Hampsten SB Ti

[soulspinner]

Looks great!

[b_thesing]

Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing with us!

[maxcolumbus]

Sweet ride Rich!

[RichTheRoadie]

I finally got the White Industries R30 cranks sorted for this last week, but the shift of the DA9000 front mech was troublesome. Knowing the DA9100 shifts better with the WI chainset and that the levers feel ever-so-slightly nicer than the Ultegra 6800/DA9000 series do, I decided to upgrade.

The rear mech and levers arrived yesterday (the matching front mech was installed last week) and I couldn't wait to get them on the bike. Whilst the cables were off, it was the perfect opportunity to stamp my own mark on this frame...

Ever since happycampyer & I first started talking about me having this bike I knew that when it came to me I would change the Hampsten decals for the 'script' version. When I ordered them from Mr. HampCo I couldn't decide whether to stick with white or risk black, so I ordered both.

Knowing that I'd have the opportunity to deal with them this week, I decided to see what I could do to help make my mind up over the weekend - cue downloading a pic of an SB Ti with the script logo and fiddling on Photoshop.

As soon as I tried the black I knew it had to be done:





It's now wearing some old Spesh 'Anza' tape that I had from a previous build. It's kind of a grey canvas-like material. It's a *bitch* to wrap, but I think it suits the build well.

I've taken the fender flaps off for now as the leather ones were too heavy for the carbon fenders. I'll get around to re-installing some flaps eventually, but we're in summer here now so there's no desperate rush - even if the weather hasn't be particularly summery!

[ERK55]

If that bike isn’t a classic, than I don’t know what is.
Maybe it’s trite to say, but if one could only have one bike....

[soupless]

Beautiful. I kind of miss the purple tape.

[RichTheRoadie]

Originally Posted by soupless

Beautiful. I kind of miss the purple tape.

I rarely keep bar tape on for more than a few weeks - I suspect purple will be back at some stage; as will the camo this originally started off with and a whole lot more besides!

Oh, and from a sustainability perspective I will clearly state here and now that I make a conscious effort to reuse tape that comes off cleanly - especially if it hasn’t been on for long.

[R3awak3n]

I think the new decal looks great and much better, classier but much more modern at the same time. I actually liked the older group on there better, it worked real well, levers were much smaller and nicer and I actually like shimano crank. However don't get me wrong, still looks fantastic, I love the fenders on this bike.

[nortx-Dave]

I love the understated functional elegance of titanium frames. This is such a gorgeous bike I can see why you waited all these years to get it. SO nice!

[skouri1]

Rich--this is one of the nicest bikes you have ever put together.
functional, fast, elegant.
i have to say, the eriksen built frame is already impeccable and beautiful, especially with the matching seatpost,
but the 3k seven fork and fenders add just enough bling to make this a truly timeless stunner.
the black script logo adds just that extra bit of flare without being "look at me look at me look at me"
people may think bare ti is boring. i made tom paint my Spectrum for that reason. For the same reason, I also added a 3M camo panel to my Serotta.
you managed to take black /ti and make it into the kind of head turner I would revisit in the NAHBS gallery.

[tv_vt]

Personally I like the blocky Hampsten script, but I've only seen it in white. And since you can't get it in black (Steve H, are you listening?), the black cursive script is next best thing. On that bike, it looks really really good.

There's something, too, about the level top tube and the curved Seven fork that works so well together. Wish Seven still made that fork in straight 1-1/8" steerer.

[RichTheRoadie]

Really appreciate all the kind words and compliments, folks - thank you!

Some day I’ll remove the fenders and try the bike with a set of 35mm tyres on it, but as that’ll likely involve a change of wheels (because I can’t find any slick treaded 35mm tubulars) I’m in no hurry to do that just yet.

Bar tape aside, the only thing I have any intent of changing now is the stem. It doesn’t ‘need’ changing - I just want to put something more interesting on it. However, I can’t get across the line on a decision, so it might not change at all!

I’d love a Thomson again, but my confidence in their quality is waning based on things I’ve read recently. I love the aesthetics of the Tune ‘Geiles Teil 4.0’ stems, but that seems very Germanic on an otherwise mostly US-themed build. I have a Paul Comp Boxcar stem on hand (and used it on this when I first built it), but it’s slightly chunky looking for the bike and I’d need to change the headset to get the bars back to where they need to be... And then of course there’s Ti, but the nice Ti stems are crazy expensive!

Perhaps I’ll just get a nicer, newer version of this Deda stem for now.

[jkbrwn]

Looks so, so good. This might have just become my favourite internet bike ever.

What about something like a Sim Works Rhonda or a Caroline?

[72gmc]

If you like the slender stem look, Rich, the Sim Works cromoly stems fit the bill, as well as the Nitto stems without the Sim Works branding.

[jkbrwn]

On that note, Sim Works stems do not have the Sim Works logos applied - they are included decals.