Hampsten Cycles

[ron l edmiston]

we heart the hamp atmo -

"reciprocal respect.."

ronnie

[DCT]

i HEART hampsten

[TallCargo]

... my gun-nut cousin and his rottweiler are staying at hampco towers to answer the phone and doorbell.

Love it. Registered just so I could thumbs-up that line!

PS -- met you a couple years ago on Lake Washington Blvd. You said all sorts of nice things about my low-zoot, dirt-road-style Curtlo. You didn't have to be so damn nice, but you were. Classy (and thanks).

[roguedog]

Hey. Long time no hear. What's the haps? Or to make some conversation... I saw on your blog you've tweaked the measurements you want from folks. Why and what was the road to discovery?

Happy holidays!

[fixednwinter]

I saw on your blog you've tweaked the measurements you want from folks. Why and what was the road to discovery?

Having gone through the measurement process twice with Steve, I'm going to hazard a guess here at the new additions to the numbers he's looking for. If I eff this up, Mr. Hampco will swoop in and correct me.

- I think the floor to saddle measurement is one of the recent numbers added. I don't seem to recall sending this to Steve four years ago during my first custom frame. When you use this number in conjunction with floor to bar, it takes bb drop into account. For example, if you only compared saddle height from the bb and floor to bar, but you're going from one frame that has, for example, a 6cm drop, to one that has an 8cm drop, you'll be off by 2cm. Having the floor to saddle measurement number prevents that error.

- I don't recall sending centre of post to centre of bar, horizontal, either. This new measurement perhaps takes into account the saddle's setback when combined with the saddle nose behind BB number?

[hampco]

yeah, what marco/fixed said above: it's me trying to dial in saddle position and having some flexibility when a relatively non-standard saddle is being used - like a brooks, which has different contact points compared to most saddles.

[jsrieck]

Steve,

Would you mind indulging us with a brief synopsis of how the Strada Bianca came to be? What would you now consider to be the "state of the art" as it pertains to the SB?

[hampco]

The Strada Bianca happened because Brother Andy wanted a bike for exploring the gravel roads (covered with crushed limestone, which is white, thus the name...) around Tuscany where he lived at the time. Dave Levy/Ti Cycles was doing most of our steel frames back then and he pretty much worked out the geometry - longer and lower, more trail - for these bikes which has served us to this day. The first couple of bikes were pretty heavy and used cantilever brakes but successive iterations used lighter tubing and featured 57mm-reach calipers and Wound Up forks, followed, inevitably, by the titanium version.

We've done steel, titanium, aluminum, carbon, all types of brakes - you name it, everything rides nice with fat tires or dryer with fenders. Currently my favorite version really takes a step back from the current framebuilding fashion: we're using skinny tubes and 1" steerers. The latest to roll off our robot-welded assembly line here use MiniMAX tubing, 14mm seat stays, curved chainstays, skinny little 33mm head tubes, and 1" steel steerers on the Wound Up fork. I think a little flex here over the big hits is a good thing and the smaller head tube works better visually with the smaller-diameter tubes and we save a little weight on the steerer and HT. Big guys get a stouter front end and stays, however. "Dialed" is a word that gets bandied about, maybe more than it should, but it does describe how I feel about these bikes. They look light, elegant, and as though they should be a lot of fun to ride - which they are.

[Bob Ross]

:::adds another line item to personal bucket list:::

[fixednwinter]

I think a little flex here over the big hits is a good thing and the smaller head tube works better visually with the smaller-diameter tubes and we save a little weight on the steerer and HT. Big guys get a stouter front end and stays, however. "Dialed" is a word that gets bandied about, maybe more than it should, but it does describe how I feel about these bikes. They look light, elegant, and as though they should be a lot of fun to ride - which they are.

I am the lucky owner of an SB in stainless. It uses the 953 tubeset, which purportedly is slightly less stiff than its XCr equivalent. In comparison to my vintage MX Leader, which is composed mostly of MAX tubing, my SB has a beautiful, springy and comfortable ride. The MX Leader is more of a bruiser, a bulldozer.

For a month now, I've been using my SB for daily commuting, five days a week, just under a 2 hour round trip per day. Mixed surfaces, all weather (even light snow that melted immediately these last few weeks), a few short but steep hills. With it's lively but stable handling, forgiving ride, and Honjo fenders with 25mm 4Season tires, I couldn't imagine a better, light & fast bike combined with a wonderful and comfortable ride quality.

[happycampyer]

Steve,

Seeing Marcello's pre-HampCo towers Hampsten leaning against the wall at what must be Zi’ Martino brings back fond memories.

Fermaguiana: The first Hampsten bikes

You might like to have this photo that Enrico took of Marcello riding it (I'll send you the link so you can download the original):



How many of these were built before you started the match-built bikes?

[j44ke]

Steve,

The above photo had me wondering - have you built any Team Pros recently? Any in the UOS tube set?

[hampco]

Steve,

The above photo had me wondering - have you built any Team Pros recently? Any in the UOS tube set?

I have a lugged Strada Bianca here - which could be construed as a Team Pro - and we've only done two using the UOS tubes and lugs but there will be more... here's the most recent UOS:

Attachment 43344

[j44ke]

Excellent look. Thanks.

I'm 6'1" @ 145lbs. Would you point me towards a more standard dimension tubeset or is the UOS more a performance choice than one determined by rider weight?

[fixednwinter]

Excellent look. Thanks.

I'm 6'1" @ 145lbs. Would you point me towards a more standard dimension tubeset or is the UOS more a performance choice than one determined by rider weight?

Holy toledo, j44ke, you have the build of a PRO Tour climber. I would think OS, rather than UOS tubing, would be appropriate for a rider as light as you are. I'm over 160 lbs, and have a MAX bike, and I can tell you it's a bit too stiff for me. UOS is apparently similar to MAX in terms of stiffness.

[j44ke]

Holy toledo, j44ke, you have the build of a PRO Tour climber. I would think OS, rather than UOS tubing, would be appropriate for a rider as light as you are. I'm over 160 lbs, and have a MAX bike, and I can tell you it's a bit too stiff for me. UOS is apparently similar to MAX in terms of stiffness.

I wish. I have, like Andy Schleck, been blown off my bike by a crosswind before. And my wife noticed in the recent Giro and TdF that there were riders (Hesjedal, Froome) as thin as I am. I do like to climb, but I am several Briggs & Strattons short of their sort of power. And I'm nearly 50.

Thanks for the response. I figured anything that oversize would be more than I'd need.

[happycampyer]

Nice video, Steve!

Fermaguiana: Video time!

[hampco]

a face made for radio...

[GrantM]

Nicely done. Well spoken, and nice to hear from Max too!

-g

[fixednwinter]

I wish. I have, like Andy Schleck, been blown off my bike by a crosswind before. And my wife noticed in the recent Giro and TdF that there were riders (Hesjedal, Froome) as thin as I am. I do like to climb, but I am several Briggs & Strattons short of their sort of power. And I'm nearly 50.

Thanks for the response. I figured anything that oversize would be more than I'd need.

On a few occassions, I've seen the Schlecks (ToC) and Hesjedal (criterium in Toronto) in person. They are very, very slim, despite all of them being over 6 feet tall. Andy is 149 lbs and Frank is 144 or even lower. They're definitely not hard on their equipment when it comes to their weight.

Talk to Steve, but I'd wager that a Team Pro with OS, rather than a Team UOS, would be perfect for you. The Team Pro is made with PegoRichie/Spirit for Lugs tubing, which is a touch more robust than standard Spirit (for TIG) so would be great for tall frames, but still light.

And to clarify - my bike made from MAX is not a Hampsten, but an old Merckx MX Leader. It's a beast, a steamroller and has a stiff ride, but it's overkill for me at between 158 to 163 lbs. The Merckx is fun to ride, but the bike that hits that sweet spot for me when it comes to ride quality is my Hampsten Strada Bianca made from OS steel tubing. When it comes to that theoretical "If I had to own just one bike, which would it be?" question, the answer is easy - I'd keep the SB over anything else.