The Biggest Machine Shop in Custom Bikes Has Been Saved from the Brink

Paragon Machine Works has been saved from the brink by Firsthand Framebuilding, which purchased the beleaguered machine shop that has played a massive hand in building the bespoke bike genre. The company is one of the largest machine shops in the cycling world, with its fingerprints spread far and wide across the custom bike building world.

One of the biggest, poorly kept secrets in the niche-within-a-niche world of bespoke bike building is how almost every custom bike has a Paragon component or two in the mix to make the bikes come to life. They are the utmost authority in a work that relies on intensive knowledge and precise work.

So, when it was announced in March of this year that they were shutting down all operations, the panic dial for the custom bike world was quickly flipped to Defcon 3. Without a buyer, Paragon would leave a massive vacuum in the custom bike world.

With the acquisition, Firsthand Framebuilding, a custom bike building supply and education company based in Portland, will take on 100% of Paragon’s design and property, Paragon brand name, and trademark assets, as well as all of the associated tooling required to manufacture Paragon’s vast catalog of supplies.

“We’re proud of the legacy we’ve created at Paragon Machine Works,” the Norstad family, the existing owners of Paragon Machine Works, said of the sale in a statement. “Transitions are never easy, but working with Firsthand to secure Paragon’s future has been a dream come true.

“To see the product line not only carried on, but by a company that is truly investing in the future of framebuilding is more than we could have hoped for. We’re thankful for our customers’ support during the last 43 years, and we’re delighted that the Paragon product line will live on.”

Why is Firsthand Framebuilding taking over a distressed Paragon Machine Works?

Nevertheless, even if the sale does save the exalted legacy of Paragon, it is no secret that Paragon as a fully-fledged business is a distressed asset. Even if its components are on the vast majority of custom bikes, that has been a tough business model to maintain as the bike industry writ large battles headwinds.

When Paragon announced it was shutting down its operations, declining sales and rising costs were stated as the primary reasons why the celebrated machine shop had to shut its doors.

But the new owners still see value in the brand.

“If the Norstads can’t make this business work as-is, then I definitely can’t,” Chris Blandford, the owner of Firsthand, said. “What we’ve bought here isn’t an operating business we hope to fix or replicate; it’s a legacy of frame-building knowledge and design that needed the right steward.

“That said, I’m extremely optimistic that, with the right approach, manufacturing high-quality, affordable framebuilding bits domestically is still very doable — and important — in 2026. Paragon’s closure was a gut-check for all of us. With Paragon’s IP in hand, I’m excited to see what the Firsthand team and I can do to bring a fresh perspective to framebuilding component supply in the future.”

Undoubtedly, Paragon under the stewardship of Firsthand will shift away from the previous business model. Firsthand has already pledged to start producing a certain portion of Paragon’s existing catalog. However, it is notable that the brand — based in Oregon, far from Paragon’s Richmond, California, headquarters — is not going to be a like-for-like replacement of Paragon’s full capacity.

Instead, Firsthand will work to add production of key components, build out local infrastructure to produce more product in a different capacity in the future, and continue to grow its frame building education program with Paragon’s reputation and IP at the forefront.