New Very Tall Thompson Custom 650b "All Road"

[Christopher Grande]

Hi 650bers,

I've used this list for years to supply myself with an endless stream of pics from all of your various projects and endeavors without really having anything note worthy to give back. So I feel obligated to reciprocate and maybe give Thompson Custom Bicycles a bump in publicity.

It's a tall 67cm c-t-c frame, top tube 64cm and I think a 120mm custom stem. I realized that Rat Trap Passes are the better choice for turning over the Switchback Hills, but the majority of the riding I do is more appropriate for 42s. I figure if the 48s are really that annoying, I can just switch tires and deal with the extra clearances later. I don't like to spend a lot on the more disposable parts of the bike, so the drive train is 4700 Dura-Ace,8 speed. Cranks are 185mm TAs. I don't think they give me any advantages over the traditional 170-175mm I use, but the bigger circles do feel nice. Lighting is the connectorless wide-body Schimdt SONdelux hooked up to a Hahn Rossman light switch (located at the stem), Schmidt Edelux II and Compass tail light. Frame details include double oversized tubing, a Pacenti fork crown, Kaisei fork blades (I'm tall but pretty light), MAP stainless drop outs. Frame pump on non-drive rear triangle is a modified Lezyne. Corey did all the racks on the front too--the low riders are based off of Jan Heine's Mule bike. The stem clam bolts are still a long way from the top the GB 28 handlebar bag, but the decaleur still looks very graceful to me. I've always been a huge fan of Zunow frames from Japan for their bright paint jobs, but those bikes never get bigger than 62cm (if you're lucky) and I'm not riding 25mm tires much these days. So the bright pink color and 90's Dura-Ace are kinda a nod to them.

Rides better than any bike I've ridden, though admittedly it's probably the first, maybe second that actually fit... Feel free to ask questions. Corey Thompson is a very easy-going builder to work with and I can't recommend him enough. His work feels on par with MAP or JP Weigle, though I'm not the authority on professional frame builders by a long shot. You can check out more of his work on his blog here. I think the final bill was $5,200 something, though I had a few of the parts before the bike was built from ebay, bike swaps, shop deals, previous bikes, sales, etc...

-Christopher Grande
Olympia, WA

 

[rcnute]

RAD!

Ryan

[cyclotourist]

Love the color, and the integrated design is just fantastic! Front
brake hanger is the best part!!!

On Sat, Jul 9, 2016 at 8:16 PM, rcnute <rcn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> RAD!
>
> Ryan
>
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--
Cheers,
David

Member, Supreme Council of Cyberspace

"it isn't a contest. Just enjoy the ride." - Seth Vidal

[Jeffrey Kane]

Christopher,

Thanks for posting. That thing is a beauty! And what I love about this list -- and all things that would drive a person here to read about them -- is that this category of cycling just keeps revealing. In this case I've never heard of Corey Thompson (or if I did I wasn't paying attention), I had no idea that double OS was a even thing and I can't recall ever seeing Kaisei fork blades paired to a Pacenti crown before (in fact, I didn't think Kaisei blades fir anything BUT that GB crown everyone else uses). Corey's blog is well written and informative, too. 

(Zunow is also new to me --- now I'm beginning to think I've been living under a rock).

One question: are those Switchback Hills under fenders or 42's?

jsk

[Christopher Grande]

Thanks Jeff!

Those are Switchback Hills in the picture. Corey reprofiled VO Zeppelin fenders designed for 700 x 42 to cover the bigger tires.

Chris

[Jim Bronson]

That would fit me perfect!   Riding 68ST 64TT now, Rivendell converted 650Bx38 LoupLoup.  Want more clearance though for Switchback Hill just like in your pic.

Someday....

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[Kieran J]

Awesome!! What a beauty. 

Props on the colour, and the stem and racks are really slick.

I'm having a comparatively more utilitarian bike made in very similar dimensions - albeit in 700c. So cool to see the other jumbo customs that are out there! Thx for sharing.

KJ

On Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 10:49:18 PM UTC-4, Christopher Grande wrote:

[John Hartmann]

So Good. 

I'm been following the progress of this bike on Corey's Instagram feed for awhile now because it's beautiful and Mr. Thompson does perfect work, but also with special interest because I was having something very similar built simultaneously by Norther Cycles (altho "only" 64cm). Very impressed with the final result, it's a stunner. 

One of the very few doubts I have about mine was if I should have spec'ed room for 48's instead of 42's. 

Funny how it's the tinniest details that resonate sometimes; the recessed bolt heads on the low-riders show such an attention to detail. 

Perfect.   

[David Cummings]

As a child of the 80's, I think 7400-generation DA is some of the sexiest kit around. I built up a triathlon bike recently with the same group. Beautiful bike and looks very well executed.

Have you had it up to speed on any descents? Wondering if shimmy is an issue with such a tall frame. What headset are you using?

David

[Christopher Grande]

I wanna say it's a Miche, but I could be wrong. (Corey?) Either way, it's an 1 1/8 threadless roller bearing headset. It's a tad wobbly when going no handed too fast or too slow, but pretty manageable otherwise. Haven't done any crazy descents--working too much since I got it.

[David Cummings]

Quit working so much and go on some crazy descents! ;)

[Ryan Ray]

Bikegasm.

- Ryan

P.S. I'm 6-6 200 and will take this off your hands when you sell it.