[HJB]

I wish Thomson made more stuff than they do. I'd love to have a Thomson handlebar, or headset, or hubs. The things they do make are so good I can imagine that anything else they would make would be just as awesome.

Is there anything you wish they offered?

No, I don't work for them I'm just a big fan

 

[bike_freak]

I wish Thomson made more stuff than they do. I'd love to have a Thomson handlebar, or headset, or hubs. The things they do make are so good I can imagine that anything else they would make would be just as awesome.

Is there anything you wish they offered?

No, I don't work for them I'm just a big fan

Seeing as they don't make bearings, i will leave the headsets and hubs up to brands like chris king and phil wood. But a thompson handlebar or maybe even a crankset would be pretty cool

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

"Seeing as they don't make bearings, i will leave the headsets and hubs up to brands like chris king and phil wood."

There's a difference between specifying and purchasing a good bearing and incorporating it in your product vs manufacturing one...Phil Wood at least includes that info on their website, CK doesn't. Don't get me wrong, they're great companies but don't give them credit for things they don't actually do.

 

[HJB]

Seeing as they don't make bearings, i will leave the headsets and hubs up to brands like chris king and phil wood. But a thompson handlebar or maybe even a crankset would be pretty cool

As said above those others don't make their own bearings either so Thomson could make a headset as good or better than King. It would be nice to have some competition at the top of the heap.

Forget I said that. I didn't intend for this thread to head in that direction...

 

[bikerboy]

I too would like to see a Thomson handlebar. I mainly want it to match my stem and seatpost. I honestly can't say I am dissatisfied with the selection of other brands of handlebars out there. I think one contributing factor to the success and quality of Thomson products is their narrow specialization of products. You start getting into too many things and I think the quality can start to suffer.

 

[Tracerboy]

Just because thomspon makes good stems and posts doesnt necessarily mean they will produce good handlebars, cranks, whatever. Its hard to get it right the first time. Takes alot of research, testing, and experience in the market to get it right.

 

[slowrider]

Cranks

I grilled them about building a Crankset at I bike 3 years ago and I was told that they were considering it but they were going to wait to see which BB design wins out as "standard" before they commit. The guy I talked to told me that bike parts are just a side show for the aerospace business and would take a back seat if they had other contracts to fullfill; they must be making big$$$ in aerospace if stems and posts are small change!

 

[Ventanarama]

"Seeing as they don't make bearings, i will leave the headsets and hubs up to brands like chris king and phil wood."

There's a difference between specifying and purchasing a good bearing and incorporating it in your product vs manufacturing one...Phil Wood at least includes that info on their website, CK doesn't. Don't get me wrong, they're great companies but don't give them credit for things they don't actually do.

Actually that's incorrect, King does manufacture their own bearings.
Larry
Mountain High Cyclery

 

[Ventanarama]

Not when they were in Redding...did they add this capacity in Portland?

I was thinking they had been doing it all along, but not positive on that. Quote from their website...
"Each headset was developed with every attention to detail and each part of every headset is made by us. We even go so far as to make our own sealed, cartridge style bearings - a practice unheard of in the bike industry".
Larry

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

Actually that's incorrect, King does manufacture their own bearings.
Larry
Mountain High Cyclery

Not when they were in Redding...did they add this capacity in Portland? They might assemble some, though.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

I was thinking they had been doing it all along, but not positive on that. Quote from their website...
"Each headset was developed with every attention to detail and each part of every headset is made by us. We even go so far as to make our own sealed, cartridge style bearings - a practice unheard of in the bike industry".
Larry

I think assemble and manufacture are not quite the same...think about the expense to actually manufacture your own ball bearings. I can assemble the bike, doesn't mean I manufactured it. This link might help imagine it http://yarchive.net/metal/ball_bearing_manufacture.html

 

[Mike T.]

I was thinking they had been doing it all along, but not positive on that. Quote from their website...
"Each headset was developed with every attention to detail and each part of every headset is made by us. We even go so far as to make our own sealed, cartridge style bearings - a practice unheard of in the bike industry".
Larry

I e-mailed King on this very subject maybe......ummm 4-5 years ago and they assured me that, yes, they make their own ball bearings and other bearing related parts, all in the quest to assure uniformity and consistency of quality.

 

[Tracerboy]

I'd like them to make a carbon seatpost...... the shock absorbancy coupled with their seat clamp + understated looks = perfection (to me).

 

[Guyechka]

now that's cool

I grilled them about building a Crankset at I bike 3 years ago and I was told that they were considering it but they were going to wait to see which BB design wins out as "standard" before they commit. The guy I talked to told me that bike parts are just a side show for the aerospace business and would take a back seat if they had other contracts to fullfill; they must be making big$$$ in aerospace if stems and posts are small change!

I'm riding on Stealth bomber parts!

Thomson rims, hubs, hell the entire wheelset needs to be Thomson.

 

[Hecubus]

Just because thomspon makes good stems and posts doesnt necessarily mean they will produce good handlebars, cranks, whatever. Its hard to get it right the first time. Takes alot of research, testing, and experience in the market to get it right.

Exactly. Just bacause they make top notch stems and seatposts doesn't mean they'll necessarily make other superior products. They're very good at technologies that require forging and finely machining parts but that alone doesn't mean they will be just as good or better doing products that require other processes. It's only made harder by the fact that there are already other manufacturers already making those other very high quality parts.

 

[vans380]

I agree with the original poster's general sentiment, that is to say, I have been very impressed with Thomson stuff and wished they made more products.

Thomson, you listening? We want to give you our money!

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

I e-mailed King on this very subject maybe......ummm 4-5 years ago and they assured me that, yes, they make their own ball bearings and other bearing related parts, all in the quest to assure uniformity and consistency of quality.

First, I'm sorry this part of the thread got a bit hijacked. I just wanted to point out that a brand name doesn't always translate to a historical production value or other quality.

I'd be interested in the CK reply. Since they will probably answer in the vein of their manufacturing of cartridge bearings, they wouldn't necessarily have to confirm what parts they buy if they consider their contribution, of design or parts, to be the major portion, or the substantial transformation to put it into governmentese, of the product as a whole.

I do note that their current website now confirms they have finally brought anodization in house, something they implied previously as having been done in-house (vis-a-vis their claims for their production as being as environmentally clean as possible; they outsourced that as they couldn't do it to their own standards in house prior to moving to Portland); for someone offering such a wide range of anodized products that's a bit misleading, eh?

 

[Homebrew]

I would like to see a 25.4mm X4 type stem.

 

[shabbasuraj]

If Thomson was to make something else, it would have to remain Al, as that is what they seem to do best.

So maybe crank arms or chainrings, skewers, or seat post clamps....

 

[Hecubus]

I do note that their current website now confirms they have finally brought anodization in house, something they implied previously as having been done in-house (vis-a-vis their claims for their production as being as environmentally clean as possible; they outsourced that as they couldn't do it to their own standards in house prior to moving to Portland); for someone offering such a wide range of anodized products that's a bit misleading, eh?

King did the annodization in house. They had a very expensive enviromentaly friendly system in place. They stated that they would temporarily outsource the annodization when they moved to Portland until they got the new facilities online.