By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/Lincoln Chronicle
When bicycle riders become really serious about their transportation, they start to dream about having a custom bike built specifically for their needs.
If they are cyclists who are commuters or are planning days-long or months-long rides, they might hope to have a touring bike made by Joseph Ahearne of Newport. Besides being an expert bike-builder, Ahearne is well-known for the custom racks he builds, critical for carrying gear.
After 20 years in Portland, Ahearne moved last year to Newport, relocating the workshop for Ahearne Cycles to the garage of his home.
Born in Kansas City, Ahearne spent most of his childhood in the Midwest. His first bike was a Christmas gift when he was 5. It didn’t have training wheels, but he was determined to learn to ride it, measuring his progress by counting how many lines in the sidewalk he could ride past before toppling over.
After high school he spent years traveling in the United States and Europe, working odd jobs. He finally settled in Portland in 2002 and got a job at River City Bicycles, a well-known Portland bike shop.
Along the way he has been writing almost every day since he was 16 years old.
Question: How did you learn to build bike frames?
Answer: While working at River City I learned there was a frame making class in Vancouver offered by an old-school bike builder named Tim Paterek. While in the class Tim told me he was retiring from frame making and offered to sell me all his equipment for a good price — everything I’d need to build bike frames. We made a deal: If I bought his shop I could call him whenever I had a question. Tim agreed, which he probably later regretted because for the first two years I was calling him all the time, sometimes twice or more a day. There’s a big learning curve for making bike frames — so many ways to make mistakes.
I started out by offering to make frames for employees at the bike shop. I only charged for materials and did the work for free. At least 20 of them lined up immediately to take advantage of that offer. I learned so much from every frame I made. I wish I knew if any of those bikes are still on the road. I didn’t have a brand yet at that point, but, before long other cyclists noticed what I was doing, and asked me to build frames for them – and they were willing to pay. Astonishing! Soon I was working for myself, leaving the bike shop in 2004.
Q: How did you become known for your touring bicycles?
A: Bikes have always been about transportation for me, either around town or for bike touring or bike camping. Living in Portland I didn’t own a car, just a bike. I realized how important it is to be able to carry stuff, and before long I learned how to make racks. It’s tricky – you must use a hand bender to shape the tubes. Generally, people buy racks as after-market items, but custom racks can better suit the bike and the rider’s needs. Not many bike makers also make racks because they’re so time-consuming.
I have a very niche market – I only build 6-10 bicycles per year at a cost of $15,000 to $30,000 each – and my wait time right now is about a year. Certainly not everyone needs a custom bike. By the time people find me, they have been riding bikes for many years, they know what they want, and they can’t find it in an off-the-shelf bike. This is especially true for a rider looking for a touring bike. Those riders have spent many hours in the saddle and have had plenty of time to think about what they want.
I start by measuring the person — the lengths of their arms and legs, and their inseam and torso. I assess their strength and flexibility, and we discuss how they will use the bike, what they plan to carry on it, what kind of roads they will be travelling on. I put all this together into one picture to create the design of their bicycle.
Then I do the entire build myself from start to finish – purchasing tubes and materials; making the frame; assembling all the components (brakes, wheels, drive train, lights, fenders, etc.) Touring bikes can be incredibly complex — when one goes out the door I want it to work perfectly.
About 99 percent of bikes sold in the USA are made in Asia – there’s not a lot of space for people like me. I charge more for my bikes than most bikes sold at bike shops, but my customers get to participate in designing a bike that they can enjoy for many years. It’s kind of like having a custom tailor-made suit. I’m honored to be in the position to be able to offer this.
Q: What makes you happy about building bicycles?
A: First, I get to work for myself. More importantly, making bike frames is a never-ending process of problem solving. Each bike is a puzzle, and I must meld my customer’s vision with my experience in the best way possible. When I pass a bike along to my customer I feel like it carries a promise of adventure, of fun, of stories that will hopefully continue for a lifetime.
Q: Besides building bicycles, you are a writer. What are you writing?
A: Writing is as important to me as building bikes. I’ve been working on a memoir about my crazy life for several years. During my travels I lived in all kinds of situations and met all kinds of people and worked all kinds of crummy jobs. I have so many stories about that time of my life, and so many more about how important the craft of making bicycles has been for me, and the importance of feeling like I’m doing something meaningful. Bike building has completely changed my life.
I write first thing in the morning – that’s the time of day I work with words. I write about memories and my current world. The memoir is a way to pull everything together.
Q: What do you like to do besides building bicycles?
A: Along with writing, I’m a big reader; I’m always reading at least a couple of books. One of my hobbies is paragliding, and although I miss Portland for many reasons, the coast is certainly a better place to do that. I try to go to Mexico for a month or two in the winter to get some sun. And the ocean fascinates me endlessly.
Tell us a secret.
From the time I was 18 until I was 33 I had at least 60 jobs, maybe more. I lived in many states and several countries. Living like that finally got old, and I am grateful, relieved and delighted that creating bicycles has centered me for the last 20 years.
- Website: www.ahearnecycles.com; Email: joseph@ahearnecycles.com; Instagram: @ahearnecycles; Facebook: Ahearne Cycles; Substack: Cycles by Joseph Ahearne
- Kathleen O’Connor is a Waldport freelance writer who can be reached via email at kmoc8916@gmail.com
