{"id":867770,"date":"2026-08-22T20:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/867770\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T20:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:16:10","slug":"two-canadian-bikes-shine-bright-as-made-handmade-bike-show-opens-in-portland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/867770\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Canadian bikes shine bright as MADE handmade bike show opens in Portland"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a fourth year, the artistry and craft of making bicycles by hand (whatever that looks like to you) is being celebrated at MADE bike show in, where else could it be, Portland, Oregon. A few Canadian bikes are on display this year, celebrating two very different sides of cycling and of the handmade spectrum. They are also from two different sides of the country.<\/p>\n

From Hamilton, Ontario, Forma Bikes delivers a stunning road build with a B.C. connection. From the rugged coast of B.C., Quadra Island\u2019s Naked Bicycles forges into the future of mountain biking with a very trick 32\u2033 titanium trail hardtail (showing off a few secret-ish parts).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Michael van den Ham\u2019s Forma. Photo: Max McCulloch
\nForma Bicycle\u2019s high-end road build with a B.C. connection<\/p>\n

Forma, formerly known as Framework Bicycles, may be based in Hamilton, Ontario, but this stunning all-road build is heading west. It will, after being shown off at MADE, make its way to Abbotsford to carry Michael van den Ham around for his growing coaching business.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with Forma, it is the brainchild of Jonathan Hornell-Kennedy. Bringing manufacturing expertise from outside the cycling world together with his love of all things two wheeled, Hornell-Kennedy puts an intense focus on designing and building bikes that wildly exceed the standards of even the high-end side of what is commercially available.<\/p>\n

(All Forma photos: Max McCulloch)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Using CNC machines and winding carbon tubes in-house, the bikes are entirely created by Hornell-Kennedy even if this new version of hand-made looks a little different than the classic idea of bending and welding metal tubes.<\/p>\n

Forma doesn\u2019t stop with the frame. Van den Ham\u2019s bike includes a stem and seat post also from Forma, making for an incredibly clean look to this all-road machine.<\/p>\n

Van den Ham\u2019s Forma is rolling on\u00a035mm Challenge Strada and NOBL wheels. He\u2019ll push on Easton\u2019s new EC90 ALX cranks and combo of a massive Wolf Tooth chainring and the Minnesota brand\u2019s ultralight Del. pedals. That pushes Shimano XTR Di2 (operated by Shimano GRX Di2 controllers). There\u2019s a Reform custom-moulded saddle on top of that Forma seat post. FSA K-Force bars are held up by Forma\u2019s own stem, with integrated computer mount. r<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photos courtesy of Naked Bicycles
\nNaked Bicycles pushes 32\u2033 beyond XC<\/p>\n

Sam Whittingham is no stranger to handmade bike shows. His bikes have travelled from Quadra to various shows in the past, often coming home with ribbons, awards and recognitions for their artistry and for their distinctive designs that frequently diverge from the trends of the day.<\/p>\n

For MADE 2026, Whittingham\u2019s taken on a more practical challenge with the latest trend: 32\u2033 wheels. Not content to make another XC bike in an outrageously large size, and having already explored what the big wheels can do in gravel with Canadian legend Geoff Kabush<\/a>, Naked Bike\u2019s 32\u2033 is a proper trail bike made how Whittingham envisions it might end up making its way to consumers. That mean\u2019s no boutique fork, with a 120mm prototype from Fox in place of the expensive inverted forks most custom builds have used up to this point. It also means a design that works for a rider closer to the 5.5 foot range in height, without looking absurd.<\/p>\n

The result is this singlespeed hardtail that, despite appearances, is in fact using 32\u2033 wheels. Designed around Schwalbe\u2019s new Radial 32\u2033 Romi tires and that 120mm fork, this ti frame rolls on Industry Nine \/ We Are One\u2019s Hush 32\u2033 wheels. That combo brings the 32\u2033 in at almost exactly the same weight as Whittingham\u2019s current, 29\u2033 hardtail. Through some fancy bending, Whittingham keeps the rear end to an adjustable 435-445mm chainstays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For a fourth year, the artistry and craft of making bicycles by hand (whatever that looks like to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":867771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[84975,301433,49,48,635,374,301434,301435,301436,1700,35620,259786,301437,82],"class_list":["post-867770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-84975","tag-32-wheels","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-fox","tag-handmade-bikes","tag-made-bike","tag-michael-van-den-ham","tag-mtb-features","tag-mtb-gear","tag-naked-bicycles","tag-naked-bikes","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}