Builder Rich Fox toiled for four years to bring Circa Cycles to market, and this past spring we saw the fruits of that labor for the first time at NAHBS. His bonded aluminum road bikes stood out for their unique construction method that fully modernized an old technique. Now, he’s found new ways to take full advantage of it in ways welded and brazed bikes simply can’t do.
Since his tubes are bonded into lugs, there’s no heat process to deform or discolor the metal. That means his tubes can be anodized before construction. And, turns out, so much more…
The Circa Icon PDX is a new “stock” option that gets iconic Portland landmarks, memes and themes laser etched onto the tubes. The laser etching itself isn’t new, but the ability to do it 360º around the tubes is.
Since the tubes are anodized prior to assembly, each one can be a different color, and the laser etching can go virtually anywhere. And it’s permanent.
The Icon PDX was made for the 2016 Portland Bikes & Brew Fest, but this bike above was their first custom build with the new process. It’s called Leaves of Grass and has the text of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass etched onto the top tube. The customer installed an extension to turn it into a cargo bike for hauling his kids around.
