Birthday Bike!
This customer had been dreaming of a nice randonneuring bike for years and decided to treat himself for his 50th birthday. Happy Birthday!
We started with a set of Pacenti lugs, re-shaped to please my eyes. Original is on the right, modified on the left.
Compass bottom bracket shell, also heavily modified.
Compass fork crown, just after brazing and before any cleanup. This crown is hollow, so the wire from the Schmidt hub can run inside the fork blade, through the crown, and into the steerer tube.
Starting to look like a bike- getting ready to fit the seat stays.
Fitting the seat stays.
My very last pair of MAP dropouts. The stainless faces have been polished and left bare of paint so that they’ll always look nice.
The front derailleur tab, like most of the other braze-ons, is stainless. The face where the washer bites in has been polished and left bare- no chipped paint here!
The assembly always begins with the lighting system- the wires are easiest to run when nothing else is in the way. Next is the fenders.
Ready to ride!
The fenders received a blue accent stripe in each flute and custom mudflaps.
Thompson Custom Bicycles 
You need to post more of these to Instagram! Such a nice build! Clever adaption for the decaleur as well. I might try this so I can test a 90mm quill stem length before I go for another Grand Bois. Do you think 1/4” tubing would work for a front rack he constructeur style rear rack?
May 18, 2019 at 10:28 am
The adapter bracket for the decaleur worked out well. It was a little bit heavier than the alternatives, but easy to make and allowed me to use the really excellent Rene Herse/Compass decaleur with the lock pin. I made it out of stainless, it seemed like aluminum would crack eventually. I always use 5/16″ or 3/8″ on rear racks unless it’s just a little one that doesn’t go all the way to the dropouts.
May 20, 2019 at 6:34 pm