This space will be the home of Fair Wheel Bikes' new Portland bike gallery.

Tucson’s own Fair Wheel Bikes is heading to the Pacific Northwest by opening a one-of-a-kind bike gallery in Portland, Ore.

According to Fair Wheel Bikes owner, Ralph Phillips, the new location in Portland won’t look like a traditional bike shop. Instead it will be a place to highlight frame builders’ custom bikes from around Oregon and the rest of the country.

“It is not so much a full-on bike store,” Phillips said. “It is more of a boutique store where you can go in, view things and order online if you like. We just want to display products and bring our presence into Portland.”

Emiliano Jordan, Fair Wheel Bikes’ webmaster, moved to Portland last year and will have an office in the new Portland location.

This bike is the world's lightest bike, which was built up by Fair Wheel Bikes and will be featured at their Portland gallery opening. Image from TriRig.com

He said the idea came about when he and Jason Woznick — Fair Wheel’s project bike builder — were chatting over lunch at Interbike. Jordan said they wanted a way to show off the bikes Woznick was building.

He reiterated that it won’t be a traditional bike shop, it fact, they won’t actually sell parts or bikes in the boutique.

“Think fine art gallery,” Jordan said.

According to Jordan, they will display the bikes with information about the builder and the components used to build it up. They will rotate the project bike every 30-60 days and will occasionally have bike builder openings similar to art openings.

“The whole idea is to show parts components and bikes that people don’t normally get to see,” Jordan said. “Our end goal is to try to raise the bar a little bit. All of this stuff is out there, but it tends to be hidden on weight weenies internet forums deep in the archives. If we can pull it out and give it a display and give it a place where people can actually come in and physically see it and touch it; it’ll be better for the industry in general.”

This mountain bike build uses an electronic brain and will be featured at the gallery's opening. Image from FairWheelBikes.com

Phillips said the boutique is more about getting their name into Portland’s bike community and will focus on the race bikes they are known for.

“Portland is a big dynamic cycling community so we wanted to make a statement there also,” Phillips said.

Jordan, who spent 10 years in Tucson and went to high school here, moved to Portland last year and works on the Fair Wheel Bikes website remotely.

According to Jordan, there is a large bike racing community in Portland.

“I think the racing community itself is as big as Tucson’s, it’s just that the commuting community here is so much bigger that it kind of overshadows the racing community,” Jordan said. “If you compared it on local-scene versus local-scene, it is about the same.”

Phillips said the boutique is a way to highlight some of the products available on the website, which has grown a lot in the last few years.

Jordan said the markets online and in Tucson’s location are very different.

“What we sell online, doesn’t really sell well in the store, and what sells well in the store doesn’t sell online,” Jordan said,

According to Jordan the new bike gallery is something truly unique.

“I don’t know if there is anything like it in the world,” Jordan said. “I don’t think there is anything so far that has been just a gallery to show off modern cutting edge new bikes.”

The boutique, which is located on  Naito Parkway in Portland, will have its soft opening on Jan. 1 and will host an invitation-only grand opening on March 4-5. Several of Fair Wheel Bikes’ recent project bikes that have been featured on various cycling sites will be displayed at the opening.

Check out the features on the bikes:

5 thoughts on “Fair Wheel Bikes expanding to Portland with bike gallery”
  1. FWIW, “Bike Gallery” is a local chain of bike shops in Portland. The title had me thinking they were doing a joint venture.

  2. Just what Portland need is another bike shop. There are so many shops here now, no matter what unique brand or service you offer it just gets lost here, at the end of the day it is just another shop. Be careful and good luck, Guru tried a similar type of shop a couple of years ago here, it didn’t work. Don’t view portland as a bike city, it is more of an alternative transportation city where people happen to use bicycles.

  3. Interesting concept with gallery focus but Tucson has been blessed with a unique boutique that blends high-end road and mountain bikes with quality service and custom fit for two years (and was previously based in Denver for several years prior). UNO Bicycle Studio on the East side is the closest to Fantasy and Saguaro East. Where’s the love and support for a great local Tucson business?

  4. UNO is something I’ve been meaning to get out and checkout. Its on my list of stories. Hopefully one day soon.

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