Builder Feedback from Oregon Manifest

Two weeks after the event, many builders are talking about their experiences at the Oregon Manifest event....great feedback can be found here. I definitely agree that the design criteria, race and final judging were not well aligned. After investing a fair amount of resources on this project, I'm a little frustrated by the results (or lack thereof) for Ahrens Bicycles. Some award winning bikes clearly had construction issues which is pretty surprising given the 'constructor's challenge' event theme.

On the flip side, the purpose of events like these is to garner exposure while providing participants a chance to learn some new things. I saw innovative design solutions all over the place and this by itself is inspiring for my own future projects in the commuter/utility space. My bike was the only entry made from aluminum which shows how slanted events like this are towards steel frames. My main takeaway is that The Donna is a versatile bike that works well for my customer and meets her needs nicely.....and hopefully this success leads to more frame sales to keep the business moving.