PORTLAND, Ore. - A new advertisement wrapped on the side of a MAX train and posted inside on the ceiling is raising a bit of a fuss because it touches on a sensitive topic around here - bicyclists.

The ad poses the question - "should bicyclists pay a road tax?"  It was put up by a local company, Webtrends, which says it wanted to launch a conversation.

• See the entire ad (PDF)
  
• Read more about it on Webtrends' Web site

But some bike advocates say it's just a misguided public relations stunt perpetuating the idea that bikes somehow don't belong.

Webtrends, a Portland-based company, wants people to Tweet, post on Facebook, blog about it or send them an e-mail with their opinion.  Then, in the fall, the company will switch the ad and post the results.

Webtrends admits this is all for PR but bike advocates feel it's a bit inflammatory to cash in on any discord between cyclists and drivers.

"The intention is really to see what the discussion turns out to be," said Jascha Kaykas-Wolff with Webtrends.  "We completely expect there to be fervent views on both sides of the fence, as well as questions about our involvement in it and we want to be able to report that all back truthfully."

"I don't think they did this maliciously," said Jonathan Maus with BikePortland.org.  "I don't think the company knew they were stepping into something that was a sensitive topic but I also think it's up to the community to let them know that it's maybe not a good idea to perpetuate this sort of thing, especially in Portland where there are a lot of bikes on the road."

We asked TriMet why they allowed the ad and they said they cannot discriminate with advertising because they have been sued in the past.

The ad has been up since Wednesday evening and no one we talked with on Thursday had even seen it.  But we know you've got an opinion.  So please share your thoughts below.