Carl Strong going carbon = Pursuit Cycles

[RobJ]

Just got the email announcing the new project focused on carbon fiber frames.

http://pursuitcycles.com

[ultraman6970]

Would love to see a bike tho...

[hollowgram5]

I agree. Would be nice if there were at least pictures of the frames.. did I miss them on the site?

[John H.]

Interesting?
Didn't he sell all of his tooling for carbon?

[EDS]

Interesting?
Didn't he sell all of his tooling for carbon?

Looks like he is just putting a different name on the carbon frames.

[MattTuck]

Land Shark moved entirely to carbon a while ago, Hampsten delivered its first carbon frame last year (but still does metal) and now Strong.

From a business perspective, I get it. Good luck to him!

[Carl Strong]

Hope you don't mind my chiming in. We just announced our new bike brand to our newsletter list along with an explanation of what we are doing and why. If you just go to the site it might be a little confusing. So I thought I'd post the newsletter copy here to explain. If I'm at all being inappropriate, please let me know and I'll delete this post. See below:


As part of the Strong Frames family and fellow bike geek we thought you'd like to know about our new bike company, Pursuit Cycles. We're just getting started and you are one of the first to hear about it. The Pursuit Cycles site doesn't have much info yet but we invite you to visit and learn about who is involved and what we're doing. We'll be adding a lot more info about our bike in the coming months. We plan to be delivering the first limited edition run this Spring. We hope you'll visit, subscribe for updates, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and share with your friends. We would also love to hear any questions or feedback you may have for us. You can leave your comments on the bike page or email me directly at carl@pursuitcycles.com.

Our Motivation

Since we first formed Strong Frames we have always explored the latest in materials and technology. When we were starting out, steel was just about the only material anyone used to make bikes. We eventually explored more exotic steels like Aermet and Maraging stainless. We then moved into aluminum and its alloys such as Scandium and 7005, then titanium and finally carbon fiber. We've worked with all these materials and have learned a lot about their properties, how they apply to the bicycle and, most importantly, what they have to offer each rider depending on that rider’s priorities.

For the majority of the last ten years we have focused on steel and titanium. We had a short foray into carbon fiber, even winning "Best Carbon Bike" at NAHBS in Austin TX, but ultimately stopped offering it because we moved into a smaller shop and the metal and carbon processes did not mix. We never stopped thinking about carbon fiber though; We love learning about new technology, materials and manufacturing processes, and we wanted to learn more about carbon fiber, how to optimize it, and the best way to manufacture with it.

A couple years ago we started to think about a way we could pursue our interest in carbon fiber while staying true to our roots in metal at Strong Frames. As luck would have it, we have some very talented people in our lives and we were all excited about the prospect of assembling a team and starting a carbon fiber frame manufacturing company as a completely separate endeavor from Strong Frames.

So here we are. We are just starting to bring this to the public's attention. There will be a lot of exciting things happening soon. Pursuit newsletter subscribers and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers will be the first to get updates.

Thanks for your support!

[tumbler]

Sounds good to me. Best of luck to you sir.

[Bob Ross]

Hampsten delivered its first carbon frame last year

I'm guessing the missing qualifier is "built in-house"? Because Hampsten was delivering carbon frames ten years ago (fabricated by Parlee).

Carl Strong started building carbon bikes ~4 years ago, but then stopped when his shop moved to a new (smaller) location. Glad to see this new venture, because I got the impression that he was bringing some hard-earned no-nonsense ideas about framebuilding to that material/market, and it would be our loss if he never again picked up a hunk of pre-preg and a vacuum bag.

[jghall]

One if my favorites. Tried to talk Carl out of his personal bike of it a while back.

Carl, whenever you're ready. ;)

[dave thompson]

FWIW, I went to the Carl Strong/Dave Kirk anniversary bash in Missoula a few years ago and got a chance to ride with Carl for two days. I say 'ride with' because Carl had the job of making sure that no one was dropped and as the 'Old guy' there I was the perennial lantern rouge. Age and high altitude will do that. Carl was the nicest guy, fun to talk to, a wealth of knowledge, thoroughly great all around even though I was gasping for air and maybe turning blue.

Thanks Carl. I hope you enjoyed that bottle of T3 wine I brought you.

[beeatnik]

Might have to rethink that C60....

I like Carl Strong's style.

[soulspinner]

I will just show up at his place and tell him to duplicate the geo on my 13 year old steel frame.....:beer:

[Climb01742]

Hope you don't mind my chiming in. We just announced our new bike brand to our newsletter list along with an explanation of what we are doing and why. If you just go to the site it might be a little confusing. So I thought I'd post the newsletter copy here to explain. If I'm at all being inappropriate, please let me know and I'll delete this post. See below:


As part of the Strong Frames family and fellow bike geek we thought you'd like to know about our new bike company, Pursuit Cycles. We're just getting started and you are one of the first to hear about it. The Pursuit Cycles site doesn't have much info yet but we invite you to visit and learn about who is involved and what we're doing. We'll be adding a lot more info about our bike in the coming months. We plan to be delivering the first limited edition run this Spring. We hope you'll visit, subscribe for updates, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and share with your friends. We would also love to hear any questions or feedback you may have for us. You can leave your comments on the bike page or email me directly at carl@pursuitcycles.com.

Our Motivation

Since we first formed Strong Frames we have always explored the latest in materials and technology. When we were starting out, steel was just about the only material anyone used to make bikes. We eventually explored more exotic steels like Aermet and Maraging stainless. We then moved into aluminum and its alloys such as Scandium and 7005, then titanium and finally carbon fiber. We've worked with all these materials and have learned a lot about their properties, how they apply to the bicycle and, most importantly, what they have to offer each rider depending on that rider’s priorities.

For the majority of the last ten years we have focused on steel and titanium. We had a short foray into carbon fiber, even winning "Best Carbon Bike" at NAHBS in Austin TX, but ultimately stopped offering it because we moved into a smaller shop and the metal and carbon processes did not mix. We never stopped thinking about carbon fiber though; We love learning about new technology, materials and manufacturing processes, and we wanted to learn more about carbon fiber, how to optimize it, and the best way to manufacture with it.

A couple years ago we started to think about a way we could pursue our interest in carbon fiber while staying true to our roots in metal at Strong Frames. As luck would have it, we have some very talented people in our lives and we were all excited about the prospect of assembling a team and starting a carbon fiber frame manufacturing company as a completely separate endeavor from Strong Frames.

So here we are. We are just starting to bring this to the public's attention. There will be a lot of exciting things happening soon. Pursuit newsletter subscribers and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers will be the first to get updates.

Thanks for your support!

Carl, Thank you for chiming in with more info. I was a little confused by the Pursuit webpage, but this really adds some good detail. Looking forward to following this endeavor as it moves forward. All the best!

[eddief]

Maybe Mr. Kirk would like play a role. Hope so.

Please build me a caliper brake smooth pavement bike that will take 35mm Compass tires.

[Peter P.]

Thanks for the clarification, Carl. From a business perspective, I give you credit for seeing the potential. Same for keeping your steel and titanium lines going. I look forward to seeing Pursuit Cycles succeed.

[Drmojo]

Montana revolution!?
Regime change seems ubiquitous