The Portland Art Museum has free admission every forth Friday of the month (which is, it just so happens, today!), from 5 - 8pm. This evening there's going to be food carts, the Metrofeits beer bike (which I'm told will be pouring kombucha), and, yes, free entry into the Cyclepedia exhibit.
My bikes are about to be set up there, and will be on display from today, 23 August, through 30 August. I'll be hanging around the museum this evening for the festivities, and to talk about my bikes, from 5 - 8. If you can't make it over this evening, I'll also be there most of the day on Sunday, the 25th of August.
Here are a couple of photos of the finished bikes that will be at the Portland Art Museum starting today. I hope I see you at the exhibit!
Stainless Steel Touring Bike
Manifest 2.0 Commuter
Update on 2013-08-25 17:23 by Joseph Ahearne
The Portland Art Museum is open from noon to 5 pm today, Sunday 25 August. I'll be there most of the day to answer questions about the bikes. My bikes are just inside the Park Street entrance to the museum, facing the Park Blocks. Try and make it over if you can. Ahearne Bicycles at the Portland Art Museum
We’re pushing the tail end of spring, and it’s starting to feel a lot like summer. I've been busy with a lot of unique projects. A lot of bikes with a lot of racks. Meaning big, elaborate racks. Quite a few of them are integrated into the frame, meaning they're brazed on, and are a part of the bike. I love that sort of devotion.
Double Seat StaysLillian's Mid-tailI’ve just finished another mid-tail that is on its way to the powder coater. The last mid-tail I built was for a very tall man, and this one is for a shorter woman, so the design is similar, but the proportions have changed. This bike is scheduled to go on a year-long world tour.
I am most of the way through a crazy commuter with a 24” front wheel and a 28” rear, very similar in design to the bike I built for the Oregon Manifest a couple of years back. It has a basket that bolts to the head tube, and a couple of different places for frame bags to be mounted. It’s one of the coolest and most generally useful bikes that I think I’ve ever built. Maybe I say that only because it’s the one I’m working on right now, which always seems to be my favorite bike. All-round Bad Ass Commuter
Also this spring I made my first attempt at double seat stays, which came out looking bad ass, if I do say so myself. These are on a single speed cross bike with disc brakes that should be coming back from the powder coater in a week or so.
Another bike I want to mention is a step-through commuter bike with the rear basket integrated into the frame. So many tubes, and it came out to be such a gorgeous bike. I’ll post a full photo run of the finished bike soon.
Here are photo highlights from some of the projects I’ve mentioned here.
Aurelio CommuterThis is a bike that shipped to Aurelio just before the holidays. This one took a lot of hours, and a lot of weeks to complete. At base, it's a commuter bike, ready to do all the daily chores of getting around to work and to the store. But, it's a whole lot more than that besides. Take a look at the photos, and you'll see that it's all in the details.
Here we've got a straight-forward lugged commuter.
Brenner Commuter
It's a classy bike for a classy lady. Nothing brightens a gray winter sky better than a warm paint job. This bike has racks and enough carrying capacity to go on tours, and it has all the standard equipment for riding year round here in the northwest. I think the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy.
Here is my entry to the 2011 Oregon Manifest. The 50 mile ride was good. The weather was just about perfect, even if a little hot, and the route took us through some awesome backroads. There was a combination of paved roads and gravel, with a lot of climbing along the way. I was very pleased with the bike. It was solid, quiet, had the gears I wanted for climbing and it carried the load without a hitch. I ran some pretty large tires so that the gravel sections weren't a problem, and descending with weight the bike felt sure and stable. The bike did everything I asked of it, and did it well.
There were a lot of great entries in this event. I can't imagine having been a judge, trying to decide which bikes were winners. I think a congratulation should go out to everyone who did the work building the bikes, and for all those who rode the ride. And a special congrats to Tony Pereira for taking the cake. Nice job Tony!
Here are photos of the Ahearne entry with a summary of features to follow.
Oregon Manifest Bike
This is the Ahearne Cycles entry to the 2011 Oregon Manifest competition. There were several criteria that the all the entrants were supposed to fulfill, most of which were in the realm of bikes that I often build. The bikes are to have lights, fenders, a locking system, a way to carry things besides the rider, etc. Here's a quick list of the features this bike offeres:
24 inch front wheel, 700c rear. The rack is fixed to the frame and is rated at about 50 lbs. maximum capacity. The small front wheel allows the basket to be lower, which drops the center of gravity and makes for a more stable ride with a load.
The basket has an integrated lock holder (no rattle), a bottle opener, corner bumpers (dead tire), a weatherproof DiBond base (aluminum sheet with a dense plastic core -- light-weight & bomb-proof), a large waterproof bag by Inside Line Equipment, and shown here there are 2 speaker mounts and a water bottle cage (also on the basket). There is also a bolt-on utility bag on the rack which is for spare tubes, tools, straps and bungee cords, etc.
There is an insanely bright lighting system (600 lumens!) that runs off a rechargeable battery pack hidden under the rack, which is charged off the generator hub. It's a prototype lighting system by Light On! lights. The wired tail light is internally routed, and if you look closely, it is mounted to a bolt that runs through the seat tube and serves the double purpose of being a seat post lock -- the seat post is slotted, and can't be removed without taking out the light mount bolt.
Speaking of security, there's a hidden lock for the kickstand so that, when the kickstand is open and the lock engaged the stand can not be retracted. I'd love to see a thief try and ride off on the bike, but not be able to figure out why the stand won't go up.
The bike has clearance for very large tires. The fenders are full wrap, with a 26 inch rear fender covering the front wheel. There's a supplementary blinky tail light and reflector on the rear fender by Portland Design Works.
Beyond these features, the bike has a lot of the little things I believe should be standard on a hard core commuter bike: full gear range, bell, pump, disc brakes (advisable, especially for rainy climates), wide puncture resistant tires, comfortable upright riding position, wide flat pedals, etc.
The final thing is the aesthetic, which is subdued and classy. I didn't want to over-invent a machine that has been designed & refined for well over a hundred years.
Stainless Steel Touring Bike
Manifest 2.0 Commuter 
Ahearne Bicycles at the Portland Art Museum
