Re: unabashed plug, Crumpton

On May 8, 12:03=A0am, Chalo wrote:

> It reminds me of a fancy bowling ball or accordion.

Beauty, eye of beholder.

Suffice to say, I saw another Crumpton in person, broad daylight
yesterday. With your bowling ball, accordion comment firmly in mind;
WTH, it's not my bike! Um, appreciation entirely undiminished. This
one is a darker, purple-ish color. The effect is more subtle (and more
subtle yet in black or very dark grey) but still v. attractive in a
more "formal" way, if you will. The brighter red of the test bike,
which I have also seen live and in the carbon fiber, is a knock-out
(opinion expressed as such). Yeah, an accordion should look so good...

 >=A0Here are some of
> the highlights of the accompanying review:
>
> "A marked contrast is in the seat tube, and that makes perfect sense,
> as the tube it=92s self performs a bit different job than the others=85
> You=92ll notice a spiral pattern and it=92s a thickness that will give
> some stability against bending (different than twisting), but also do
> a good job of absorbing vibration."
>
> "All of the joints are minimal=85 And all are wrapped with not just
> size, but function in mind, a bit like wrapping an ankle for a
> s****ting event (to keep it from twisting to the sides but allow
> freedom of movement vertically. Meaning the wrap will resist twist
> more, but allow for some vertical compliance. Roughly translated,
> that=92s stiff for power, but soft for ride=85"
>
> "The Crumpton is stiff enough to cost you no power loss. The
> acceleration is what you would expect from a very light very stiff
> bike. The road holding during rougher surface turns is extremely
> impressive as the frame and fork will flex well enough to not cause
> the tires to skip and chatter the way some of the overly stiff newer
> bikes can."
>
> "...the twist control (providing the stiffness) is, to some degree,
> done in a way that doesn=92t prevent some of the bounce that is lacking
> in some carbon bikes today." [end quote from review]

> I'm sure it comes equipped with a saddle that is hard and narrow for
> austerity yet soft and wide for comfort, spokes that are short
> radially while remaining remarkably long from end to end, and bar tape
> that is wrapped counterclockwise without sacrificing its traditional
> clockwise-wrapped qualities.

I don't read the review as per your reaction (just above) at all. The
reviewers (taking at their word as presented) liked the way the
Crumpton rode, in preference to a couple of other "dream" (cost no
object) frames, while the Crumpton was much, much cheaper than the
most expensive "other". One owner testimonial I've heard was in regard
to a greatly reduced amount of hand punishment during a road race on
bumpy, nasty chip-n-seal, compared to the steel frame he'd been racing
on. That's a result we'd be looking for with improvements in materials
and build methods, no?

Looking more at the big picture: Frankly, the point of the exercise is
to win the contest and so good deal for Nick Crumpton. Um, he's kinda
grouchy sometimes (<g>, please) and I've never been to his house for
dinner, to address another possible area of discussion, and I'm not a
prospective customer looking to get bumped up the wait list or trying
to wrangle a price break. I don't know if he's heard of rbt, either
<g>. Pretty complete disclaimer, I guess. "Local pride" and, although
bashed,  still an un_a_bashed plug.

The ironic thing here, to me, is that I've seen some of your "home
work", where you've made bike parts that work for you (via email you
sent me) and expressed honest appreciation, FWIW. But the point is, I
think you and Nick, "politics" aside, would have things to talk about,
bicyclingly speaking.

Just as a side note, I was talking to Nick on a ride a week or so ago,
IRT stay length and room between the chainstays for "wider" tires,
since I'd noticed that one of his customer bikes had a whole lot more
"tire clearance" just aft of the BB than his personal ride. The brake
bridge on the customer bike was quite a bit higher, also. How about
that, a well-regarded custom CF builder leaving room for 25mm tires,
mud, and out-of-true wheels? There's some progress for you! <g>

OK, gotta go check the Lotto numbers...   --D-y