Bruce Gordon

SOPWAMTOS Benevolent Co-Dictator for Life

Co-founder Bruce Gordon is no stranger to the bike business, throwing conventional wisdom out the window and being controversial enough to have a wikipedia entry to his credit. While the quality of his touring bikes (namely the Rock N’ Road) and beauty of his show bikes (see awards below) are industry standards, his quirky personality and extreme attention to detail have led him to be known publicly as ‘grouchy’ or ‘difficult’.  At SOPWAMTOS, we like to call it ‘conviction’ and ‘experience’. When Bruce builds a touring bike or racks, the intent is for the bike to be ridden hard and loaded, for as long as the bike can be ridden.  With numerous Bruce Gordon owners clocking over 100k miles on their touring bikes without frame or rack failure, that’s a testament to their design and build.

Skilled bike builders/designers like Bruce are a rare breed. Building bikes and cool custom parts is Bruce’s greatest gift (besides being half the collective brain that spawned SOPWAMTOS), and if we have our way, that’s what we will task him to do – build more cool bikes.

Awards and Noteworthy Accomplishments:

• Best Neo Classical Bike  -  Velo Rendezvous, Pasadena 2004
• Best Road/Touring Bike  -  Tokyo Handbuilt Bicycle Fair 2005
• Peoples Choice Award & Best USA Award  -  Le Cirque du Cyclisme Greensboro, NC 2005
• Best Lugs Award  -  Velo Rendezvous,  Pasadena 2005
• Best of Show Award  -  North American Handmade Bicycle Show San Jose 2007
• Best Lugs & Best Road Frame  -  North American Handmade Bicycle Show  Portland Oregon  2008
• Part of show – New West Coast Design Contemporary Objects  – The San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design  2008

Education, Training and Other Fun Facts

• Born Chicago 6/14/48
• Graduated High School  -  New Trier – 1966  (same high school as Donald Rumsfeld,  Charlton Heston, and Ann Margret)
• BA Fine Arts – Photography  – Ohio University, Athens Ohio 1970
• Graduate School – Art Institute of Chicago finished 1/4 of a 2 year Masters Program
• Moved to California 1971
• Managed a bike shop in north Oakland
• Took a frame building course from Albert Eisentraut April 1974
• Bought 1/3 stake of Eisentraut Bicycles Inc. – became Vice President
• Left Eisentraut Bicycles – January 1976
• Moved to Eugene Oregon June 1976 to start Bruce Gordon Cycles
• Lived in Eugene for 12 years – Moved to Petaluma December 1988