Domestic Bomber is a steel cruiser bike that’s retro, modern & totally tubular

Written by Tyler Benedict Oct 09, 2021 11:49 a.m. ET

domestic bomber steel city mountain bike

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The Domestic Bomber is a new steel-tubed cruiser bike from the small batch Nor-Cal builders that takes a modern look at retro components to future proof it. While it looks simple, there’s a LOT to appreciate on this rigid urban mountain bike worth looking at…

For starters, it’s a top shelf build, with a Sturmy Archer coaster brake hub and Basic cranks and components everywhere else.

The frame is made of 4130 Chromoly steel, with oversized tubes for a bombproof (or bomber?) build, making it a great play bike for hucking off curbs or getting rowdy around town.

Up front is a Sturmy Archer drum brake hub, using the only cable seen on the bike with a single brake lever. And here’s where the bike starts to get really interesting…

The reaction arm (the part that sticks out of the hub) is affixed to the fork leg with an intentionally overbuilt adapter.

The seat tube gets three water bottle bosses, arranged to hold an Anything Cage.

The point was to make the bike capable of using a small front hub e-bike motor to create an assisted version in the future. So, that little reaction arm is strong enough to handle the torque from a hub motor, and the Anything Cage is strong enough to hold a small battery pack.

The goal was to create a bike that could easily get up and down the hills of San Francisco for a commuter, then quickly convert to a normal pedal fun bike on the weekends.

Tire clearance is a bit tight with bit mountain bike treads, but the stout frame should limit flex that would lead to tire rub (just don’t get anything caught in there…or run narrower tires).

Price and availability? All they’re saying is “Coming Soon”, but you can follow them on social and more from their website to get on the list.

DomesticBikes.com

Tyler Benedict

11,198 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter.

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Seraph

2 years ago

Kinda wish it was disc or at least caliper brakes in the rear. Not really getting rowdy around town on a coaster brake at my age.

Mark

2 years ago

What kind of front brake could be used on the bike with a front hub motor?

Enrico

2 years ago

Gorgeous looking bike. Niche though. I Agree with the need to have discs for more than one reason(even small discs). Still a gorgeous looking bike.

Loll

2 years ago

The biggest mistake is coaster rear brake. San Francisco, with the hills and the feature along Embacadero is a place begging for manuals and rear wheel hops trialsin style. Sure, if you are a pro, you can do that with any brake or even no brake, but thats not the market audience here is it?

Mr Sodapop

2 years ago

A mtb hard tail in 2021 w no tire clearance Clarence? Really? My mb-0 in the early 90’s had more tire clearance.

Seth

2 years ago

Looks like it has a rather slack rake angle, but the fork doesn’t appear to be offset to accommodate such. Might have quite a bit of trail. I’d be interested to know if it has “floppy” steering at slower speeds.

Dave McLaughlin

2 years ago

A little background on the @domesticbikes Bomber…
The bike is built in tribute to the early Repack Bombers. The designer @yodavemac grew up bombing fire trails on his coaster brakes bikes and was a pioneer in the formative years of mountain bike racing, with Repack in the early 80’s as his first ever race.
So back to the bike…the chrome fork,
Sturmey drum, coaster brake and leather seat are in homage to that time in the evolution of the sport. We gave a knob to advances with 27.5” wheels, threadless 1 1/8” headset and alloy cranks.
We grew up on bikes know discs will work better in San Francisco, but that’s not the point here.
This bike was created with Joe Breeze, Charlie Kelly, Otis Guy, Gary and the other Repack riders in mind.
Check out @domesticbikes on IG for more information and news what we’re up to.
Thank you for reading.
The Staff
Domestic Bikes

yodavemac

2 years ago

45mm trail…

Built in tribute to the Repack bombers, hence the coaster brake and drum.

Joe Scully

2 years ago

I like the setup, I get the concept the only add on I would like to see are mounts for racks.

Michael Johnson

2 years ago

These brakes are more than sufficient! Not sure what everyone is bitching about, it’s all about simplicity. This type of brake was used on tandems for years.

PRH

2 years ago

re the comments about discs, I love the Sturmey Archer drums, have been riding them on my SS for years. You have to pull harder but they are very strong, and the biggest benefit is imperviousness to rain-mud-snow, and the fact that you never have to replace brake pads (which equals safety as you can just park the bike in the evening and get on in the morning and the brakes will always work, without adjustments and service). The cartridge bearings in these hubs roll really well too.

The mounting points on this frame for the torque arms are lovely, really cool. The whole design is very interesting. Only thing it seems to lack is bottle – fenders – racks mounting points on frame & fork. Would be a great commuter bike too, hope the public realizes it and will buy it.

Dirt McGirt

2 years ago

Wow. It amazing to me, after 30 years in the bike biz, how feeble-minded and easily led the vast majority of the mtb community is these days.

I T S A K L U N K E R

No discs needed.

Unless you’re a chump as rich dude.

Dirtbags for life!

Wandering

1 year ago

I love the aesthetics of the bike the way it is displayed. The problem with bikes like this is, when you set the seatpost for someone with 36″ inseam, they look stinkbug high in the rear and all of those cool proportions go out the window. As for the brakes, I think they are perfect for what the bike is built for. Maybe someday I can get a custom build that gives the same aura, but in my proportions.