Thomson

[Twozaskars]

I always believed their gear was of the highest quality, when you only focus on a handful of products then surely you become a master of them and their design etc.
I’ve never owned a new stem or seatpost in my life and Thomson is what I have on my current bike, no idea at all how old they are or what life they’ve lived.

 

[Scarfacexxx08]

I realise im not going to get anything back, I just feel people need to know their items aren't as great as people think they are. I've been working on bikes for 30+ years I've worked in a bike shop and also have a torque wrench. The fact they kind of acknowledge there's a problem then surely they need to redesign.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Did you ask the retailer though? Its their responsibility not the manufacturer.

 

[synchronicity]

Here's my stem. That is a nearly 2" long fatigue crack on the underside of the stem.
Luckily I had the bike upside down and noticed it.

(it's been in my toolbox for a while, I use it as a type of crown race setter now)

 

[Scarfacexxx08]

I bought it from crc, I might give them a try but sounds like they're being taken over by tw@t Ashley

 

[klunkrider]

I think it was when I bought the 27.2 dropper post that my opinion of Thomson changed.

I bought it as a bit of retail therapy after not getting a job that would have been a pay cut. It was just on the market so was £400+ and it was the biggest waste of money I’ve ever made.

All the chat was about how the design and quality of the bushings meant it’d never develop any play but after only about a month of riding it had developed significant rotational play.

I’d rigged up a sort of backwards ass saver mudguard to keep it spotless while riding too.

It got a warranty repair which removed the rotational play but within weeks of having back it started rocking back and forth.

After owning it for around a year, about 7 or 8 months of which it’d been back at the distro for warranty repairs it developed another fault and I cut my losses and stuck it on eBay as spares/repairs.

Because the Thomson had been out of action so much I’d already bought a cheap as shit KS post which obviously had a bit of play out the box but I think it cost around 1/10th of what the Thomson did and the play on it didn’t really get any worse that it was on day one.

 

[Scarfacexxx08]

Thing is if I hadn't noticed this and say just gone down a curb, it could have resulted in disaster. I've got their seatclamps, seatposts and stems. Wonder how bad their handlebars are. I think they need to go back to the drawing board and re design, even if it means adding a bit of weight for safety

 

[bikeworkshop]

The cracks are terrible.
Thomson do use a very hard alloy so the it does c seem quite "snappy"

Of course you'll get no joy off crc -
It ties in with comments in the "state of the industry" thread

State of the industry: a running thread

On topic: Kona is going back to a distributor model: https://cyclingindustry.news/kona-switches-to-distributor-model-in-the-uk-ireland/ I saw an article on Hostess, who make the famous Twinkie bar; when going direct to shops a third of the company outlay was distribution costs. Presumably...

www.retrobike.co.uk

- ultimately part of the effect of the "sell it cheap" business is they can't afford decent customer support in the long term.
In w-crc case, they go bust and write off all their responsibilities.

 

[novekili]

Thing is if I hadn't noticed this and say just gone down a curb, it could have resulted in disaster. I've got their seatclamps, seatposts and stems. Wonder how bad their handlebars are. I think they need to go back to the drawing board and re design, even if it means adding a bit of weight for safety

I have had a carbon bar for 10 years with no issues, but I might have been lucky. Now I have changed it just for safety

 

[bikeworkshop]

Funnily enough, carbon doesn't really 'fatigue' like aluminium.
somel aluminium alloys in particular weaken quite fast in use, looks like Thomson stems are up there.
witha carbon, the resin can break down if its cheap but as a rule if it didn't break, its ok.
You can probably check with the manufacturer about expected lifespan though - a broken bar usual causes a crash
And carbon, when it goes, snaps like a twig
(Must check my bars too, the only piece of carbon i own)