Albatross is the brand’s flat-bar 32er made for more aggressive, mountain-bike-style riding. It’s mainly sold as rolling chassis with either boost or super boost spacing, depending on what the customer wants. The bike is made from a combination of butted and straight-gauge lightweight titanium tubing to try and keep things supple. Though they’re spec’d with a Columbus carbon fork, Sam is currently iterating on a “grown-up” version of the titanium Kite fork that will be re-jigged for the larger wheel size. The Kite fork has two versions, one with bottle bosses and one without. Sam says the former is far more popular, so he’ll probably stick with that.

• 
• 
• 

Other than that, the fork will likely have a relatively short axle-to-crown number for a 32″ bike, sitting at roughly 450mm. The Albatross is currently made in small batches with their production partner in China, with a turnaround time of 10-12 weeks.

Klink Cycles Trash Pandalink

Eugene, Oregon

One of the surprise through lines at the show this year was the prevalence of bikes with headtube mounted racks. The Klink ATTB was a small but mighty addition to that list. Klink Cycles is a small bike shop in Eugene, OR, and they had the ATTB prototype at the Liminal Machineworks booth. I had to check it out. According to Klink, ATTB stands for All Terrain Touring Bike. The reason they call it that is because they think they’ve perfectly optimized this dual-wheel size machine for loaded basket touring, feeling like smaller wheeled cargo machines were too unpredictable in their handling. The Trash Panda is a reverse mullet with a 29er rear and 26″ front. This gives it the ability to lower the front payload and carry massive luggage on its head tube mounted rack system.

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

The geometry is inspired by years of bike touring on the rugged forest roads of the Oregon Cascades. It was influenced by spending time on bikes like the Soma Tradesman, Jones LWB, various Rivendells, and the very first mountain bikes from Repack-era Marin county. The Trash Panda has internal routing for a dropper post and dynamo lighting, clearance for 2.6″ tires, and features an oversized kickstand plate.

• 
• 

• 
• 

Using Reynolds 853 tubing, they said the front is burly enough to withstand the loading forces placed on the bike through front-focused packing, while the swoopy rear seat stays are light and supple. They claim this results in a ride quality that’s stable, predictable, and, in the words of the man who built the prototype, Leo Cruces, something that flies uphill. The Trash Panda ATTB is currently on pre-order and can be arranged through their site.

Friend and Fiendlink

Bellingham, Washington

Industrial designer Bailey Van Etten wasn’t quite sure what he’d do after being laid off from his tire design position last year. He’s created some of the coolest tires on the market, but he didn’t have much of a plan after unexpectedly leaving the bike industry. After doing some soul searching, it turns out Bailey wasn’t quite done with bikes.

• 
• 
• 

He quickly turned his attention to a unique creation: a bolt-on mini bag aimed at the full-suspension crowd. He launched Friend and Fiend with the help of his partner, Vanessa, and has been excitedly creating these oblong-shaped bolt-on bags ever since. With two official sizes and a few oddly shaped creations, Bailey attended this year’s MADE show to take some inspiration and exchange ideas. Attaching himself to the side of the San Util booth, he gathered intelligence on scope, how to try and make his way, and where to head next.

Willie Hatfield’s Full-Sus Rack Prototypelink

Eugene, Oregon

You might recognize Willie Hatfield, as he was behind the development and design of the infamous Bike Friday All-Packa. These days he works as a freelance designer in the greater cycling industry, pitching ideas and solutions to brands. Two winters ago, Willie joined our own Miles Arbour and Joe Cruz on the Monumental Loop in New Mexico, and was testing out a new rear rack for his full-suspension mountain bike. Unlike most available full-suspension racks, his prototype didn’t attach to the rear triangle at all, instead clamping onto seat tube in two places.

• 
• 

Willie was at MADE showing off his latest prototype, which has come a long way since their bikepacking trip. The latest version mounts to his seatpost and seat tube, holding up a sheet metal platform with vertical struts with threaded bosses that can be used for cages or other mountable cargo. The rack sits high above the rear tire, leaving plenty of room for the bike to move through its suspension.

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

Obviously it’s a little rough around the edges, but we like where Willie’s head is at. For now, he’s looking for experienced bikepackers who are interested in putting his rack through the wringer and assist in its development. He wants to work out any lingering quirks before moving forward. Shoot Willie a message on Instagram if you’re interested.

Beans Outdoorlink

Portland, Oregon

Beans Outdoor is a small bag maker based in Portland. He named the company after himself—yes, his name is Beans—and started making bags in college, continuing that passion project ever since. Now 26, Beans is trying to make bike bags his full-time gig, and his latest product is a big step toward that goal. Though it’s yet to be approved by Old Man Mountain, Beans is developing a roll-and-hip-pack system intended to work seamlessly with their Manzanita cradle. The front pack detaches and becomes a hip pack, while the main roll stays put.

• 
• 
• 

The rest of Beans’ catalog is relatively standard fare, but from what I saw, it’s well made and has a consistent visual language. All of the materials he uses for his bags are recycled and lightweight, and feature small but convenient touches like the internal felt star on the inside of the hip pack that expands so the bottom of the bottle pouch sits flat. The external stretch pockets are a nice touch, designed to offer some contrast in the pattern on the outside. He makes all of the bags himself at his shop space in Portland, and had a few other unique bags on other bikes at the show. Marked by his signature bean-shaped stitch, they’re hard to miss.

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

Beans also likes to add small touches to his bags and other pieces of gear, like these glow in the dark beads on the hip pack. To display the bags at his booth, he used his friend’s Crab fillet-brazed “Crusty Bike.” It’s rough around the edges, but gets used regularly as a commuter and for light singletrack duty.

We’ve got plenty more to come from this the 2026 MADE Bike Show, so stay tuned throughout the week for more roundups and our attendee bikes feature!

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...