Paint Stop: Keith Anderson

The window for ordering a Tony Pereira / Ira Ryan Continental, part of the Rapha Bicycle Collection, will close at the end of June. This is the second run of these bikes and it's a great collaboration that brings together two Portland-based builders to make a bicycle that is a direct nod to their Rapha Continental riding style.

A Continental will typically do a fair amount of traveling even before it rolls up to its owner's doorstep. Its tubes will go back and forth between the shops of Ryan and Pereira to be expertly filed and prepared by two masters of their craft. When finished, the frames make the trip to the paint shop of Keith Anderson to receive their silky exteriors. Based in nearby Grants Pass, Oregon, Keith has been making his own frames and painting nearly everyone else's for almost two decades. Last month we stopped off for a visit on our way down to the Amgen Tour of California and Mr. Anderson graciously opened his doors.

To step into the world of Keith Anderson is to step into another world. After being greeted by a lung-crushing bear hug, his workshop – or work-shed – if you prefer, reveals a mixture of industry paraphernalia (he has worked at, or with, nearly everyone in the business) and the visual reminders of the three teenage boys that also live here. What is impressive is Keith's client-list that looks like a who's-who map of the United States' most prestigious frame builders – Rock Lobster, Brent Steeleman, and Chris Igleheart to name a few – it seems everyone is lining up to get the Anderson treatment. So it should come as no surprise that Pereira and Ryan (who have previously used Anderson separately for paint) would use their fellow Oregonian to put the finishing touches on their bicycle collaboration.

The Tony Pereira / Ira Ryan 'Continental' Bicycle is available to order until June 30th.

Follow Keith Anderson Cycle's bicycle painting exploits on his Flickr page »