Cycles Tournsesol

This weekend I hopped across town to visit Steve Hampsten at Cycles Tournesol. Tournesol is a side project of Hampsten Cycles aimed at making bikes in the tradition of the French constructeurs.

In many ways I think they're closer to what Herse was doing in his day than anyone else in the small but growing constrcuteur market. What sets Tournesol apart is that they are technology/material agnostic. If carbon is the best material for a rider then they'll make the bike from carbon. If centerpulls work better they'll make the bike with centerpulls. He's built 650b titanium bikes with disc brakes as well as more traditional lugged steel bikes. During my visit I saw a fork built for 650b wheels with centerpull studs and even stainless guides for a dynamo wire. This was in the same shop as a titanium bike fitted with 35mm tires and a Wound-Up carbon/alloy fork with fender mounts.

This is very different from other builders who make constructeur bikes as if it were still the late 40's and ignore recent advances in components and materials. I'm no expert on the constructeurs but I'd wager good money if Herse were around today he'd be pretty excited to work with carbon or titanium. Many modern constructeur builders seem to think weight doesn't matter and this is different from Herse and his generation. Just look at the radical features of the sub 20 pound technical trials bike in the Golden Age book. Looking at those bikes and considering the weight savings to be had with more modern materials it's hard to justify paying top dollar for a bike with fenders and lights that weighs 24+ pounds. The Tournesol bikes are perhaps the best embodiement of the original constructeur ethos of maximizing the integration of the various parts of the bike in order to create a lighter and stronger overall bike.