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Getting Started
Alright,
you're ready to order a frame. What about wheels and cranks and
stuff? You may have most of what you need, you may not. Thursday has
contacts with distributors including J&B
Importers,Bicycle Technologies
International (BTI) and Tip
Plus. Distributors are wholesalers, so the price Thursday gets
from them is not much lower than what you can do through mail-order
or on the internet. But if you need stuff and don't have it, Thursday
will order it for you. Then there are framekits - that includes
everything, soup to nuts, except for pedals and front fork. For that
Thursday uses Security
and BTI.
Then there is OE. That stands for original equipment and is a price point available only to manufacturers.OE pricing lets you price a frame-and-fork at cost that is in the ballpark with the majors. Thursday has OE agreements with a number of manufacturers. OE prices are great, but they are only available when you buy a frame. This is serious. A lot of manufacturers will "grey-market" lasts years OE, flooding the market with cut-price suspension forks, cranksets, etc. That's all on them and the manufacturers that let them get away with it. Thursday doesn't do that.
Pricing. Thursday marks stuff up. It's a hassle to buy it, it's a hassle to unpack it and make sure it's the right stuff, it's even a hassle to get rid of the packing material. This means that the distributor-supplied stuff will cost you somewhere between wholesale and what you would pay at the local bike shop. It's a toss-up. On OE, which is mainly big-ticket items, you get an add-on price that is pretty close to wholesale. You make out.
Then there is some stuff that Thursday stocks because it is so hard to come by otherwise. This includes the Thomson 29.8mm seatpost, which they only make up special order and no one in their right mind will stock. It makes sense to buy a seatpost with the frame, whether its the 29.8mm Thomson or a Kalloy copy in 30.2 mm for bikes with a butted seat tube. It also includes the Profile disk brake BMX hub and sliding derailleur hanger, and a basic wheelset for the 26" cruiser.
Seat Posts
Most of Thursday's frames use a 1.25" (31.7 mm) seat tube. The best thing is to buy a seatpost with the frame. Frames with straight gauge seat tubes take a 29.8 mm post, while those with butted seat tubes get a 30.2 or 30.4 mm unit.
Thomson
elite 29.8mm black, 440mm long. This is a straight post, not the
layback model. Price (when you buy a frame): $60 Unfortunately
Thomson doesn't make a 30.2mm post. Yet.
Origin8 Zoom/Thomson copy, silver, 30.4 mm, 440mm long. This looks like a Thomson but weighs a little more. However, it has stood up well to BMX and extreme use. Order this seatpost with a frame using a butted seat tube. Price with frame: $25 As of this time J&B has discontinued this post in 30.2. At this time (2011) I don't have a line on a decent 30.2 mm seatpost. However, the 30.4 mm seems to work with a .6mm butted seat tube. Ream, ream!
Forks
This
is a big category. Thursday has last couple years been building forks for road
bikes and "city bikes" like Je ne Regrette Rien. I couldn't resist the beautiful
Pacenti
twin plate fork crowns! They really look great and seem to hold up.
But for big hits and big air Thursday recommends a factory fork, whether it's a solid unit or
a boinger. Pricing can vary - Thursday's OE forks can be a great deal. Or you can take your chances on the
internet. In general, last year's mountain forks tend to get blown out
or grey-marketed. The only specs that count in this regard is the
fork's axle-to-crown dimension, and its rake or "offset." These dimensions may vary and Thursday's frames are all designed to
a specific fork. Make sure of the spec before you
grey-market or eBay a fork.
MOUNTAIN
BIKE FORKS
Thursday has OE agreements in place with White Brothers and Marzocchhi.
White Brothers cross country forks are the "magic series" The Magic 100 is offered with the Eclipse cross country frame at an upcharge of $420.00
White brothers extreme ride forks include the Fluid series of 120mm travel forks in 26" and 29" wheel sizes. These are offered with the "New Model" frame at a $420.00 upcharge
Thursday has an OE agreement with Marzocchi. If you order a Marzocchi anything with a frame, you will get a killer deal. The 4-X World Cup is a great fork with stiffness in reserve for truly sick riding. And it's only five pounds!
BMX and Dirt Jumping forks
I'm
having pretty good luck with SuperCross
- Bill Ryan don' build no junk.
The Supercross Pro fork is
available with a frame at a $100 upcharge, painted to match. This is
a little better than retail and saves you on shipping. We will also,
on a special order basis get you any of the other great SuperX forks.
For the 26" Vida Loca cruiser, we are currently spec-ing the discontinued SuperX “Centerline” fork, or the current 26” Pro Fork. These are $100 painted to match. Bill will chrome a Pro Fork on special order, if you pay him a large sum of money up front. There are new 26" Landing Gear forks being fabbed in Taiwan. They are longer than the OG Landing Gears and will throw off the geometry on the 26-er. I don't put them on the bikes. The OG 26" Landing Gear, if you can find one, is perfect for the VL 26.
Thursday likes the MacNeil ID fork for dirt and street. Order the ID with your Black rain or Acid Rain frame for $110 extra.
BMX bars
Here
again, I like SuperCross
- they are heat-treated light and strong. Bill discontinued the 2.5 inch rise bars that I like for the VL26. I have a few of
these bars in stock and recommend them, with a solid BMX
stem for the "New Model" as well. They sell for $45 with a
bike. I may have to go over to a MTB bar-and-stem for the VL26. I will race them a season
before recommending them.
Headsets
Cane Creek headsets are as good as any you can buy.
I have been using them almost completesly on all my builds, but will install others at the client's option.
But seriously, you can pay big bucks and not get a better 'set. Thursday's price on the S-3 (1 1/8") or S-2 (1")
installed on a frame is $30. Cane creek brakes are pretty decent, too.
Wheel Goods
Wheelsets:
Wilderness
Trails makes a great mountain wheelset. They are not cheap but
they stay round longer. Round is good!
Laserdisc Lite: This is a
disk-only cross country wheelset, geared or single speed rear: Price
with frame $340.
Laserdisc DH: This is a heavier wheelset, with
20mm front axle. Use it on the "new Model" with an
appropriate fork, or on any of the slalom bikes. Standard QR or
thru-axle rear. Price with frame: $380
Dual duty FR: This is WTB's
most versatile wheelset for disk or rim brakes, 26" or 29"
tires and with a standard front QR or 20mm through axle. Price with
frame $320
Tires and Tubes: Thursday is a big fan of WTB
tires. YMMV. Order WTB tires and tubes with your frame. Most
tire/tube combos are under $30 per wheel when ordered with a frame,
with or without a wheelset. WTB also makes a killer rim strip that
fits their rims just right. A special deal for 26" BMX riders:
a set of Nanoraptors or Vulpines, 6 decent tubes and a pair of WTB
rim strips for $80. Should keep you going all season long.
The 4-X bike works with any good, fat tire. You may want a heavier tire with stiff sidewalls, or a light, track-weight tire. WTB's Weirwolf 2.55 race is a pretty good, light tire. The 4-X bike is really waiting for a tire that doesn't exist yet: a light, fast-rolling 3-inch tire with a small block tread on the bottom and deep-block grabbers on the sides.
Thursday's basic 26 inch cruiser wheelset. This includes plain vanilla Sun Rhyno Lite rims, J&B sealed bearing big body BMX hubs, and stainless 2.0 straight gauge spokes. This wheelset will run you $145 when ordered with a frame. Once the J&B hubs are gone, I'll have to jack this price.
Profile BMX disk brake hub and wheelsets. Right now profile is the only manuafacturer that will make up a disk brake BMX hub. Their rear cassette hub is as good as it gets, and will mount a disk. They are a special-order item. This hub is $220 when purchased with a frame. Or you can order a wheelset, Profile hubs, a good welded rim and 2.0 DT or Sapim spokes, for $440.
New
for 2011 will be the Kore disk brake 26” wheelset. It looks
like this wheelset can sell for $200 with Rhyno Lites and stainless
spokes.
Also new are the Rolf
wheelsets for road bikes. Blow your top!! The Rolf Aspin wheelset is
pretty decent for the price, rugged and light. I had a set on a show bike last year and they looked
great plus they helped bring the bike's weight way down. So far no complaints from clients who've got them.
Soft Goods
Can I get a T-shirt? How about a jacket or some nice hucking pants? Thursday thinks about this, but hasn't got 'round to it yet. One project is a "Je ne Regrette Rien" beret ... will this stuff materialize? Eventually.
Thursday
Bicycles
624 W. Young St.
Pocatello ID 84204-2706
(208)
478-1358
muttonmaster7@gmail.com