Tom’s dark emerald light touring bike

Tom and I shared the vision of this bike right from the start. He knew what he wanted in regards to parts and color and my job was to build him a perfectly fitting frameset. This bike could double as a standard 650b randonneur but he had me build the lowrider racks and add a third set of water bottle bosses which led me to describe it as a light touring bike not too dissimilar from my personal bike.

The frame is built from a combination of Dedacciai and Columbus standard oversize tubing. The lugs were the Richard Sachs Rene Singer set but with the flourishes carved away to graceful curves. The Grand Bois fork crown and supple Kasei blades give the ride an extra level of comfort over rough roads.

Tom was happy to supply almost all the parts, many of which came from Compass Cycles. Honjo fenders, Rene Herse cranks, MKS Sylvan Next pedals, SKF bottom bracket, Schmidt Edelux head light, Compass seat tube tail light, Compass Meas Parallel bars, Berthoud saddle, and Compass centerpull brakes all round out the build. I think I only had to get the Dura Ace rear derailleur, hubs, spokes, headset, and seat post!

I finished this one right before springtime here in the Northeast. The spring took a long time to start for some reason this year so hopefully he’s getting in some riding as the weather finally gets better.

See the full slideshow of the build here.