Builder Statement Hampsten Cycles, LLC, founded in 1999 by Andy and Steve Hampsten, who design and collaborate with a few of the best framebuilders in America. We bring you our unique line of custom road frames and whole bikes and we do it with the highest possible level of personal service. Andy and Steve are available to guide you through the process of fitting the bike, selecting a frame and components, and adjusting your position on the bike. We guarantee a beautifully designed, perfectly built Hampsten Cycles bicycle or frame, tailored to your exact needs and delivered to your door. |
Andy and Steve Hampsten |
Image courtesy of La Jolla Velo |
About Andy Andy Hampsten, a former professional cyclist, is a pioneering legend in American cycling history. His list of career accomplishments as a pro cyclist is long and impressive including being the only American cyclist ever to win the Giro d’Italia. The epic ride through the snow on the Gavia Pass that won him the race in 1988 embodied the spirit of cycling for many Italians, who adopted him as “il nostro Andy”, “our Andy”. Andy still owns a small farm in the coastal hills of southwest Tuscany where he cultivates grapes and olives and sells his olive oil under the brand name EVOCo (Extra Virgin Olive Oil Company) but he spends most of the year in his home in Boulder, Colorado. Andy, having nothing he’d rather do than share the best riding, food and wine in the world with fun people, founded Cinghiale Cycling Tours. He hoped to lure cyclists from all over the United States and the world to come over and play in his favorite sandbox and it worked. Ten years and many satisfying tours later, and despite a tricky-looking name, Cinghiale (wild boar in Italian) Tours has a following of loyal addicts who can’t get enough of Tuscany, and who appreciate the intimate experience of the country offered by Andy and his crew. Andy's intimate knowledge of cycling combined with his frequent travel between his home in Tuscany and Boulder, gives him a unique perspective on the needs of the cyclist who travels with a bike. Click to see Andy's personal bike Andy Hampsten's career highlights on Wikipedia An article in the Daily Peloton about Andy Hampsten - An American Pioneer Andy Hampsten Interview by schmalz on nyvelocity.com |
About Steve Steve Hampsten, Andy’s older brother, has been a cycling enthusiast since his North Dakota days when he and “little Andy” discovered 25-mile rides as a way to dodge pulling weeds in the family garden. Steve likes nothing better than to talk about all things bicycle-related, unless it’s skipping work to go for a ride, followed by a heavy snack. Steve started working in bike shops in 1975 and continued for ten years, followed by a hiatus to pursue high-end cooking. 1996 found Steve working in welding, blacksmithing, metal fabrication, and, later, bicycle construction at Match Bicycle Company. An Interview With Steve Hampsten, Part I and II by Padraig of Red Kite Prayer |
Image courtesy of Red Kit Prayer |
Design At Hampsten Cycles, our ideas about how a bike should fit and ride have been strongly influenced by Andy’s many years of racing and riding. During Andy’s 22-year racing career he worked closely with coaches Eddy B, Paul Koechli, Eddy Merckx, and Dr. Max Testa, who all helped refine his riding technique and position. Our bicycle and frame designs reflect many of our past influences and present-day experiences, as well as a long-abiding love of riding bicycles. While both looking back at the past and ahead to the future, our designs focus on joining the best materials using both classic and modern construction techniques, but always with a traditional outlook. |
Frame Fit
A properly fitted bicycle is
centered on the stem, which we think of in terms of sizes: small (100-105mm, for
frames in the 50-54cm range), medium (110-120mm, for 54.5-57cm range), and large
(120-130mm, for 57.5cm and up range). A bicycle built around the proper stem
length – giving correct reach – will have optimal weight distribution and
handling characteristics. We believe that the cure for a poorly fitting bicycle
is not a longer/shorter stem but rather a well-built frame using the correct
length stem. Your saddle height and the drop to your handlebars are always taken
into consideration when suggesting seat tube and head tube length. We use
BikeCAD as a drawing tool and we are not shy about making fit and size
recommendations.
Our custom frames are built using the following guidelines:
Shop Photos
Brazing and welding details
Travelissimo |
Travelissimo (steel) Click here to see a larger image |
Travelissimo Ti Click here for a larger image and more details |
Our standard Travelissimo is a short-wheelbase/short-reach caliper sport bike designed to take up to a 29mm tire, typically designed to have a touch more stability than its race-bred Gran Paradiso brethren. Classic or Strada Bianca models may also be built with the coupler option for true go-anywhere/anytime capabilities.
|
Andy's personal bike: Most of the time, Andy Hampsten rides his .S&S Coupled
Strada Bianca ti Travelissimo road bike "Two of Andy’s big contributions to the company have
been the Strada Bianca and what we now call our Travelissimo—our S
& S-coupled travel bike. They are two of our biggest sellers and
it’s a bonus that they’re bikes Andy rides himself and feels passionate
about." * |
|
Cable splitter allows this cable to easily separate at the S&S Coupling for easy
packing.
Hampsten Cycles, LLC
4200 NE 105
Seattle, WA 98125 |
Phone:
206.524.6010
e-mail