Bikes and Builders of MADE 2025 (Part 1)

When it was announced in 2022, the debut MADE bike show was slated to be one of the biggest events of the year. It came at the perfect time, just after the North American Handmade Bike Show (NAHBS) cancelled its 2022 event. To say MADE founder Billy Sinkford had big shoes to fill would be an understatement. I was fortunate to attend the inaugural show in 2023, and it exceeded all of my expectations.

Part art exhibit, part tradeshow, MADE brought the framebuilding and wider cycling industry together for a weekend celebrating the art of custom bikes, our love for two-wheeled travel, and a whole host of fascinating bikes, bags, and components. The show has been building momentum each year, returning last year with around 200 exhibitors, and this year is shaping up to be even bigger. The show takes place at Ziddel Yards in Portland, a former industrial waterfront area where teams of workers built barges for nearly six decades.

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Neil, Nic, and I are excited to be here covering the 2025 edition. The show opens to the public today, but we spent yesterday meeting the builders, learning about their creations, and shooting what we think are some of the most impressive bikes at the show. Like the last two years, we’re splitting our coverage into several parts. We’re beyond stoked to share part one below, showcasing bikes from Rare Earth Cycles, Mone Bikes, Bantam Cycles, and Moots. Enjoy!

Rare Earth Cycle Craftlink

River Falls, Wisconsin

Shrouded in a cloak of wildly creative details, mind-blowing finishes, and medieval aesthetics, Rare Earth Cycle Craft was at the top of my list of builders to visit. I’m not sure if it was the unique paint jobs or timeless brass head tube badges that caught my eye, but I remember reaching out to owner/maker Brian Hall shortly before he launched his website two years ago, eager to learn more.

Brian has been an artist and maker for almost his entire life. His former career was in footwear design and development, but the artistic side of that job was coming to a close in 2022, so he decided to start building frames for himself as a creative outlet. He was already a welder, designer, woodworker, and blacksmith, so framebuilding came quickly, and he fell in love with it right away. Later that year, after some big life changes and a pivotal ride down the Baja Divide on a self-built hardtail, Brian returned home to River Falls, Wisconsin, and launched his framebuilding venture. It’s Brian’s dream to make Rare Earth Cycle Craft a fully sustainable way to make a living.

Righteous Gemstone

We shared the Rare Earth Righteous Gemstone on the website this spring, and I had high hopes that Brian would bring it to MADE so I could see it in person. Designed to tackle the Tour Divide, the Righteous Gemstone is a collaboration with Rare Earth customer Randy Windle from Arkansas. He was after a one-of-a-kind bike to match his unique aesthetic. The final product walks the line between functionality and art. The finish is inspired by jewelry-making patinas, and after a lot of experimentation, Brian figured out a layering sequence with multiple powders and some textured copper leaf to achieve the final look. The cherry on top is a piece of Hachita, New Mexico turquoise integrated into the head badge.

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While the dual twin top tubes might not appear to be functional, Brian loves the look and has been using them on most of his bikes. He designed a 3D-printed part that uses the twin tubes as a sort of track that bags can mount directly to. This creates a really flush fit, minimizes strap rub, and makes it easier for the bag maker. The fork also caught my eye and Brian explained it’s essentially a lightweight unicrown fork that is reinforced with additional struts to add stiffness where it’s needed. It uses an alloy tapered steerer to help keep the weight down and has an attachment system for either a mini basket or handlebar roll rack that connects between the crown and the upper steerer below the stem.

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Holy Mountain

Brian also brought along his first full-suspension mountain bike, the Holy Mountain, which was unsurprisingly just as easy to get lost in thanks to the number of interesting details. Brian wanted to build a fun trail bike that was also well-suited to the Colorado Trail or other high alpine bikepacking trips. He partnered with Zach at South City Stitchworks in Missouri this year to build all the bags for each bike.

The Holy Mountain has an interesting mix of specs, including short travel suspension (130mm rear/140mm front) but enduro bike geometry with a 64° head tube angle and a 78° seat tube angle. Brian partnered with Wolf Tooth, Intend, Vivo, and Hope on a selection of beautifully machined components. The only part of the frame Brian didn’t machine himself is the pivot link, which a friend helped design and he had machined locally. All the other suspension parts were turned by Brian on his lathe. Although every bike he makes is bespoke, Brian is working on making the Holy Mountain as an option for his customers soon.

The overall aesthetic and mystical vibes are on point, which Brian explained is “inspired by alchemical symbols of transformation as well as ideas like Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey and The Power of Myth.” He also pulls inspiration from art, sculpture, architecture, and color theory. “I end up following makers from other sectors like luthiers, bow makers, graphic artists, and custom car builders. My eye is constantly being drawn to interesting color combinations. Beyond aesthetics, which I put high value on, I am also really focused on function. I love nothing more than coming up with an elegant solution to a functional problem,” he said.

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Wrapping up our conversation, I asked Brian what he was most excited about and what scares him. Here’s what he had to say: “I really love what I’m doing. After a long career of working for someone else, it is incredibly satisfying to be working in this way, creating this little brand and working creatively and with my hands and brain. I’m coming to terms with the fact that doing purely custom work is what I love most but probably isn’t sustainable to make a living, so I am looking toward pivoting to offering less full custom builds and doing some small production runs of certain styles I have designed. The state of the world and its effects to the economy are very troubling, to say the least. I want to stay small and nimble so I can navigate the shifting sands and if the time comes that it no longer makes sense to keep the doors open, I can ride off into the sunset knowing I created something beautiful for myself and my customers.”

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Mone Bikes link

Silver City, New Mexico

If 32” bikes are the next big thing, then Cjell at Mone Bikes didn’t get the memo. At the inaugural MADE event, his 12” and 16” strider bikes earned a lot of attention. The following year, he showed off his 29” coaster brake klunker alongside a ridiculously blinged-out strider bike. This year, he put his 15 years of framebuilding experience, including an apprenticeship with legend James at Black Sheep Bikes, to the test to build a truly one-of-a-kind 24” full-suspension BMX.

Mone Bikes Hijolito

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The Hijole, technically the “Hijolito” when compared to its larger 27.5″ sibling, is a proof of concept for a suspension design that Cjell will offer in small-batch production. According to him, it might be the first 24” bike with a bottom-bracket pivot. “Hijole” loosely translates to “Jeez!” or “Wow!”, which I can only imagine is how Cjell feels when he rides it. The production version will handle 27.5”, 29”, and mullet wheels, and it will play nicely with coaster brakes, singlespeed, and geared drivetrains. The plan is to partner with Oscar Camarena of Simple Bike Co. here in Portland. He’ll cut and tack the tubes, and Cjell will handle the brazing back in his bread truck in New Mexico. Pricing will be in the $3,500 range with a shock.

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Mone Bikes Hijole

Cjell brought along a larger version of the Hijole that he said might just be the first-ever full-suspension coaster brake single-speed. He finished the build up last-minute for MADE and was motivated to get it done because it’s a personal bike for him. It’s hard to see in the photos, but the Hijole’s rear triangle pivots around the bottom bracket itself. This means the chainstay length doesn’t increase as it travels through its suspension, so you can run a true singlespeed setup.

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Despite being hit hard by tariffs early on, we can expect to continue seeing Taiwan-made frames from Mone for now. According to Cjell, the tariffs were only in place for a few days before the product was on the way, and they got hit with the 30 percent fees; he was caught off guard. Cjell’s goal is to continue meeting customers’ needs, which means making cool products at a few different price points. “We don’t do cheap, but I like to have offerings between ‘kinda spendy’ to ‘a bit more spendy.’ The small-batch bread truck-made stuff along with Taiwan brazed frames allow us to do that, and I think we’ll keep that going.”

Alongside the squishy BMX, Cjell brought his Small Batch Straight Bar, or SB2 for short, which debuted in 2023. The SB2 features the twin top tubes reminiscent of the klunkers of yesteryear and coaster-specific-ish brake allowances. It can be paired with Mone’s bi-plane fork for folks who want to run disc front and rear. “I encourage everyone to grab a coaster bike and ride a boring trail near them. Hilarity is pretty much guaranteed,” Cjell beamed.

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Cjell is most excited to continue meeting people who are passionate about bikes and realize that riding a Mone is all about squeezing the most fun out of every ride. “Those are my people, and I get excited to know that we’re doing enough right that they keep finding us.” Internal headset routing scares Cjell, “but so far, we are out of that game, so it’s mostly stoke over here.”

Moots link

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Before the show, Moots teased some details of a new drop-bar adventure bike that was going to make its debut at the Chris King open house yesterday evening. Neil asked if we could get a sneak peek before they left with the bike, and we lucked out with a special first look before anyone else at the show. Walking through the main barge building with the shiny new Moots, I could see a few curious eyes peering our way.

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The yet-to-be-released Moots Adventure Bike is planned to be available this fall as part of a limited release. It’s a titanium drop-bar mountain bike with clearance for 29 x 2.4″ tires, external cable routing, and loads of mounting points, including rack mounts, top tube bosses, and mounts covering the main triangle. It features a funky new topographic finish and will be available in four stock sizes. According to the folks at Moots, it should be available as a complete build for under $10,000 USD. It far from cheap, but Moots has over four decades of framebuilding experience under their belts, and each frame is handmade with incredible attention to detail in their Colorado shop. We’ll be sure to share more when orders open.

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Bantam Bicycles link

Portland, Oregon

Bob Kamzelski of Bantam Bicycles has over a decade of experience fabricating, repairing, and modifying bikes. He has attended all three MADE bike shows, and his wealth of experience shows in the bikes he has on display. Up until recently, Bob was splitting his time between a small bicycle repair shop and Bantam, but last fall, he made the transition to full-time framebuilding. This was surprising to hear, considering the current economic situation in the US, and Bob echoed this during our conversation. “Tariffs are making just about everything that I purchase for my business more expensive. The bike industry as a whole is less vibrant than in the past (unless you’re selling e-bikes). A general sense of economic uncertainty has made people less willing to spend money.” Although the build queue is shorter than it has been in the past, there are still bikes to be made.

XXL Travelall+ Bikepacking Bike

Despite topping out at 5’7”, Bob has somehow become known for building bikes for tall riders. Over the years, he has noticed that many of his customers don’t fall within the “normal” range of bike sizes, and bigger bike brands often fail to design bikes for folks outside of the bike sizing bell curve. Bob explained, “It’s a place where a custom builder like me can step in to help get people on bikes that actually fit them well.” This particular bike is designed for someone who is 6’7” tall, and it’s what Bob describes as a Travelall+, hence the plus-sized tires.

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The sheer size of the XXL bikepacking bike Bob brought to MADE presented a unique set of challenges. Beyond finding suitable tubing, the geometry of such a massive bike isn’t the same as it would be on a medium-sized version. The long seat tube shifts the rider’s weight further back, and the long top tube means the front wheel is significantly unweighted. Finding the right balance of the rider’s center of mass, chainstay length, seat tube angle, head tube angle, stem length, wheelbase, and top tube length is crucial to avoid constant wheelies, squirrely steering, or poor handling. Bob explained, “If you hit it just right, you’ve built a perfectly sized, well-riding bike for someone who’s probably never had a bike that fit them properly in their entire life. For me, it’s the customer’s smile that tells it all.”

This particular bike was his customer’s second Bantam, the first being a road tourer. Since purchasing that bike a decade ago, his priorities have shifted to prioritize more off-road riding. He requested 27.5+ tires for sandy trails in Southern California, a Rohloff hub, and a metallic dark green paint job. Beyond that, he left the rest up to Bob. The build features a Gates belt drive, a dynamo hub with a Sinewave lighting/charging system, and a double basket setup with custom front and rear racks. The second top tube provides added frame stiffness and additional mounting points for the frame bag, which is necessary for such a large main triangle.

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For Bob, this build comes pretty close to the ultimate bikepacking setup. It boasts the ease of maintenance and reliability of a belt drive and internal geared hub, disc brakes, dynamo hub, baskets, and racks, with the weight of extra luggage evenly distributed around the frame. Reasonably big tires and geometry that takes the extra weight of bikepacking gear into account are crucial, because a loaded bike handles differently than an unloaded one. “Though, on top of everything, I think that having a bike that fits you properly is paramount. When you’re out bikepacking, you’re often spending quite a few hours in the saddle each day, most of the time on challenging terrain. If your bike doesn’t fit you well, most likely you’re going to end up being pretty miserable. And to me the whole point of bikepacking is to enjoy it,” he added.

Working full-time at Bantam has opened up more opportunities to do other things beyond working. Working a regular 40-hour work week, and not 50-60 hours split between two jobs, means he has more time to get out there and ride bikes. On the other hand, Bob has been doing this long enough to see framebuilders come and go, so the pressure to financially sustain himself worries him. It’s a difficult business to make a go at, even at the best of times, but Bob is optimistic that his experience, great customers, an encouraging local framebuilding community, and the support of his friends and family will help him succeed.

That’s it for part one. Stay tuned for more!

Further Reading

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