Choosing bikes from MADE for a beautiful finish roundup is harder than it sounds. Nearly every bike there has some finish detail that makes it stand out, and there’s only so much time to get bikes in and out for photographs. This isn’t a complete list of all of the bikes that stood out to us. Many of them have already been covered in our 32″ roundup (parts 1 and 2), or in individual posts from the show.
But since this is the final MADE roundup, we’ve included the rest of the bikes that made us look twice.
Mosaic ASNo.9 Chrysalis Series
Mosaic seemed to have bikes everywhere at the show, and many of them featured their latest in the Mosaic Artist Series finish. Called the ASNo.9 Chrysalis, it was on display in multiple colorways that made it look like anything from marble to fire.
Ground Up Speed Shop
Eric Baar’s Ground Up Speed Shop is always good for entertaining finishes, and as Abbey Tool’s Jason Quade points out, his impressive work with titanium is probably underrated in the industry. Those ti bars with a massive center section look like they might be way too stiff, but they might actually be the most compliant bars I felt at the show.
Bishop Track Bike
Chris Bishop continues to make show stoppers in his own way. This track bike had a crazy layered finish, plus brazed details wherever you looked.
SAGE Titanium Harbinger
SAGE Titanium might take the award for the most complex Cerakote finishes. Doing this camo finish, complete with meticulous blue pin striping around each section, took an incredible amount of work.
John Watson’s Significant Other Radavist Build
You know if John Watson of the Radavist is involved, it’s going to be a beautiful, perfectly curated build. That is definitely the case with this Significant Other full-suspension bike with a color palette that builds off the new White Industries Desert Sage limited edition collection.
Kogel
Kogel continues to go wild with upgraded rear derailleur cages and pulleys, and that includes custom finishes from their in-house Cerakote lab. Choose from 150+ colors, and they can make it happen.
Anna Schwinn’s Significant Other
Another notable Significant Other was from our friend Anna Schwinn. Keeping the frame, stem, bars, and seatpost the natural metal colors, Anna went wild with a tie-dye anno finish on the SRAM 1987 Transmission group, White Industries hubs & headset, and the rims. Add in a blue fork and a few other colorful bits, and you have an incredibly fun build.
And now that I’m into birds, I couldn’t help but notice while I was photographing Anna’s bike that there were a bunch of Anna’s Hummingbirds in the bushes right behind it. How cool is that?
Scarab Road Bike (not that Scarab Road Bike)
You might have already seen the Scarab Serena road bike that won a MADE Builder’s award. But that wasn’t the only notable road bike they had at the show. This bike below had a cool finish that includes actual ink transfers of hand-drawn details under the clear coat.
Barco Italian Steel
Barco is a Northeast Italian frame-building company that was doing contract builds for big names up until 2007, when they started their own brand for frame making. They build in steel and stainless steel using classic frame-building techniques mixed with modern features. This one is just a classically beautiful bike with a stunning polished finish.
It also features one of our first looks at the new Ingrid drop bar shifters to go with the Gran Turismo R group.
Incredible Ti Prova
Australian titanium brought to us by brother and sister Mark and Kelly Hester, this Mostro Integrale not only had an anodized fade that would stop you in your tracks, but also titanium details that had to be seen. The fork is titanium as well, if you’d prefer all metal over any carbon.
Nikas
This Nikas also stopped me in my tracks. I love the bold color choices and the wavy accent lines. Not to mention the unique seat stay attachment point. Nikas bikes are made by Nick Zukauskas out of Fort Collins, CO.
Bridge
Sometimes the best finish is no finish at all. Or at least the absence of paint. Raw finishes on carbon frames are challenging because it shows every imperfection underneath. Some carbon frames require extensive hand finishing and fillers to get a smooth surface that is often nowhere near pretty enough to leave exposed. It’s no surprise that this Bridge Surveyor looks stunning while naked, though – their in-house carbon process out of Toronto is top-notch.
Scot Nicol’s Custom Ibis Ripley SL
Maybe you’re thinking, “What’s Ibis doing at the MADE show?” Well, their new Ripley SL (as well as the original Exie USA) is handmade in California. Their factory is also 100% solar-powered, which makes it especially rad and “sungrown.”
And when you’re Scot Nicol, you can get things like a custom anodized color from Industry nine to perfectly match the frame color, and a long fade from the hubs to the rims. I’ve been dying to get my hands on one of these bikes, and this is just making it worse…
Ripley also had a fun Ripley SL build with components from a number of brands present at MADE, including Madrone, White Industries, Astral, Wolf Tooth Components, and Industry Nine. Like the Bridge, this one was raw, which requires a high-precision carbon finish to pull off.
Fiddlehead Cargo Bike
This cargo bike by Fiddlehead was so good, it’s no wonder it won a People’s Choice award. So many impressive details. Such great colors. The F-hole logos. On top of all that, it’s also nearly perfectly balanced, with the diagonal tube behind the head tube serving as a handle so you can actually lift it with one hand. Nice work, Justin!
No. 22 Ti Road Bike
No finish roundup would be complete without at least one bike from No. 22. This Reactor Aero was in the Campagnolo booth with a stunning matte black and blue/green/purple ano fade. It also featured a new riser bar that No. 22 will offer soon.
The Elusive 7 Eleven BAUM
The bike that everyone seemed to be talking about, but no one could find. Apparently lost in a nondescript cardboard box for most of the show, it finally surfaced on day three for those that were still in Portland.
Darwin Designs
Another over-the-top anodizing job, this one from Darwin Designs includes some matching wheels and stem from Industry Nine. Under the finish, the DV/ZN frame is just as interesting, with 3D-printed legs including integrated bearing races, gussets, and cable management, and options to make it truly one of a kind.
Squid Bikes x Bivo
This Squidcross V5 has a Freestyle paint job specially for MADE, and the large frame is actually for sale for $2,300 if you’re into it.
WolfHound
We’ll wrap up on this Wolfhound, a finish that wasn’t flashy, but it still drew you in with fantastic lines and a super clean aesthetic.
