Thomson was founded in 1996 with its now-famous seatpost as its only product.
The company was born from L.H. Thomson Company, Inc., a machine shop founded in 1981 with CNC capability. The owner used his expertise to design and manufacture a seatpost for his daughter who was racing for her college cycling team in the mid-1990s.
Since then the seatpost is still Thomson's bread and butter, but stems, handlebars and a miscellany of small parts are part of the component mix that Thomson designs and manufactures.
That is about to change as we found out at NAHBS 2019.
There was a gravel bike prominently displayed amongst the dropper posts at the Thomson booth. We spoke with Mike Christensen from Thomson, and he reminded us that Thomson had a collaboration with Lynsky in 2014.
Thomson's Taiwan-built titanium gravel bike is coming soon. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
He said the new titanium adventure gravel bikes are in prototype and have been produced by the company's Asian factory partner, with the XS size designed around 650b wheels and the others around 700c rims. There are still a few details that Christensen said need to be refined, so there will likely be another set of prototypes before production begins.
The clean metallic exterior allowed for a good look at the welding on the titanium frame. Thomson's Taiwan-built titanium gravel bike is coming soon. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
What he brought to NAHBS 2019 looks quite promising. Christensen said the geometry has mountain bike influence with a 69-degree slack head tube angle with a 74-degree seat tube angle in the medium sized bike that was on display.
The titanium gravel bike prototype on display at NAHBS had a clean metallic look. Thomson's Taiwan-built titanium gravel bike is coming soon. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
The offset of the all-carbon fork is 45mm that leads to a trail calculation of over 80mm with at 700c x 40mm tire installed. If you combine that front-end geometry with a dropper post, this bike could be a descending shredder on the gravel roads.
The final geometry is what Christensen said is being finalized, as well as tire clearance. The goal will be to fit 700c x 45mm and 650b x 50mm tires.
Thomson is anticipating healthy tire clearance for the bike. Thomson's Taiwan-built titanium gravel bike is coming soon. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
The goal is to have the bike available to consumers before the end of the year.
The gravel bike will be offered as a frameset with a Thomson cockpit and post with cost depending on the post option, whether Al, Ti, carbon or a dropper. Christensen said the target price for a complete bike with mid-level components such as Shimano 105 is $3,700.
Thomson is set to release a new overseas-made titanium seat post. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
When available you can purchase the bike through your local bike professional or direct.
Thomson also displayed externally routed dropper posts, including in a 27.2mm diameter. The company also offers the internally routed Covert dropper.
Thomson offers externally-routed dropper posts, including in a 27.2mm diameter. It also offers the covert internally routed model. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
More a closer look at the Thomson titanium gravel bike and its seat posts, see the photo gallery below.
More info: bikethomson.com
Stay tuned for more handbuilt bikes from 2019 NAHBS show in Sacramento.
Photo Gallery: Thomson Titanium Gravel Bike Prototype
Thomson’s Taiwan-built titanium gravel bike is coming soon. 2019 NAHBS Sacramento. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
