Technical (Bicycle) Trials

[Too Tall]

There is a small resurgence of cyclists who seek to create a USA version of Euro-style "technical bicycle trials" http://www.technicaltrials.org/

Thoughts?

[christian]

Thoughts?

S&S-coupled Mariposa with custom fender mounts and custom front and rear racks, 559mm rims, a Rohloff rear hub, a SON front hub, drop bars.

Make it a 62cm and get the Jerk to ride it. That'd be my recipe for success.

- Christian

[Steve Hampsten]

Another approach might be for own Douglas to collaborate with a small bicycle design company in producing a line of randonnee bikes, some of which could be quite suitable for these technical trials.

Let's say: 650B wheels, Nitto dropped bars and stem, TA compact cranks, racks/fenders/lights, with some offbeat Euro odds 'n ends.

For argument's sake we'll call the bikes "Cycles Tournesol", and for the purposes of the trials, let's ask Andy Hampsten to ride one.

Could this work?

[William]

I like the concept. Though I think people like you (TT) & me would not be allowed to be a "pilote" in one of these unless they have seperate weight classes to account for our specialness. ;) :)

William :)

[Too Tall]

Hehe.
You'd have to get into the wild mind of Chris Kostman first. I think he is onto something and will not be surprised to see very good attendence for his events.
Do you think panache' will have much to do with scoring well in these events?

I'd love to participate in a bicycle trial as it's a great notion that fills some cultural void in want of venue. Besides What the hey? Chris is a fun nutty guy and his events are well run. Mind you I'm NOT going to call Sasha TODAY and order the ultimate "trial" bike. no no no.

I'd lean twords a homegrown bike distinctly retro and bomber and snoot full of EPO ;) Kidding...about the EPO. Not.

Time to polish up the 5 speed stuff.

[christian]

Could this work?

Hi Steve,

Yeah, I think that could work! And that sounds like an amazing line of bikes.

- Christian

[Blastinbob]

Another approach might be for own Douglas to collaborate with a small bicycle design company in producing a line of randonnee bikes, some of which could be quite suitable for these technical trials.

Let's say: 650B wheels, Nitto dropped bars and stem, TA compact cranks, racks/fenders/lights, with some offbeat Euro odds 'n ends.

For argument's sake we'll call the bikes "Cycles Tournesol", and for the purposes of the trials, let's ask Andy Hampsten to ride one.

Could this work?
Sunflower cycles, is the cat coming out of the bag ?

[e-RICHIE]

steve-issimo asked (snipped):
"For argument's sake we'll call the bikes "Cycles Tournesol", and for the purposes of the trials, let's ask Andy Hampsten to ride one.

Could this work?"



ohmygawd.
first, giambi comes clean.
now this.
what is next - the SN 05 roster??!!
e-RICHIE

ps

:banana: :banana: :banana:
:banana: :banana: :banana:
:banana: :banana: :banana:

arrange disorder

[dbrk]

If Andy Hampsten rode a suitably equipped Huffy from KMart he would win but not his bike! Aboard a Tournesol...I can only pity others with aspirations other then second...

We've been outed. www.cyclestournesol.com coming to a Trials near you soon...

I am off to Maryland for a weekend yoga seminar (Willow Street Yoga, Silver Springs).

Fun fact in reference to e-richie's cats and bags...
"Cat's out of the bag" is actually a 19th century expression referring to the cat'o'nine-tails taken out of "the bag" for flogging on punishment day (we flog students on Tuesdays and Thursdays, fwiw, here at the Department of Religion and Classics). For a list of capital and noncapital offenses aboard a Royal Navy ship see the 1749 Articles of War (read in my classroom at least once a semster). http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/articles.html if you care to look.

dbrk

[Steve Hampsten]

Ok, here’s the poop (naval reference? Dbrk? and my apologies in advance if this is overly promotional as opposed to informational, as I have no wish to abuse the hospitality of Ben Serotta, his terrific company, and of the forum members):

You know all those cool pictures of Singers, and Herses, and Mariposas that Douglas is constantly showing us? Well, I had the bright idea that if he and I put our heads together we might be able to create a modern equivalent of those bikes.

The brand is “Cycles Tournesol”, a Douglas Brooks/Hampsten Cycles co-production. “Tournesol” means sunflower, and the name is provided by Douglas. The art and graphics are by Julia Hampsten (my wife, a fine artist) and Sheryl Chapman (partner of Scot Nichol – see www.sherylchapman.com for more info). The website will be done by Jeff Felice, and we have more talented people waiting in the wings.

The steel frames will be built in my shop here in Seattle, using our tooling, by former Match co-workers Dan Swanson and Martin Tweedy. Dave Levy will pitch in as needed, and Dave will be doing some or all of our titanium frames. Tournesol will only be available as whole bikes, sold directly to the customer; some will be assembled here in Seattle, some assembled in Rochester, NY by Craig Smith and Douglas.

We’ll offer a choice of modern or NOS parts, or a mix as desired. Each one will be built as custom, each one will be different, but most of them will fall into one of three classes: Leger (lightweight 700c), Audax (midweight 700c or 650B), and Pave (mid-to-heavyweight 650B or 26”). Most will built with the idea of using racks, fenders, and lights. These will be in lugged steel (fillet-brazed when needed) using mostly Richard Sachs’ “Newvex” lugs or in welded titanium, but I don’t see us offering carbon, aluminum, or welded steel.

These are not “race” bikes, nor are they “touring” bikes – they’re a style of bike that never really caught on in this country called “randonnee” bikes (“randonneuse” really, but jeez…). They’re not un-similar to, but certainly not the same as, Rivendell – we owe a huge debt to Grant Peterson for making this style of bicycle even possible in this country, and for being brave enough to go out on a limb and introduce the 650B wheel size to the American market. (Douglas, of course, had not a little to do with Grant/650B, but having the bravery to order 200-or-so frames from Japan that are designed for a never-heard-of-it wheel size has me shaking my head in admiration for Grant)

The Technical Trials connection is almost a fluke: my pal David Schnitzer has a house in Santa Ynez (where the Trials will be held in November 2005), and he and I are organizing a low-key, informal training camp down there at the end of March. I then heard of the Trials, which is partially organized by local randonnee/650B buff Jan Heine, so it seemed like a natural to design our first bike to be for this event. It will be great if Andy is willing to come down and test our bikes – but that it all it is: a test. It’s not about trying to win; it’s about showing up, having fun, drinking the local wine, and possibly getting some attention for our bikes and for the event.

Thanks for listening, and again my apologies if this seems overly self-serving. Douglas and I, and the rest of the people involved, are doing this because we love bikes, particularly this style of bicycle, and we think it will be fun. We are not doing this to lose money, but we have no delusions about getting rich through Cycles Tournesol (or anywhere else in the bicycle business or that matter).

Cheers,
Steve

[nick0137]

How strange it is when the stars come into alignment just as you are gazing into the night sky.

All this talk of 650B - here and on the Riv, Saluki and IBOB sites - has been wetting my appetite for attempting the 2007 Paris-Brest-Paris, which will neatly conincide with my 40th birthday, in a proper style. Ben Serotta was in London this week and I talked to him briefly about whether a PBP friendly Ottrot (relax the angles, make room for greater tyre clearance, maybe have a steel fork) might be possible. He didn't say it was impossible. But the expense....

And the reason I was thinking along those lines rather than taking a quick trip on the Eurostar to Singer in Paris (or tapping away on an email to Mike Barry in Canada)? Well, I suppose I'm one of those who is attracted to things high zooty but with a twist. And, the trackie in me (because if I'm any sort of cyclist - and I may not be - I'm a short track, keep turning left type) doesn't feel entirely comfortable with the lore of 650B.

But, a modern take on a 650B? A lightweight 650B with all the lighting/cabling tricks, but designed for ergo shifting (NOS Chorus alu it would have to be) and a bit of competition. Now that will be very interesting. Can't wait for the Sunflower website to be up and running.

Nick (a frequent lurker but extremely infrequent poster)

[davep]

Steve or dbrk,

Can you give us an idea when you will be up and running and taking orders.

[Steve Hampsten]

Dave,

We've just started our first two bikes and we should have pictures of those up on the website in a month or two. We're already talking with interested customers, so it's never too soon to give us a holler.

And who IS on the Sierra Nevada roster for '05? Inquiring minds want to know?

Steve

[Too Tall]

Nick, you are lost man. Start giving away all earthly goods and get a tattoo.

Back to the subject of trials?

What qualities might these bikes have that will win a competition?

Obviously the bikes must sustain the race without mishap to be top dog. Qualities such as: durability and weight will rise to the top of every judging category.

Does anyone have a translation of the French trials rules and in particular judging criteria? Participation in one of these events would have to rate way up there for me in my list of things to do before I die.

[cpg]

Check out www.mindspring.com/heine/bikesite/bikesite/ Jan Heine is responsible for the content and Vintage Bicycle Quarterly. It's a cool quartely magazine if you're into such thing. Regarding the trials, I'm looking to enter at least one bike. I think there are a few others thinking about it. Currently the rules/criteria for the trials are yet to be defined so most builders that are interested are sitting and waiting before designing such bikes.

Curt

[Too Tall]

Yep, I did see Chris says he'll allow 10 months lead time. Anyone care to sponsor a Too Tall rider? One of these bikes will be a thing to savour, it really speaks to many aspects of cycling culture I appreciate. Ha Ha, I may have to retract my bad words for sidewall generators! EAT THAT!