Just got back about an hour ago from Toms’ store in Dearborn,MI. I live around 2 hours away, so it’s a bit of a drive. I went to see him a year ago and was having knee problems at the time. He made some adjustments and it did not seem to help. But I thought if Tom was so good or any bike fitter should have cured my knee problems instantly. So it didn’t happen and rather than going back and telling him I suffered for a whole year with the problems trying to fix it myself. I think I did a pretty good job because my knee is getting better from bike fitting every time I rode I would tweak the position, running form, stretching, and from more knowledge. I don’t think that I know the exact reason why it is getting better but I know it was wrong for me to blame Tom for the problem. Take note if you have a problem after the fit go back and Tom will probably solve it. Don’t be so pig headed like I was!!!
Today was great though, we fitted me to my Tuscany(road) and besides a problem with the Thompson stem on a carbon steerer tube, everything was fine. Then we fitted my Saber(tri) and you have to love what Tom says"That bike fits you perfectly"–Wow just what you want to hear. Your purchase was a good one. One thing with the stem problem with Thompson on carbon–doesn’t work!!
Make a long story short Tom is worth the 4 hours of driving. He is a great guy to chat with and his staff is always there to help.
One note: Watch out because Tom will tell it to you straight! No BS!
Which is great. One other thing about Tom is that he cares about you and your bike. If he works on it he worries about how it will operate and he loses sleep worrying about his customers bikes. He things because you spend money buying a bike than you should get out of it what you paid.
Oh yea, I was there for 2 hours and Tom didn’t even have the decency to charge me. Now you know no one does anything for free unless they really do care. (I didn’t buy the bikes from him originally either) I highly recommend him for all your biking needs. I’ll be sending him people from my club, it’s worth the drive.
Thanks Tom
“Oh yea, I was there for 2 hours and Tom didn’t even have the decency to charge me”
Geeze, can I get such a deal since I’m about a twelve hour return trip away? But at least I’d offer to buy him a beer after!!
I would have offered but as soon as I was down he was on to something else. I don’t think he knows what taking a break is. He seems like one of those guys who never stops moving.
Quick question regarding the Thompson Stem, Maybe Tom can clarify. I had the same concerns with a new Reynolds Ouzo Aero Fork w/carbon Steerer and a Thompson Stem. I called Reynolds direct, and they informed me that the Thompson stem is the only vise type stem approved for their carbon steerer. What brand of fork was yours?
Maybe Tom should help clarify because that is excatly the opposite of what he told me yesterday. Reynolds must have told you the wrong thing. According to Tom, the Thompson is not right for any carbon steerers because of the front clamp style. It does not offer a even amount of clamp and could cut or damage the fork. The fork could stop off because of the pressure in the front rather than the rear. I think this is what he said.
I’m sure Tom is reading so he will probably respond soon!
Hi guys- First off: Thank you to Matt for his kind words and making the trip. Matt is an easy guy to work with because he is already 80% of the way to being on the bike very, very well.
Here’s the scoop on the Thomson stem/Carbon steer tube controversy: We received bikes from a vendor that included carbon steer tube Reynolds forks and Thomson stems. The bikes arrived to us that way, inferring that the specs were approved by the manufacturers since they were shipped that way. I try to avoid assumptions like that though, and was double checking the written instructions fro installation of Raynold’s carbon steer tube forks and which stems were appropriate for use on them. A small instruction card enclosed in the Reynold’s packaged depicted line drawings of the appropriate stem clamp configuration along with depictions of the inappropriate style. The Thomson stem included in the parts kit that arrived from the factory clearly fell into the category of “inappropriate for use on Reynold’s carbon steer tubes”. We phoned the bike manufacturer to point this out and inquire about what they wanted us to do. The person at the bike manufacturer told me, and I quote directly: “Oh, go ahead, it will be alright. We’ve been shipping those for a while and had no problems- You’re the first person who even noticed it…” That answer scared me. I phoned Reynolds and they said “No, do not use that stem on our carbon steer tubes.” I spoke with a representative in the Thomson booth at Interbike Las VEgas 2 years ago when the stems were first being shown and they said “They may not work on some forks, but we’re working on that.” Ultimately, we made a decision to not use the stems since their compatibility, safety and design for use on carbon forks could be verified as appropriate and it scarred me. It seemed irresponsible. So we use different stems despite the fact that the manufacture still includes them with some bikes (probably based on whatever they have in inventory when the parts kits get shipped.) It may be fair to us to point out that neither of Matt’s bikes came from our store- if they had, we would have made the change here before he ever got on the bikes. I hope that sheds some light on this.
Tom, I had this dilema in last December. I spoke with Cullen W first regarding the issue and he assured me that Reynolds had approved the Stem and Fork Combination, He went on further to assure me that Rock Shox had also approved the Thomson stem and Their Carbon Steerer Fork. I followed up with all three Companies Thomson, Reynolds and Rock Shox. (lhthomson.com, rockshox.com, reynoldscomposites.com) I spoke directly with Reynolds and they assured me the combination was acceptable.
I’m going to make some additional phone calls to Reynolds and Thomson on Monday. I forgot to add that we also showed this design to a materials engineer from U of M. He looked at it and said “Ahh, well yeah, that’s a problem…”. More to come. As with the other stuff I’ve gotten myself in trouble for, I always err on the side of caution. It’s why I am still alive.
I apologize for beating a dead horse, but I have been a firm believer in the quality and durability of Thomson products. Most of my Bicycles are fitted with Thomson Products.
The one question or statement that I left out is that the Reynolds forks that I have are 1", Thomsom only builds 1 1/8" stems, with the Thomson made shim I wonder if this makes any difference in the equation.
The bikes in question were 1&1/8" steer tubes.