Crumpton Cycles of Austin, Texas has been making custom carbon bicycles since 2004. We first saw the company at the San Jose NAHBS in 2006 as one of the new hot builders and one of less than a handful who built with carbon at that time. A dozen years have passed and Nick Crumpton is now one of the old-guard carbon bike makers.
Crumpton certainly works the way of an old master—totally alone, one bike at a time. He said he won’t even think about the next bike until the paint is drying on the one he’s working on.
Crumpton bladder molds his own tubes, using thin sheets of unilateral pre-preg carbon fiber. He alters the shapes to meet the tube’s demand.
The tube lamination schedule varies based on factors such as frame size, rider weight and desired ride characteristics. He fabricates the dropouts and other fixtures and then builds the bike with a tube-to-tube method.
Nick Crumpton molds each carbon tube himself. Crumpton's carbon gravel bike. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Crumpton paints each frame himself. If you order a complete bike, as most of his customers do, he’ll assemble the bike too.
Crumpton entered the best gravel bike category with a Type 5 Disc second-generation bike. The second generation of the model offers wider tire clearance that allows 700c x 40mm tires with relatively short 42.0cm chainstays. It can also accommodate 650b X 48mm tires.
Crumpton's carbon gravel bike. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
The bike was his personal ride with a frame that he claims weighs roughly 850 grams.
Crumpton's carbon gravel bike boasts decent tire clearance out back. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Crumpton outfitted the bike with Shimano Ultegra 8050 Di2, and of course, the frame has custom internal wire routing.
Crumpton's carbon gravel bike featured some of the cleanest internal routing we saw at the show. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
All Crumpton bikes are bespoke and you can begin your order by email or phone. Just don’t expect Nick Crumpton to answer the phone—he’s working on a bike, or out riding his own.
Nick Crumpton has been making custom carbon bikes for over a decade now. Crumpton's carbon gravel bike. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
The Type 5 Disc Frameset is $7,000, the complete bike price depends on the build, but as displayed at NAHBS with the HED Ardennes tubeless wheelset, it’s “around” $10,000.
For a closer look at the Crumpton Type 5 Disc, see the gallery below.
More info: crumptoncycles.com
Stay tuned for more handbuilt bikes from 2019 NAHBS show in Sacramento.
Photo Gallery: Crumpton Type 5 Disc Gravel Bike
Crumpton’s carbon gravel bike. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
