Back from Portland

Wow. That about describes it.

Just returned from two days in Portland for NAHBS. I went down with the Bike Friday boys, but mostly went my own way to soak in the hours (and hours) or seminars but on by the frame building elite. Below is a general recap of my experience, though most of wasn't in the exhibit hall.

Friday-

Industry only day. Got there early to help with finishing touches on the booth.

Lesson 1) Don't expect there to be free indoor parking just because you read it on the internet. The poor volunteers looked swamped before we even started, so I just locked my bike up out front. Between about $10,000 worth of custom bicycles...

Lesson 2) If there is an option to buy your ticket early, do so. I walked in, went to the head of the line, and was in the hall before the CC machines were even buzzing.

I spent the early part of the day meeting some builders I have wanted to see, including Steve Garro (and Denise) of Coconino, Eric Baar of Ground Up and Sam Whittingham of Naked. These guys all build really clean, purpose driven machines. Sam received quite a bit of attention for his fancy show bike, but even that had a lot of cool utility built in to the shiny bits. Most of the rest of the day was spent filling my head with useful images and info.

Saturday-

Consumer (fan?) day.

Wowzers. I woke up a about 7 to see a sunny day and knew we were all in for something. I got there early, crammed my bike on a rack and took a picture of the full bike rack- a half hour before the doors even opened. I planned to walk the floor Saturday and mix some social catching-up with non-industry friends and a few late seminars. It was amazing watching the crowd of fans flood in the door then break on each row of the convention center. From 10am on the place was packed. There was a short stint during the lunch hour when they actually had to close out about 200 people when the hall hit fire capacity!

Honestly, Saturday was a bit of a blur. I had done most of my gawking Friday, so I spent lots of time making laps running into people. I was fortunate enough to find friends from college, bike school, my Seattle years, etc.

By Saturday afternoon I was starting to hit my "to many people in to small of a space" wall, and caught a ride home with my wife and some friends. NAHBS was an amazing show, but I needed to get back to the bikes. I added a few pictures of the sprint bike I worked on Sunday.

See you in Indianapolis next year?

NAHBS Tomorrow!

I generally fill my days working at Bike Friday here in Eugene. Bike Friday is a small company that makes some truly innovative products. How many bikes do you know that can convert between a tandem and a single, all while fitting in a suitcase?

One of the great things about working for BF is the general bike craze culture. Part of my terms of employment include making a bike for myself. Well, I finished a (decidedly not stock)folding fixed gear path bike just in time for Oregon Bicycle Constructors Association show in November. It was a great event showcasing part of the huge local talent pool.

After that smashing success we decided to ramp up for an even bigger turn out at this years North American Handbuilt Bike Show, a national venue for craft built bikes. I'm pretty excited to not only have built a pretty cool (and space conscious) booth for the show, but to have my bike return to Portland for an even bigger crowd!

While I will be up Friday and Saturday, I likley won't be working the booth (to much other eye candy, networking and catching up with old and new friends!). In any event, stop by, say hello to the boys, and take a peek at the bikes!

Hereis a little teaser shot of my bike Jonathan Maus posted on Bike Portland. (He called my bike classy). See you this weekend!

Gaberdine, Tweed, Oilskin, Oh MY!

I love bike geeks. LOVE EM!

While investigating my newly found Flikr I wandered across the Velocouture photo pool. This fantastic group of users take pictures of themselves in their best (and I mean darn tooting fanciest) cycle wear. From sun dresses to woolens, these kids have it all.

Now of course my tongue in cheek sarcasm is laced with hypocritical irony. I myself coordinate outfits, and just this weekend found my layers to match my bike, saddle and camera bags. Ahhh- we are amongst friends! And I mean that- there are several friends and acquaintances shaking their pedal pushers in the 339 member, 537 picture strong pool.

Off to go dig out my white vintage Carnacs and 15 year old Kangol. By days end there will be 340 members...

Fallen Brother- Sheldon Brown

I just read that Sheldon Brown passed away. For those not familiar, Sheldon was a long time mechanic, guru and fixed gear proponent. I never met the man, but his enthusiasm and influence ripple throughout the online cycling community. While he had some wacky ideas, his knowledge and willingness to share through prolific bike related articles made the sometimes elitist sport of cycling more accessible and personable to many, many people. His writings certainly helped me out as a pup (I still use his site as a reference). Sheldon, thanks for everything, you will be both missed and remembered. All my best to his family and friends.


Edit- the picture of Sheldon is from his web site.

Welcome!

Hi folks-

Welcome to the Quixotic Bicycles on-line presence!

My name is Eric Estlund. I am a full time industry frame builder in Eugene, OR. Quixotic Bicycles is my creative distraction where I can pursue non-work related projects.

Stay tuned for regular updates on all things bike coming out of Quixotic. Its a busy week planning for NAHBS, so I'll just leave you with a quick picture of a current build (a 13" 650b fillet brazed mtb/ touring rig for a friend). More tasty morsels can be seen here.