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Got a gravel adventure, bike tour or bikepacking trip planned? (Saco)
885 Portland Road
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If so, check out our little adventure bike focused shop here in Saco, Maine. We call ourselves Maine Bike Works which sounds like the name of a regional chain, but we're really just a couple person band with a real narrow focus on the style of alt-bikes we love to build for folks. If you're into the geeky adventuring side of the cycling world like we are, you might dig reading some of the ramble below... BTW, we're always looking for super experienced, super friendly fellow bike enthusiasts to join us helping folks build up their dream bikes, so if you're reading some of this and you think MBW sounds like a decent place to ply your trade and immerse yourself in nerdy adventurebike conversation, check out our job ad on our website.
No matter where you live in New England (75% of all of our builds go to folks who live outside Maine and are willing to make the drive to Saco, so we're use to working remotely with someone to build up their dream bike), we'd love to build you up a one of a kind adventure bike and get you out on your adventure. We're best known for our frame-up touring, gravel and bikepacking builds, but if there's a production bike you dig from one of the 91 brands we list on our website. If there's a bike brand you're interested in whose name doesn't begin with Trek, Specialized, Giant or Cannondale we can probably get it for you - just ask. we especially love sourcing frames / bikes from the smaller makers whom you only get to read about on Bikepacking.com (check out the build we did in that link), The Radavist and in Adventure Cyclist / Adventure Cyclist Magazine. because we're nerds at heart, we also dig chatting about bikes built up with Rohloff Speedhubs, Pinion Gearboxes (both 12 & 18 speeds) and bikes with Gates Carbon Belt Drives. So if you've wanted to investigate any of these alternative drivetrain, let us know and we can tell you about the bike makers we've dug working with in the past to get folks out touring. If you can dream it up, more than likely we can help you build it.
Here's a few of the heavy hitters our prior customers have had great success with - all awesome tools for the various adventure bike jobs they were designed for:
ADVENTURE AND GRAVEL BIKES THAT WE CAN GET AS COMPLETE BIKES TO SAVE YOU SOME $ OVER A FRAME-UP BUILD
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OTSO WARAKIN (your choice of titanium, stainless steel, and chromoly steel frames with carbon forks. We try to have a Ti one built up hanging on our wall for folks to check out in person and since the geo's are all the same no matter what the material it serves as a great stake in the ground. Crazy sporty, crazy comfortable, super wide tire capable [700x57mm for the fork!] gravel bikes. For not tons of money you get a great production bike that you get to choose parts on and that we build from the frame up for you here in the shop. Not many other companies give you so many choices without needing to go full custom pricing.) Check out http://mainebikeworks.com/otso for pics and examples of some of our favorite Otso builds...
OTSO FENRIR (your choice of titanium or stainless steel frames with carbon forks. We try to have one built for folks to check out in person. A killer bikepacking and monster gravel platform for your big adventures. Can be built up with drop bars or flat / alternative bars. Amazing what the wizards at WolfTooth came up with for their flagship live-aboard rig. They have production bike prices, but with ability to customize them from the factory so get in touch and we'll walk you through your choices and get one built up for you. If you aren't familiar with Otso Fenrirs, they are in a similar style of bike as Salsa Fargos, Tumbleweed Stargazers, Black Mountain Cycles La Cabras and Surly Grapplers among other live aboard bikepacking rigs.)
OTSO WAHEELA (carbon frame and fork - want the ultimate in go fast from the folks at WolfTooth & Otso HQ in MN? Check out their various build packages and leave the sizing and the frame up build to us.)
BROMPTON G LINE (in steel) take your bike with you anywhere - literally. If you're looking to leave your lock at home when you ride, check out the new G Line from Brompton. It folds up to the size of Radio Raheem's Boom Box in about 20 seconds and has roller wheels on the bottom so you can put it behind you into Motel 6 like hand luggage. Put it in trolley mode and use it as your shopping cart in the super market and then unfold it and ride your groceries home. Did I mention it has wide tires so you can ride it on whatever gravel / dirt road / smooth path you want on your next overseas tour? Check out http://mainebikeworks.com/brompton for some pics. ** we aim to keep a new G Line in the shop as a demo, so come take a spin on it **
BROMPTON T LINE (titanium baby!) ultralight weight, ultra compact folding adventure machine. Skinnier tires than the G Line, but this little rocket is about 1/2 the weight (about 17lb opposed to 34lb) and about 60% of the size when folded so pull it out of your overhead compartment when you land, walk off the plane, unfold it in 20 seconds and ride through the airport and out the front door to start your own self-powered Grand Tour of Europe. If your budget doesn't extend to titanium, you can get the same small when folded package and ride of the T Line with the less expensive 1/2 steel and 1/2 titanium P Line or the full steel C Line with the only downside of just a tad more weight. Check out http://mainebikeworks.com/brompton for some pics. ** Like the G Line above, we aim to keep a new T Line in the shop as a demo, so come take a spin on it **
ESKER LORAX (in steel or Ti) one of our most favorite drop barred bikepacking rigs. Featuring a fantastic frame geometry and outstanding parts packages to pick from, when Esker has them in stock, it is hard to think of a production bike that gives you more choice right out of the box on how the bike will be out. Usually 3 colors to choose from, 4-5 parts kits to select from a couple wheel choices with no extra cost added in if you decide to have us build it up with a suspension fork over the lovely painted to match carbon fork from Lithic. Supreme ride, easy to adjust front and rear flip chips (in frame and fork) make it easy to be living off this bike on the Eastern Divide one day and a racey, comfy upright riding, monster gravel bike on your sportier unloaded weekend rides the next. Ask us for pics of our favorite builds in the past.
ESKER HAYDUKE (in Ti or Steel) - If you're looking for a flat barred (like the Jones Loop, Surly Moloko, or the new v2 Velo Orange Crazy bars) bikepacking bike that can handle all trails and surfaces then there's probably not a better bang for the buck than having us build you up a Hayduke with your choice of Esker's pre-selected build kits.
ESKER HAYDUKE LVS (in Ti) - similar to the classic Hayduke but in a mid-tale length for more stability and load carrying prowess. Designed around flat bars, but you can always be like Jay P and and have us drop bar that rig too if you like to color outside the lines.
KONA ROVE DLs (steel frame and fork)
KONA ROVE LTDs (same steel frame as the DL, but with a carbon for to save a 1 lb)
KONA SUTRAs (full steel, touring and gravel bike)
KONA SUTRA LTDs (full steel bikepacking and monster gravel bike - prior bikepacking.com's bike-o-the-year)
KONA UNIT Xs (Full steel, flat barred bikepacking bike that comes at a nice price that will allow you to add dynamo hubs, lights and USB charging without breaking the bank)
BOMBTRACK HOOKs (steel frame and carbon forks)
BOMBTRACK HOOK EXTs (steel frame and carbon fork with more clearance than the base Hook)
BOMBTRACK HOOK EXT-Cs (full carbon, same excellent tire clearance)
BOMBTRACK BEYOND+ ADVs (a killer Jones Loop barred plus size tired bikepacking bike. Great price and really good availability right now)
BOMBTRACK BEYOND 2s (a great steel upright riding monster gravel / bikepacking bikes)
BOMBTACK ARISE TOURs (super equipped touring / gravel bike ready to camp on right out of the box)
BREEZER THUNDERs (flat barred, steel trail ready bikepacking bike that comes in at a budget - similar to Kona Unit X)
BREEZER RADAR X PROs (if you only need tires that go up to about 2.3" wide, on a sub ~$2,300+ budget and want to be riding this Spring consider this bike a monstercross / bikepacking capable, full-steel, GRX equipped, budget Salsa Fargo.)
MARIN FOUR CORNERS 2 (a killer upright riding full steel adventuring rig with a super wide ranging drivetrain for not a heck of a lot of money - If you have exactly $2k to spend on a new gravel or smooth bikepacking rig, rule this bike out before looking at others.)
MARIN FOUR CORNERS 1 (the great Four Corners frame built up with classic 3x touring components for barely over a grand. Probably no better road touring bike for such little spend.)
MARIN PINE MOUNTAIN (a not super expensive way to get into bikepacking on a comfortable, upright platform - we can customize the bike to really dial it in for your type of riding with the money you save over going with one of our more expensive options)
MARIN LARKSPURS (the original adventure step thru. Is it a mountain bike? A bikepacking bike? Big person BMX bike? We're not sure and don't really care as they are just plain fun for the $ of these machines)
SURLY MIDNIGHT SPECIALs (fun, all-steel gravel bikes that don't break the bank and look aesthetically classy AF with a little extra spend on some blingy upgrades to kick their stock builds up a notch.)
SURLY DISC TRUCKERs (good entry level complete touring bikes. They also sell bare frames for this bike so if your budget extends to circa $3k on up we can get custom with you)
SURLY BRIDGECLUBs (great entry level, but not entry level performing flat bar bikepacking bikes)
SURLY OGREs (our go to sub $2k flat-bar Maine gravel road / all season commuting / mixed surface tourer that can also be upgraded to a Rohloff internally geared drivetrain on day one or at some somepoint down the line.)
SURLY GRAPPLERs (Budget alternatives to its pricier sibling the Otso Fenrir, Salsa Fargo or one of our custom frame-up builds from Tumbleweed or Black Mountain Cycles. A fun bike for someone who likes to ride super hard trail conditions with wide tires, yet still wants dropped bars.)
SALSA VAYAs (steel and carbon gravel / touring bikes that put you in a super comfortable position to really gobble up the miles. Staff favorite swiss-army gravel / touring / commuter / road companion.) ** Note: Salsa has paused production of the Vaya for the forseeable future, but they do have a few sizes frames and complete bikes in stock, so let us know and we can check if they still have your size. Totally worth tracking one down. I have about 24k miles on mine and it is still going strong. **
SALSA WARBIRDs (full carbon, adventurey gravel rockets - the original gravel bike, now 5 generations in)
SALSA FARGOs - what can we can that hasn't already been said about this most perfect of all bikepacking / monster gravel rigs? Rohloff em and add a Gates Carbon Belt if you want to spoil yourself - we'd love to help you indulge in what is one of our favorite styles of build of all time. When Salsa has them in stock (which is not always) we try to keep at least one in stock for folks to check out. Try em with alt-bars like Jones or Molokos for a real treat.
SALSA CUTTHROATs (the ultimate-race bikepacking bike. We think of them as full carbon Fargos that accept skinnier tires and are a tad more bent over)
SALSA JOURNEYERs (aluminum frame and carbon fork. An easy entry into mixed surface riding. About a million build and price options starting around $1k up to $2,800)
PANORAMA CYCLES BOREAL PINION (steel) If you're looking for a flat-barred bikepacking bike with the easy of use and reliability of an internally geared drivetrain, do a google search or two about the new Boreal from our friends North of the Border. Made in Taiwan like the majority of our higher end bikes, the Boreal Pinion is less expansive than American made steel equivalents by about 30%, but more expensive than the titanium options from other Pinion equipped brands made in China. Also available with a traditional derailleur and cassette drivetrain or even a Rohloff Speedhub. Get in touch we'll walk you through your sizing and options.
PANORAMA CYCLES ANTICOSTI (steel) a great looking and equipped platform for both road touring and gravel adventures. An upright riding cockpit reminds us of our very favorite swiss army gravel touring bike of all time - the now not paused Salsa Vaya. Lots of ways you can ask us and Panorama to spec yours out. Panorama offers 4 different build kits and our shop can customize them even further if you want. Check them out.
PANORAMA CYCLES TAIGA if you're looking for a flat barred bike to ride singletrack and bikepack on check out the Taiga. Panorama describes it as half way through a trail bike and a multi-day adventure bike. So hard to find nice hardtail bikepacking bikes these days and to find one with Reynolds 725 tubing is a real treat.
PANORAMA CYCLES TAIGA EXP 2 like the flat barred version above, the Taiga EXP 2 is a really versatile multi day adventure bikepacking bike. So many great things to note about this Panoramas design of this dropped bar beauty. We love that they have put their own spin on what this style of bike should should ride like including the ability to install a Rohloff Speedhub on day one or at some time down the line and for using a high end Reynolds 725 tubeset vs a house brand. Including the Rolhoff drivetrain there are 4 different drivetrains we can order on your Taiga EXP 2 for you. Sweet!
ADVENTURE AND GRAVEL BIKES WE BUILD AND CUSTOMIZE FROM THE FRAME-UP AS THE MAKERS DON’T SELL COMPLETE BIKES:
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TUMBLEWEED BICYCLE WORKS
Our buddies at Tumbleweed HQ make two totally awesome models that we (and the rest of the bikepacking world) go gaga over: the drop-bar focused, 2.6” tire or less Stargazer and the flat/alt-bar focused, ~3”-~4” tired Prospector. Both sweet rides that we can build up a million different ways.
#1. TUMBLEWEED STARGAZERs - Bikepacking.com's Bike of the Year in both People's Choice / Collective and Editor's awards. As a touring and adventure bike focused shop, MBW is one of the few shops in the country selling Tumbleweed Stargazer framesets. If you're looking for a dyed in the wool bleeding edge steel bikepacking bike from one of the most respected builders in the country, check it out. An all new model for them and one we really have high hopes for. Think of it as a purpose built Salsa Fargo, Surly Ghost Grappler or a custom and probably more comfortable version of a Kona Sutra LTD. Our builds start around $4,100 and can be customized like all of our bikes for folks who want to go down the nerdy bikepacking and touring rabbit hole with us. We’ve built them up for anywhere between $4,100 and $10k, so we’ll work with you to squeeze one of these beauties into whatever your budget is. While our buddies at Tumbleweed HQ also sells a stock build, we like to think we can customize your build even more for the type of riding you plan to do here in New England and further afield as we work with you to help you choose every nut and bolt on the bike vs having a stock one size fits all package.
You can see some our favorite Stargazer builds from the past on this mini-gallery page: http://mainebikeworks.com/tumbleweed
#2. TUMBLEWEED PROSPECTORs - When your adventures don't include staying with the lines drawn on a map, look to a Prospector to take you (and the kitchen sink) to get you where you're going. while you could put a traditional derailleur'd drivetrain on them, we really only get asked to build them up with Rohloff internally geared rear hubs. by choosing a Rohloff, you gain access to some of the easiest gearing around and all the most vulnerable parts on a bike are hidden away inside that super burly rear hub. if dependability and jump-on-and-ride-ness is at the top of your priority list for your n+1, check out a Prospector. they come with Phil Wood eccentric bottom brackets to make running the Rohloff rear wheels with a chain easy-peasy. same goes for wheel and tire choices as you can pretty much run anything you want as long as it's chunky widthwise. we've built them with in 26x4.0" as a skinny Q-factored fatbike, 27.5x2.8-3.8˝ mixed surface touring rigs and 29 x 2.1-3.0 monster rolling mountain bikes. run a Tumbleweed Persuader bar on them for the ultimate in expedition control. dream up an adventure and I'm betting a Prospector could get you there. oh yeah, plan on getting a pair of Tumbleweed's racks for the front and rear to really unlock their full potential.
You can see some our favorite Prospector builds from the past on this mini-gallery page: http://mainebikeworks.com/tumbleweed
BLACK MOUNTAIN CYCLES LA CABRAs:
Like the Tumbleweeds above, MBW because of its focus on bikepacking and touring is one of the few shops in the country selling Black Mountain Cycles La Cabra (aka The Goat!) framesets. Availbility is really good right now at BMC HQ. While they have them, it is easy to recommend La Cabras the base of any awesome custom bikepacking build. Drop bar or alt-bar. Your choice. A tad less expensive to build up than a Stargazer so plan on circa $3,500+ depending on the size of your dreams. BTW, the latest colorway is Peanut Butter which we can confirm is the exact color of the last jar of Teddie peanut butter (chunky) we had in the shop to compare it to.
FYI, at the time of this posting we don't have one in the shop to show you in person, but they usually ship out from BMC HQ to us the day after we ask for one.
Check out this mini gallery of some of our favorite builds:
http://mainebikeworks.com/blackmountain
SOMA WOLVERINEs AND OTHER SOMA FRAMES
Soma Wolverines have been super popular for us for ages now and build up to be awesome gravel and adventure bikes. They make them in two styles, both essentially ride the same. Type A's are currently Blue and run a traditional chain and deraillier drivetrain with thru-axle'd wheels and Type B's are currently Green and can run quick released wheels with a traditional drivetrain OR a Rohloff internal geared hub and Gates Carbon Drive Belt combo. If you don't ever plan to run a Rohloff hub on yours (something which adds about $2,500 onto the price of the build, just get whatever one has the color you like the most. If you might someday (or even on day one) want to run a Rohloff and belt, get the type B to give you some future proofing. If you don't know what any of this means, get in touch and we'll tell you the pro's and con's of each. Plan on circa $3,400 for a Wolverine build with traditional chain and derailleur drivetrain and circa $5k-$6,500-ish for a Rohloff'd adventure superbike build.
Check out the A-Type Wolvies and sizing availbility here:
https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/soma-frame-wolverine-a-type-pumpkin-orange-6507?search=wolverine#attr=1565
and
Check out the B-Types Wolvies and sizing availability here:
https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/soma-frame-wolverine-b-type-moss-green-4402?search=wolverine#attr=97
and
https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/soma-frame-wolverine-b-type-lunar-rock-gray-6912?search=wolverine#attr=1954
We also dig building up the following Soma beauties. All steel. All awesome.
SOMA JAWBONES (Type A's and B's)
SOMA DOUBLE CROSS
SOMA FOG CUTTER
JUICE (Belt Drive)
JUICE (non-Belt Drive)
RIFF (Belt Drive)
RIFF (non-Belt Drive)
Just keep in mind Soma sells their forks separately from their frames, so when you see prices for them online also look for the matching fork's price. Happy to walk you through the process and either do a complete frame-up build for you or simply sell you the frameset. Your call.
RIVENDELL BICYCLE WORKS FRAMES
You may or not know that that Rivendell makes great bikes that ride and look like no other, but sometimes choosing a specific Rivendell can be daunting as their bikes are so damn versatile that often two or three of their models will do what you want to do. we get that and we're here to hold your hand until you get up to speed. while you can always order your bike directly from our colleagues at Rivendell, we'd like to think that as your local dealer, we can bring a little something extra to the party and our builds. Get in touch and we can help you narrow down what model you should be looking at for your style of riding. BTW, for the first time in 3 years, Riv is actually getting stock so you shouldn’t have to wait 6-12 months for your next Riv, but they are still a smaller brand who’s orders don’t appear high on most factories priorities list so it’s best to think ahead. ** Update for 2025, Rivendell has recently had to pause their dealer program due to the high demand the article in the New Yorker has created, so for the rest of the year we (and Riv themselves) are telling prospective Riv customers to purchase their frames directly from Riv's website on the day they go on sale and have them sent to the shop for us to build. We love building and talking Rivs so if you have any questions along the way just get in touch and we'll let you know the little secrets which will increase your chances of snagging one as soon as the pre-sales are announced. **
Here’s a little inspiration on builds we’ve done for folks in the past - even if we haven’t updated the pics on that page in quite some time:
http://mainebikeworks.com/rivendell
No matter if you are thinking about a Joe Appaloosa, a Sam Hillborne, an A. Homer Hilsen, a Clem Smith Jr., an Atlantis, a Platypus, a Roadeo, a Roadini or some other steel creation from Riv HQ, we'd love to be the folks to walk you through the process and build up your dream bike.
OTSO FRAME-UP BUILDS
Because Otso's semi-custom complete bike package deals are such darn good value (you get to pick the drivetrain, wheels, tires, headsets, cranks and accent colors) and they then send us a bare frame and a box of all the parts to install on it, we don't really have to do all the leg work usually required for full-custom frame up build on these (ie where you and I choose all the parts for the bike item by item from all brands not just the parts that Otso puts in their various build packages), but we can for those who want to choose every nut and bolt on the bike with us. So many great way to build these titanium and stainless steel bikes up. We try to have an example of a ti Warakin gravelbike built up for folks to check out in the shop as well as it's widertired sibling the Fenrir which is a killer monster gravel/bikepacking bike that accepts tires anywhere from 700x45 up to 29x2.5. Call first to make sure we have one hanging on our wall and come check them out in person. Stunning bikes for the money.
The custom frame builds above have been super popular and now have pretty darn good availability and form the basis of most of our custom builds we do here in the shop, however we do work with other companies so if you have another brand in mind that we didn’t list above, let us know and we'll let you know how long it will take to get you on your dream Co-Motion (want a Pinion or Rohloffed touring bike or tandem and can wait about 9 months for one to be brazed specifically for you then let’s talk Co-Mo), Crust, Velo Orange, Bombtrack, Ritchey or Moots to name just a few. A full list of 91 brands can be found on http://mainebikeworks.com/bikebrands
PRODUCTION FATBIKES (we can also do frame-up builds for many of the below for quite a bit more $. We can also build you a 2nd set of 'skinny' 29x2.8" tired wheels so you can enjoy riding your fatbike year round, ask for a quote to see how much a 2nd plug and play wheelset would be for the model you end up choosing, starts around $1k for wheels, rubber, cassette and rotors etc...)
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OTSO ARCTODUS (your choice of titanium or steel frames, carbon forks)
SALSA VOYTEK (full carbon)
SALSA BEARGREASE (full carbon)
SALSA HEYDAY (full carbon or carbon fork and aluminum frame)
SURLY ICE CREAM TRUCK (steel frame and fork)
SURLY WEDNESDAY (steel frame and fork)
KONA WOO (carbon fork, aluminum frame)
KONA WO (aluminum frame and fork)
PANORAMA CHIC-CHOCS 3 (carbon frame and fork)
PANORAMA CHIC-CHOCS 1 (carbon frame and fork)
PANORAMA TORNGAT Ti (titanium with carbon fork) <-- a really interesting bike that can be built up with two different crank widths to allow you to be riding a full blown 4.5" tired fat bike one day and the "narrow" cranked mtb with 2.5"-3.0" the next. Super cool design
If you've read this far and still have two wheeled adventuring dreams, we'd encourage you to reach out to us by email or call in to let us ask you a few questions about the type of riding you plan to do, your sizing needs and your budget. Knowing that info, we can quickly let you know if we have what will suit you best in stock and a rough idea of how much you'll need to ask for from the Home Finance Committee to bring your N+1 to life.
Check out our general build gallery on: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/mainebikeworkshasthebestcustomers/ for some virtual inspiration.
Lots of great bike options out there right now and we’d love to be the ones you trust to help bring them to life.
More info about us the nerdy stuff we dig doing can be found on our website: www.mainebikeworks.com