New Stoemper Framebuilder

[ikecycke]

Originally Posted by charliedid

I know nothing about these guys or the brand beyond the name. That said I think you are totally justified in thinking the way you are regarding a bike you thought was being built by someone in particular and now it's not.

Like I said, I have zero knowledge of these guys but maybe it's also reasonable that when buying a frameset that is subcontracted....well, it's subcontracted. Anything in the "agreement" speak to any of this?

My gut says it will be fine and you'll get a good bike but I'm with you 100% on the current state of affairs.

Not sure if any of that helps. :-)

Hmm...I don't really think of this as a subcontractor situation. Up to this point, all Stoempers have been built by Todd, who was one of the founders of the brand.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by ikecycke

Hmm...I don't really think of this as a subcontractor situation. Up to this point, all Stoempers have been built by Todd, who was one of the founders of the brand.

Okay got it. Like I said I don't know anything about them and thought maybe it was a contract arrangement the way it was presented. Carry on and good luck.

[bicycletricycle]

This is an interesting issue. I think it would be reasonable to ask for a refund.

[John H.]

Ask for your $ back.
It sounds like it was a goal of yours to have your dream bike built by a one-man show frame builder with a lot of experience.

Now- This is no longer the case.

Ask for a refund- Order an aluminum bike from someone like Rock Lobster or Zanc.

[PoppaWheelie]

Just one of the chorus here, but if that new guy really has one year under his belt I'd personally back out. Will it break, bend, or fail? Maybe/probably not. But will it 100% fulfil the expectations of why you paid a premium price? You'd need to decide that one. I've had a number of custom bikes from inexperenced builders arrive with weird little issues. Bosses in the wrong place, alignment issues, steering weirdness, cranks that wouldn't clear the stays....it happens.

[Dino Suegiù]

Originally Posted by macaroon

Do you think you'd be able to tell a difference between a frame built by the old builder and a frame built by the new builder?

That's always the debate between founder/previous and successor/new builders, such as is happening for instance with Pegoretti now (and the Pegoretti lineage is far more established than this Stoemper lineage seems to be), but that isn't really the point.

The OP signed on for a Stoemper, and one would assume that deal would include the founder, the person who built the reputation, building the frame/etc., unless it was made very clear to him that that would not be the case. It seems that it was not communicated directly to the OP that a change was made, and that does not seem fair.

I think if one ordered a frame from David Kirk, Curt Goodrich, Dave Wages, Paul Sadoff, any other one-man builder with a stellar reputation, one would expect to receive a frame built by those guys, and certainly not by someone with 1 year of experience versus 20+.

The OP asking for a complete refund sounds much more than justified, in this case.

[Pegoready]

This is interesting.

I guess it really depends on if you think of Stoemper as a brand (I do, maybe out of ignorance) or a singular builder.

If you ordered a Serotta, you didn't get to pick the builder. You trusted the brand and their vetting of their machinists, welders, and painters to produce a consistent product.

If you ordered a Sachs, and all of a sudden you find out he sold the rights to his name to someone else who will build your frame, there's reason to be concerned.

Out of curiosity is it the same Ben in this article?

https://www.cxmagazine.com/pro-bike-...stoemper-ronny

If so, he's at least had ties to the co. as far back as 2011.

[ikecycke]

Originally Posted by Pegoready

This is interesting.

I guess it really depends on if you think of Stoemper as a brand (I do, maybe out of ignorance) or a singular builder.

If you ordered a Serotta, you didn't get to pick the builder. You trusted the brand and their vetting of their machinists, welders, and painters to produce a consistent product.

If you ordered a Sachs, and all of a sudden you find out he sold the rights to his name to someone else who will build your frame, there's reason to be concerned.

Out of curiosity is it the same Ben in this article?

https://www.cxmagazine.com/pro-bike-...stoemper-ronny

If so, he's at least had ties to the co. as far back as 2011.

I guess I'd consider them a singular builder since he's built and painted every frame they've done up until now. I'm not sure I'm ready to be a guinea pig for the new builder since this is my maiden voyage going custom.

That's a different Ben. He's a Belgian cyclocross pro that rode their bike for a few years.

[KonaSS]

I think the solution here is to call and discuss with Stoemper, you know, like reasonable people do. Doesn't sound like they are trying to do anything shady, just an evolution of their business.

After to you talk to them, follow your gut. It sounds like you really wanted a frame built by Todd, so maybe you ask for a refund. But if they can convince you otherwise, you might just end up with a great Stoemper.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by KonaSS

I think the solution here is to call and discuss with Stoemper, you know, like reasonable people do. Doesn't sound like they are trying to do anything shady, just an evolution of their business.

After to you talk to them, follow your gut. It sounds like you really wanted a frame built by Todd, so maybe you ask for a refund. But if they can convince you otherwise, you might just end up with a great Stoemper.

I think that goes without saying.

[GOTHBROOKS]

a guy named lucas was the painter at stoemper in 2015.

[PacNW2Ford]

Fast forward to NAHBS 2039 when OG Ben Oliver frames are on eBay for $10k...

[pbarry]

Originally Posted by PacNW2Ford

Fast forward to NAHBS 2039 when OG Ben Oliver frames are on eBay for $10k...

IF he builds only 135 amazing frames and then retires..

[Andy sti]

They posted on their IG a couple days ago a picture of Ben and announcing he would be building your bike.

Not necessarily the OP's bike but your bike.

[ikecycke]

Originally Posted by Andy sti

They posted on their IG a couple days ago a picture of Ben and announcing he would be building your bike.

Not necessarily the OP's bike but your bike.

Yup, that was how I found out that Todd wasn't building my bike.