PSA: Thomson 26.8 Masterpiece Clearance

[Johnny Alien]

So we all know that 26.8 is not all that common these days and there are few options on the market. Nitto, Thomson, Kalloy, and generally whatever Velo Orange is offering. Thomson is discontinuing the diameter in their masterpiece line and you can currently buy the remaining stock from them for $109 with free shipping. I think thats 60% off and cheaper than the Elite line. Just a heads up if anyone is looking. Looks like they have some straight and setback left but you can only get black with the setback. They are keeping the diameter in the Elite line.

[Josh (BertoBerg)]

This is a good heads up! I think they’ve been trying to offload the 26.8 at this price for a few  years now so they must have (or had) a decent inventory. I bought one at this price in 2020. Looks like the secret is out now. :)

Josh

[Johnny Alien]

Haha! I had no idea it had been going on for so long. My guess is less "extensive stock" and more "limited buyers". There are probably not a lot of people that want both the lightest of aluminum seatposts AND also need that diameter. But I think if people knew that they were cheaper than the elite than they would sell faster.

[Nick Payne]

I was a bit pissed off when I found on delivery that the latest Rivendell frame I bought took a 26.8 seatpost. The three previous Riv frames I have all use 27.2. And in fact, this latest frame wasn't even accurately sized for 26.8 - the Kalloy seatpost that came with it, and which was a true 26.8 by my vernier calipers, was a slightly loose fit in the seat tube. So I reamed the seat tube to 27.0 and used a 27.0 Nitto S83.

Nick Payne

[Piaw Na]

Ha! It's not just me then! I had to crank down on the seatpost clamp to keep things from slipping. The masterpiece seatpost doesn't slip as readily as the kalloy though

[Jack Newcomb]

I had the same issue as you Nick and felt the same frustration. I wasn't sure if the seatpost was the problem, so I picked up a Thomson (elite) to be sure, and it had the same issue. I eventually ended up snapping the binder bolt because the seatpost was slipping too much, but the slightly longer bolt seems to be doing the job of holding my extremely average body weight.

Reaming has crossed my mind and I know riv uses thicker walled tubing than most, but I still wanted to avoid it. How has it been holding up for you? Do you think 27.2 is possible? I would've much rather had that size from the get-go, I didn't realize how rare 26.8 is becoming.

On Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 1:15:36 AM UTC-7 Nick Payne wrote:

[Garth]

Reaming a 28.6 OD seat tube for a 27.2 ID seatpost is no big deal. 27.2 is by far the most common and frequent seatpost size for all 28.6 OD steel frames and been that way since I can remember, at least the early 80's. It's not going to compromise anything or put the rider or the frame in any danger. My '83 Stumpjumper took a 26.0 post, talk about overkill, as it was a straight gauge tubing tank of a frame.

If I bought a frame from Rive that wasn't to spec the first thing I'd do is call them. It's neither normal or acceptable. These things are supposed to be taken care of at the time of the frame build, but it's also Riv's responsibility to see that the shop is doing their job as contracted. Since Riv is point of contact with the buyer, it's up to them to make it right. That every frame is not checked is unbelievable, especially considering the cost of the frames. Even most local bike shops will do that as part of basic complimentary frame prep on new frames sold if requested.  I had a BB issue with my custom Franklin in 1999 for which the builder offered to send me his BB threading tool since I didn't have one. While I opted to take it to a shop in Pittsburgh that I could do it myself at, I surely appreciated the gesture. 

Kalloy posts are really cheap. They don't use very beefy bolts either. They could make the radius style post Riv often includes to be a whole lot more slip resistant if the top of the post upon which the clamp sanwich rests was bead blasted rather than slick. I have two vintage single bolt Campy seatposts from the 80's. The Nuovo Record(NR) has the top of the post bead blasted, the Super Record(SR) is polished. Guess which one slips, and which one doesn't. NR for the win !  There's supposedly friction pastes around for carbon fiber, but I don't know if they're applicable to aluminum or not. If they are, I'd surely try some under the clamp sandwich, on the top part of the post upon which it rests. Then it can't rotate so easy.

[Jack Newcomb]

Thanks for the insight Garth! You're totally correct of course, Riv should be checking this stuff. I've already talked to them about another quality issue I had with the frame, and they took care of me with that, so I didn't want to keep complaining, but I should let them know. I'll take some measurements and figure out how oversize it is first. I've been a fan/supporter of Riv for a very long time and to have these issues on my first frame has been a bummer for sure, but I'm confident they can be fixed.

[Nick Payne]

On Sunday, 13 August 2023 at 2:58:09 am UTC+10 jonathan....@gmail.com wrote:

Reaming has crossed my mind and I know riv uses thicker walled tubing than most, but I still wanted to avoid it. How has it been holding up for you? Do you think 27.2 is possible? I would've much rather had that size from the get-go, I didn't realize how rare 26.8 is becoming.

Provided that brazing the seat tube into the lug hasn't distorted the seat tube significantly out of round, it shouldn't be a problem. I've certainly had no problem with the frame that I reamed to 27.0. 27.2mm became the defacto standard as it was the seatpost size used on most frames built with Reynolds 531C.

Nick Payne

[Joe Bunik]

If anyone is sitting (metaphorically!) on a 26.8 setback Thomson,
preferably silver - please DM me offlist - passively seeking same!

=- Joe Bunik
Walnut Creek, CA

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[Johnny Alien]

They have them on the Thomson site for the same clearance price as the straight one. $109

[greenteadrinkers]

Just ordered the 26.8 set back in silver my Sam, thanks for the tip!

Scott

[J Imler]

After years of ownership and the dreaded slip of the Riv issued post, I put a thin coat of grease on top of the post, then sprinkled a fine sand over it. When I clamped the saddle on, I heard a most satisfying crunch, crunch, crunch from all the little contact points. This was after I used a smallish file to mimic what Garth mentioned as bead blasted at all applicable areas, which was moderately helpful at best. I agree that the slick surface was not going to hold so I took matters into my own hands. Fingers crossed but feeling confident. Attached are pics for comparison.

[greenteadrinkers]

So, 26.8 is what you want for a Sam? 

Thanks,

Scott

[Johnny Alien]

I think the lugged bikes (like the Sam) use 27.2 and the tigged stuff has is 26.8

[Johnny Alien]

Man thats some terrible typing right there. I wish I could edit here. But I guess its mostly makes sense.

[Jay Lonner]

I can tell you that the Hunqapillar and Cheviot (both lugged models) use 26.8, at least in the batches represented in my household. 

Jay Lonner

Bellingham, WA

Sent from my Atari 400

On Aug 23, 2023, at 2:19 PM, Johnny Alien <johnny....@gmail.com> wrote:

I think the lugged bikes (like the Sam) use 27.2 and the tigged stuff has is 26.8

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[maxcr]

My Sam Hillborne took a 26.8 seat post.

Max

[Lance Terry]

Universal Cyclist has had 26.8s in silver on sale for $114 for quite some time. 

[Johnny Alien]

Wow! When did the Sam move to 26.8?