Custom Hampsten / Independent Fabrication rando bike for sale

[Blindrobert]

I had this bike custom built and simply haven't ridden it. It has less
than 50 miles on it. Here are the details:

Custom Strada Bianca road bike designed by Hampsten Cycles (Andy
Hampsten was the first American to win the Giro, as many of you
probably know.) and built by Independent Fabrication. Designed for
randonneuring - fast paced, comfortable, long distance riding. Great
for club rides or exploring or just riding around - this bike does it
all.

The details:

Steel tubing mix of True Temper and Reynolds 853

Seat tube: 61.5cm (center to center), 63.0cm (center to top)
Top tube: 58.5cm (center to center)
Chain stays: 42.5cm
Rear spacing 130mm (road bike standard)
30mm headtube extension for a more comfortable, upright riding
position
Custom steel fork with threadless steel steer tube (tube has been left
long so you can adjust it down to fit you)

Fully built with premium components including:
Ritchey WCS bar and Thomson stem
Chris King pewter color threadless headset
Thomson Elite seat post
Black Brooks Team Pro saddle with hammered copper rivets
Dura ace brake/shift levers (10 speed)
10 speed rear cassette (I think it's a SRAM)
Shimano compact double front crank with oversize outboard bearing
bottom bracket
Dura Ace 10 speed rear derailleur
FSA front derailleur (more reliable than Shimano for the compact
crank)
Phil Wood front and rear hubs (rear takes shimano compatible
cassettes), 36 spokes laced 3-cross to Mavic Open Sport rims (I know -
you are thinking Open Pro's are better, but the Open Sport is a little
bit wider which allows you to ride a fatter, more comfortable, tire.
Honjo polished stainless fenders attached with Sheldon's fender nuts
for easy removal on fast, dry days.
Tektro long reach brakes go around the fenders and also allow for
fatter tires!
Brand new Rivendell Ruffy-Tuffy 28mm tires fit under the fenders with
tons of clearance
Black Velox bar plugs
Black cork bar tape tied off with black hemp twine
Cateye Mity8 computer, tells you all the important stuff
No pedals
2 silver Ciussi stainless steel bottle cages

This is a first-rate bicycle in every respect. I simply have too many
and my house is small. This bike is perfect for fast paced club rides
or long distance rides, it will excel on pavement, cinder tracks, bike
paths, rail-to-trails, or simply riding around town or campus. There
are braze on's for fenders and two water bottles. The intention was to
use a classic randonneuring saddle bag like the Carradice Nelson with
a bagman support. I was going for a classic fit so the size is a
little large and was intended to show just a fistfull of seatpost
(think Rivendell meets Indy Fab). Bike is in amazing condition showing
little to no wear, it should last a lifetime. It will fit 28mm tires
with the fenders and 32 or 35mm tires without fenders. This is a great
bike and I'd like to find it a good home.

Charcoal metallic with cream filled windows on the lugged fork. Frame
is TIG welded in the ultra-clean IF style.

Offered at $3000, I have over $5K into this bike - the price is a
steal, but reasonable offers will be politely considered: I promise
not to be offended if you promise not to get upset if I decline.
Recent pictures can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blindrobert/sets/72157629896234412/

Thanks for looking, keep the rubber side down!

[PATRICK MOORE]

That is a lovely bike -- I'd be very tempted except for two fortunate
(for me) barriers: it's too big and I don't have any money. But I'd
love what is basically a stage racer that takes fenders. My Herse fit
wonderfully but was a tank and I didn't like the handling (which
wasn't bad -- the only low trail bike of two that I didn't mind -- but
I prefer Riv's handling. From what I've just read about the Strada
Bianca, your bike ought to handle very nicely, like an old fashion
stage racer. I note that Douglas Brooks loves his (if you don't know
DB, his opinions carry some weight with the periti).

Yours is steel, not titanium? If the latter, wow, even better.

All this to say: Man, if I had one in my size, it would remain on my
very short "keep it!" list right up there with the custom Rivs.

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--

-------------------------
Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
-------------------------

A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.

Rainer Maria Rilke, Buddha in Glory

[PATRICK MOORE]

Here is what DB has to say about his HBS (from the web):

"There was a time when we took our road bikes everywhere, in all
seasons. Our frames
and forks came ready with braze-ons for fenders as well as plenty of
clearance to
accommodate more rubber. We’d swap out wheels, mount fenders, and
ride all week to
school, train in wet weather, and ramble unpaved lanes and across
fields---then we’d pare
down, put on our best sew-up skinnies, and head for the weekend races.
We had one bike
that could really do it all, smartly designed for versatility and as
uncompromising on
trails as it was at races.
Times have changed and I’m lucky enough to have more than one bike. I love my
dedicated race bike but it’s not well-suited for paths, gravel roads,
or even long easy days
at half-speed on fat tires. Over the past few years I’ve thought a
lot about the kind of
bike I could ride on my fastest days with friends who love to hammer
and climb but
would also be right with fenders and a larger tire. Have I taken up a
quixotic dream? Am
I lost in mere nostalgia? It’s hard to describe the relief and the
joy I felt when first saw I
Hampsten Cycles’ Strada Bianca. It felt like comin’ home. This was
exactly what I was
looking for.
Here was a bike designed to express the passions of one of racing’s
modern greats, Andy
Hampsten who had raced and won in unimaginably bad conditions and who’d never
settle for a bike that didn’t perform. But this was no toss at
nostalgia or retro styling.
The Strada Bianca is up to date in materials and construction,
offering options that could
take it down either traditional or contemporary lines of design, all
custom, and sensibly
priced. In steel, titanium, or even aluminum, the Strada Bianca is
the go-anywhere, haveit-your-way answer that brings modern cycling
back to its best roots: a true road bike that
won’t keep you from the fast group and yet is designed for comfort and
versatility over
rough roads and long days in the saddle.
My own HC SB is titanium, wears a threadless carbon fork designed for
standard reach
(57mm) caliper brakes, and mounts fenders in only a few minutes. I
took it to Europe
last summer to ride with a fast group over a Tour de France stage,
using race wheels and
skinny tires. This winter I’ve been riding with fat tires and fenders
on the wet, gravelstrewn roads of the beautiful Finger Lakes of
western New York. The only thing still
holding me back is me but the bike, the bike is everything I have ever
hoped it could be,
and honestly better than the bikes I remember as a kid. The design,
the performance, and
the remarkable versatility without compromise make the Strada Bianca a
distinctive and
astonishingly fun ride. There aren’t many contemporary bikes
conceived to perform with
so many kinds of cycling in mind. The Strada Bianca may be Hampsten
Cycles’ most
remarkable contribution to date and, as far as I can tell, the future
looks bright.
Douglas Brooks"

[Blindrobert]

Those are great posts, guys. Tell your under-biked friends about the
sale!! I'd love to keep it but two people, 8 bikes (including a long-
john cargo), and 750 square feet is a recipe for thinning the herd.

[Blindrobert]

Bike is SOLD - thanks for all of your interest!