Thomson Bike Products, long known for precision US-machined aluminum, ventures more into ti with two production titanium bike frames coming soon for gravel & trail mountain biking, plus a titanium version of their always popular 2-bolt seatpost. They’ve also added plenty of carbon road & mountain bars in recent years, which all now get a new matte carbon look.
Thomson Elite Titanium Gravel production ti gravel road bike
Titanium bikes from Thomson aren’t entirely new, their mountain bike has been available as a custom deal for a while, and we got a good look at the Elite Ti Gravel bike back at NAHBS. But now it looks like the details are settled, production is in process, and you can expect to get ahold of these two models at the start of 2020.
The new bikes are welded from 3/2.5 ti in Asia, and will be available in several stock sizes. The Gravel bike will get a five size range (XS-XL) and looks to get a slightly steeper 70° headtube than when we last saw it, paired with the 74° seattube for more of an on-road feel. Official max tire size is set at 700x42mm with room for mud clearance, but even this display bike had Vredestein’s new 44mm gravel tire.
The frame features 12mm thru-axles, flat mount brakes, rear rack & fender mounts, a standard threaded BB, 27.2 post, and modular internal cable routing including for a dropper post (hint: a 27.2 Thomson Covert Dropper internally routed post is in the works.)
The Gravel bike will be available in early 2020 (~Feb/Mar) as a frameset for $3000 including the ti frame, seatpost clamp, carbon fork, bar & stem.
Thomson Elite Titanium 275 production ti trail mountain bike
The ti trail hardtail hasn’t changed all that much from Thomson’s original custom Elite 275 mountain bike. Geometry is dialed in for more of a modern long, low & slack ride still with 27.5″ wheels and for longer trail forks from 140-160mm of travel.
The ti hardtail will have a similar frameset price as the gravel bike (without a fork, but possibly with a dropper) and will also be available in early spring 2020. Three stock frame sizes are expected, with generous tire clearance for at least a 27.5 x 2.4″ trail tire.
The ti hardtail is 1x specific with a Boost rear end, internal routing in the main triangle and stealth dropper routing, a 73mm threaded bottom bracket, and an internal tapered headset.
Thomson Classic Ti Seatpost, machined titanium 2-bolt post
The Thomson Ti seatpost was also teased back in March, but now it is said to officially be available. Retail prices is approximately $300, and it comes only in a 27.2mm diameter, in two lengths (350mm (250g) & 410mm (280g). That makes it only a few grams (<10g) lighter than the aluminum Elite (and heavier by ~40g than an aluminum Masterpiece). Weight savings wasn’t the primary concern here, rather the silky smooth ride of titanium with the strength and reliability of a Thomson 2-bolt post.
The 3al2.5v classic Ti post features the same long CNC-machined 7000 series alloy rail cradles as Thomson aluminum posts, but gets new titanium bolts, which might account for the weight savings. Those ti bolts are also expected to be available separately soon to upgrade your current alloy post.
Thomson Carbon in matte, plus new carbon seatpost coming soon
On the carbon front, Thomson wasn’t showing anything entirely new (beyond teasing), but rather a new matte finish that has rolled out across all of their carbon road & mountain bike handlebars as the new standard look. There was more talk of a carbon seatpost, though. It is officially still in the coming soon stage, and is said to fall somewhere in between the weight of the alloy Elite & Masterpiece posts, lighter than the Ti post, with an aim towards vibration damping rather than ultimate weight savings.
