My love affair with Chrome Industries: all things must pass

When I worked at Citybikes, our shop was a Chrome Industries dealer. We sold their bags and a few accessories. Their rep wanted us to sell their shoes and apparel too, but we didn’t have enough floor space or a changing room to make that possible. During the time we were a Chrome dealer, we sold a lot of their messenger bags and backpacks. Meanwhile, I also bought some early models of Chrome shoes with my dealer discount, and have worn almost no other she in the last fifteen years. 

They were not cheap. A medium-sized backpack retailed for over $100 in 2008. The bags were made in the US, and they were durable: Cordura outer, truck tarp liner, lots of double stitching and metal buckles made them tough, and spare parts made them repairable. During my time at Citybikes, I sprang for a Chrome backpack for myself and I still have it almost twenty years later. I have traveled extensively with it and sometimes use it in town for errands.

I’ve had to replace the sternum buckles but otherwise the bag has held up beautifully.

It’s the right size for notebooks, a laptop in padded sleeve, rain gear and a sizeable sack lunch, plus a change of clothes.

On my recent trip to visit Sweetie’s mom, it was big enough to carry all my medications, my iPad, a water bottle and my CPAP machine easily.

It wears a bunch of patches from my travels and is comfortable on or off the bike.

Sadly, this backpack is no longer made.

Chrome was founded in 1994, expanded from their headquarters in Colorado and eventually moved to San Francisco. As their brand grew more popular, Chrome began transitioning from a messenger-forward company to a lifestyle company right after being bought by the Fuerst Group (which own the shoe/apparel brand Keen) in the late 2000s. The transition was slow and incremental at first, but when the two original founders of Chrome sold their company, they started another company called Mission Workshop, whose bags are even more costly than Chrome’s. Chrome moved to Portland, where it continues to be based today. However, many of Chrome’s products are no longer made in the US, and quality control on items made overseas has been less consistent.

Today, Chrome Industries remains based in Portland. There is a very small retail location around the corner from the Portland Keen store, and it mostly exists to promote new products and close out a handful of discontinued items. This summer, I went to the little retail shop to ask about shoes on sale, and learned that Chrome would be discontinuing shoes altogether after this year. I was sorry to hear that, though not surprised. When you own both Chrome and Keen, there’s little re@son to have both companies putting out shoes, especially when Keen’s shoes are far more popular. I made it a point to look for used Chrome shoes in my size wherever I could find them.

I’ve also gathered a few other older Chrome bags that I find regularly useful.

This is a Sotnik bag, essentially a suitcase, that I use for extended trips of a week or more. I bought it back in 2018 when Velo Cult was closing its doors and had a bunch of used gear to blow out. The Sotnik holds up to two weeks of clothing (if packed carefully and tightly), or a week-plus if I bring a second pair of shoes. I use a webbed nylon belt to keep it securely closed when I check it on the airlines. It’s been bomb-proof and has been with me through four cross-country music tours.

This particular bag was a special limited edition made for Blue Lug bike shop in Japan, and features blue thread and a commemorative logo screened on bottom. I have worried about losing it only a couple of times when I got to the baggage claim later than planned, but so far I’ve been lucky. Now that I don’t travel as frequently, I’m probably less likely to lose this bag to theft, but the “cool” factor is still there.

This is an original Warsaw backpack, designed for bike messengers who have to carry big loads and also great for racers who ride to their races with all their gear. I recently acquired this one for an insanely low price because of use and needed repairs. It retailed for $200-plus new, but I paid twenty bucks for this one. I obtained replacement buckles from Chrome and did the repairs myself at home with heavy-duty thread. The Velcro is a bit worn out, but the big buckle on front should be enough to keep the bag closed in transit. I also covered the worn area at the bottom of the back padding with gaffer tape and super-glue, which should serve well for a long time.

The Warsaw came in two sizes for awhile, a 55L size for messengers and a smaller 35 L size for commuters. Today, only the smaller Warsaw remains available online, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it fade away very soon.

 “Ivan” backpack. This was the largest of three sizes of roll-top backpacks that Chrome offered during my time at Citybikes. It was the forerunner of the Warsaw, designed for messenger use with a narrower bottom to reduce snagging in traffic. Chrome continued to offer this bag for several years after introducing the Warsaw, but eventually it went away.

I toured with this backpack for weekend gigs and also used it during Cyclocross season. Since switching to the Sotnik, I’ve seldom used the Ivan and at some point I’ll want to decide between it and the Warsaw as I downsize. It’s pocket organization doesn’t serve my needs as well as the Warsaw does

To be honest, at some point I may get rid of both of my big backpacks, simply because as I get older it gets harder and less fun to carry big loads on my back.

Along with these, I did own a single-strap messenger bag for awhile while I worked in the bike shop, but it never felt as comfortable and when it got stolen at a restaurant I replaced it with a backpack. I haven’t looked back. Neither, it seems, have many former messenger bag owners. The truth is that bike messengers are an endangered species and soon to be completely extinct, thanks to the Internet and the ubiquitous nature of smartphones. I still see some Chrome messenger bags in use but by and large the backpack has taken over.

In addition to their bags, Chrome Industries has made some great shoes for use on and off the bike. I’ve owned their Kursk model in several colors since it came out. The original version fit my feet more comfortably than the redesign of a few years ago, and I continue to look for used pairs in my size online. I’ve also had a couple pairs of the Dresden that worked well as dress shoes, and the Truk in several colors as a nice change off from the Kursk. With Chrome discontinuing their entire shoe line, I’ll be beating the bushes for a few more pairs to see me out.

Over the years, Chrome has also made some decent smaller accessories, including wallets (Sweetie loves hers and I’ve got one in reserve for when her current one wears out) and cell-phone pouches (I’ve got two original waterproof pouches that I’ll hang onto because my flip-phone fits in them). But I sense that Chrome, having made the full transition to a “lifestyle” brand, is going to shrink down to bags only and eventually may go the way of the dodo — or the way of the original Timbuk2 bags from the 90s.

2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge #5: New Seasons Market

I saw a new doctor last week to discuss my ongoing adventures with Long Covid.

During our nearly hourlong chat, she explained to me that, due to new information and a much larger patient sample, Long Covid is gradually being ushered to a space beneath the larger umbrella of CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). The two conditions share many symptoms and with a larger patient pool, it’s hoped that more attention will finally be paid by the medical establishment, which has been slow to take CFS patients seriously because they’ve mostly been middle-aged women whose cases are difficult and expensive to deal with.

What unfolded during our discussion was the fact that Long Covid and CFS are long term conditions with no cure and no meaningful treatment. Symptoms can sometimes be alleviated with physical therapy and careful pacing of energy expenditures. Sometimes, energy that I expend on one day will make me fatigued right away. Other times, the fatigue will bite me on the ass a day or two later. I can’t know which in advance, nor how long the fatigue will last.

It also means that I can’t predict when I will have enough energy to support the things I want to do on any given day.

How does this relate to my cycling? 

It means that while there’s a schedule for things out in the world, my energy won’t always align with that schedule conveniently. So while the rules of the Coffeeneuring Challenge state that I’m not supposed to shift around the two days a week on which I take my Coffeeneuring rides, the reality is that there’s sometimes no other way to handle it.

So while the rain subsided and the sun came out today, I took a ride. If the Coffeeneuring panel decides that’s a violation of the rules, that’s okay. I can live with it.

Today I rode to Safeway to pick up a prescription, then to New Seasons for a few other items. They also had a thermos and tiny sample cups offering a new coffee roast, so I helped myself to a tiny cup. Delicious, not too dark, and just enough. The sun felt lovely warming my back, even with the temp in the low 50s. The leaves that haven’t yet fallen from the weekend’s storms were gleaming reds and golds, and showed up beautifully against the blue sky and swirling clouds. 

The ride there and back was just enough. I could already feel my brain going fuzzy half an hour after I got home.

It’s not always like this. But these days, I can’t predict how my body will respond to the demands I place on it, especially if I’ve already done stuff around the house before I take a walk or a bike ride.

So while I continue to sort out how to live with this thing — call it Long Covid or CFS or whatever — I’ll be learning how to listen to my body more closely, and to adjust my activities accordingly rather than trying to push through.

And now, a nap.

Total: around 4 miles.

2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge #4: Errandonee Outside

I would have ridden yesterday, but my knee was hurting with the dampness in the air.

Since I’m retired, I decided to let it go.

Then this morning, Sweetie asked me to run a bunch of errands, and the day was drier and I felt like riding. So off I went, bringing along a cup of homemade coffee and an empty saddlebag that would be filled with library books.

I rode to Fremont, and down to NE Vancouver, where I stopped at the credit union. Then I rode over to the  newly renovated Albina Branch of the Multnomah Country Library to collect a couple of books that were being held. My goodness, what a beautiful renovation and expansion the building has had!

(Photo from Multnomah County Library)

The dark wood paneling was gone, replaced with sheetrocked and painted walls and huge windows to let in more natural light.

The building originally housed the Title Wave, the 

Library’s used book store. But the store hadn’t turned a profit in awhile and the County decided to expand the space for a renovated branch. The new building is more than twice the size of the old one, and has two floors and a tons of desks and tables, plus four community rooms that can be rented for events.

Plus, new bike racks out front with more capacity made it much easier for me to find a place to lock up.

While I checked out the two books on hold, the helpful clerk advised me that Sweetie had a third book on hold at the North Portland Branch, which would be not quite two miles away by bicycle on surface streets. So I decided to head over there and pick up that book as well. This branch had been remodeled too, and reopened just recently. Bike parking remains limited because there’s a bus stop right in front of the historic building, but at least they did add a couple of staple racks. I collected my book and headed back into Northeast Portland.

I enjoyed my coffee on the go, sipping periodically until my thermal cup was empty.

I promised to offer a sketch or two during this Challenge, and here’s my first, a sketch of my saddlebag. I’ve loved and used Carradice bags for almost thirty years now, ever since I first learned about them from the Rivendell catalog back in 1996 and saved up for one from them.

I cooled down from my ride sketching this before I put my bike away.

Total distance: around five miles total.

2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge #3: Woodlawn Coffee and Pastry

After a lovely week visiting my mother-in-love, where I walked everywhere I could and admired the green, windswept beauty, it was nice to be home again. I had considered going to Coffee Outside today, but I was so lagged from our trip that I slept in and opted for a mellower, shorter ride.

I made my way to Woodlawn Park and enjoyed the antics of dogs and their humans chasing balls and barking under trees that had yet to drop their leaves; a dry late summer meant that the process of tree-change would be slower. The sun was bright and warmed my back as I continued on.

I took the scenic route around the back of the park and the elementary school so I could get in the minimum mileage, then arrived at Woodlawn Coffee. 

I ordered a cup of coffee and a fresh chocolate chip cookie, which I enjoyed at one of the outside tables. A bike friend rode up as I was finishing, on a beautiful Gunnar cross bike in a metallic minty green. We chatted a bit, and when he went inside I got up and threaded my way home along quiet residential streets. Squirrels scurried up trees to get out of the way as I passed. The breeze picked up a little and blew some fallen leaves across a sunlit street.

When I got home, there was a small gathering of starlings on the part of the lawn still in sunlight looking for scattered seeds from the feeder. At the sound of my tires on the gravel driveway, they flew up, startled, and flew away.

Total distance: 2.5 miles.

2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge #2: Sushi Ohana

Today, I went multi-modal (riding and using public transit) sushi-neurring, to a favorite place in the Lloyd District called Sushi Ohana. The fall weather had arrived with cooler temperatures and a little rain, and I wanted a bowl of Miso soup. Knowing that a hot beverage would be required, I also got some green tea.

Sushi Ohana is a favorite because the food is always fresh and delicious, and because it’s among the more affordable sushi places in town.

The Miso soup was just what I needed, tasty and not too salty with chunks of tofu and seaweed floating in it. It warmed my tummy along with the cup of green tea and I was happy to have thought of this as a good stop for the Challenge. 

Refreshed, I paid my bill and rode to the MAX station, then hopped on the light rail train and got off at Rosa Parks and rode home, enjoying a bit of scenery as I passed Peninsula Park and the last of the roses in bloom. Crows flew and cawed overhead and some kids played kickball at one of the Little League diamonds.

At home, I put up my bike and put up my feet. Yum.

Total: about five miles RT.

2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge #1: KISS Coffee

Because I won’t have access to a bicycle on Sunday, I opted for the Early Bird option and began my challenge today.

I enjoyed a drizzly ride to KISS Coffee, on NE Ainsworth near 30th. I took the leafy route along what has become known as the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum, a beautiful tree-lined route that runs on Ainsworth from just east of MLK to NE 33rd. I was greeted by trees whose leaves have only just begun to fall, the result of a relatively dry August and September, and it was raining lightly.

As I approached the cafe, I was greeted by the singsong of children singing, “I love the sound of the rain!” — a fitting sentiment for a city which sees 40” of rain over a six-month period. 

At the cafe, I locked up, placed my order and stepped inside to find a seat. While I waited for hot cocoa and a cheese melt sandwich, I enjoyed thumbing through a very funny book called The Darkside Zodiac, a funny, satirical book that explores the dark side of astrological signs. I’ll have to find a copy for myself.

No fresh photos this year, as I don’t have a portable camera or smartphone. I’ll insert stock photos where possible, and later reports may have sketches I photograph after the ride.

It was NOT bright and sunny when I visited this morning.

The ride there and back was lovely and leisurely, and ran a total of about three miles round trip. (No bike computer or GPS either, so you’ll have to take it on faith.)

Happy Coffeeneuring!

The used bike market is tanking, at least in Portland

Not that I need much in the way of bikes and accessories these days, but I was curious to see what's out there, so I looked at the online want ads on FB marketplace and Craigslist.

The bottom appears to be falling out of a lot of used bike pricing right now.

Lugged steel bikes from the 1970s going for less than $50. Steel mountain bikes from the 1980s going for less than $100. Parts and accessories being almost given away because no one's buying right now.

Sure, there are a few vintage bikes that someone has lovingly overhauled and rebuilt going for prices that used to be standard before 2020. The difference is that almost no one is actually selling those bikes easily now.

What happened?

Well, I think a few things:

-- The economy has tanked since Covid and hasn't really recovered for most ordinary folks. 

-- Jobs are harder to find, and wages have stagnated more profoundly than ever. 

-- Trump's tariffs have caused a lot of pain in many industries.

-- People simply aren't shopping as much right now. 

It has gotten bad enough that I have started giving some things away because I can't find buyers for them and don't want them taking up soace in my little house anymore. So I'm giving them away as gifts to friends and turning them loose in "free" boxes.

I stopped worrying about "losing" money long ago, ever since I realized I could no longer work and would have to make do on a fixed income. I got my use out of the things I've owned; now that I don't need them anymore I can pass them along to someone else and not lose sleep.

So if you're looking for a bargain on a functional used bike, there are many to choose from on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and elsewhere. 

As for me, I'll be satisfied with what I have and keep riding it.

 Cheers and happy riding.

 

Bike Happy Hour: Color me skeptical -- UPDATE at bottom

Hey, remember when a buncha protestors disrupted a BikePortland Happy Hour interview with the Mayor of Portland a month ago? And the Mayor was disgusted and left because the disruptors wouldn’t shut up and let the interview proceed?

Well, apparently BikePortland has decided “If you can’t beat ‘em, host ‘em” and tonight the anti-ICE protestors are returning to Bike Happy Hour to give a teach-in on How To Protest, or something like that.

I haven’t returned to Bike Happy Hour since that debacle with the Mayor. And I’m busy tonight — Yom Kippur starts at sunset — so I’ll be skipping this one, too. But honestly, even without a solemn holy day on my calendar I’d probably have skipped this anyway. Color me skeptical.

Happy riding.

UPDATE, 10/2/25: Here's a link to the story at BikePortland, including linkage to videos and some interesting comments. I'll let you be the judge as to how useful and productive this was, and for whom.