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So what About Wheels and all that Stuff?
Frame Equipment
Getting Started
Alright, you're ready to order a frame. What about wheels and cranks and stuff? You may have most of what you need, you may not. Thursday has contacts with distributors including J&B Importers,Bicycle Technologies International (BTI) and Tip Plus. Distributors are wholesalers, so the price Thursday gets from them is not much lower than what you can do through mail-order or on the internet. But if you need stuff and don't have it, Thursday will order it for you. Then there are framekits - that includes everything, soup to nuts, except for pedals and front fork. For that Thursday uses Security and BTI.
Then there is OE. That stands for original equipment and is a price point available only to manufacturers.OE pricing lets you price a frame-and-fork at cost that is in the ballpark with the majors. Thursday has OE agreements with a number of manufacturers. OE prices are great, but they are only available when you buy a frame. This is serious. A lot of manufacturers will "grey-market" lasts years OE, flooding the market with cut-price suspension forks, cranksets, etc. That's all on them and the manufacturers that let them get away with it. Thursday doesn't do that.
Pricing. Thursday marks stuff up. It's a hassle to buy it, it's a hassle to unpack it and make sure it's the right stuff, it's even a hassle to get rid of the packing material. This means that the distributor-supplied stuff will cost you somewhere between wholesale and what you would pay at the local bike shop. It's a toss-up. On OE, which is mainly big-ticket items, you get an add-on price that is pretty close to wholesale. You make out.
Then there is some stuff that Thursday stocks because it is so hard to come by otherwise. This includes the Thomson 29.8mm seatpost, which they only make up special order and no one in their right mind will stock. It makes sense to buy a seatpost with the frame, whether its the 29.8mm Thomson or a Kalloy copy in 30.2 mm for bikes with a butted seat tube. It also includes the Profile disk brake BMX hub and sliding derailleur hanger, and a basic wheelset for the 26" cruiser.
Seat PostsMost of Thursday's frames use a 1.25" (31.7 mm) seat tube. The best thing is to buy a seatpost with the frame. Frames with straight gauge seat tubes take a 29.8 mm post, while those with butted seat tubes get a 30.2 mm unit.
Thomson elite 29.8mm black, 440mm long. This is a straight post, not the layback model. Price with frame: $60 Unfortunately Thomson doesn't make a 30.2mm post. Yet.
Kalloy/Rockwerks Thomson copy, silver, 30.2mm, 440mm long. This looks like a Thomson but weighs a little more. However, it has stood up well to BMX and extreme use. Order this seatpost with a frame using a butted seat tube. Price with frame: $20 As of this time J&B has discontinued this post. I do have a Kalloy Uno in black, same price. FWIW, the Uno was the best of the cheap posts in Thomson's strength comparison test.
Forks
This is a big category. Thursday hasn't been building forks and probably won't get into it anytime soon, the only exception being maybe road bikes. In general, last year's mountain forks tend to get blown out or grey-marketed. The only spec that counts in this regard is the fork length. Lengths vary and Thursday's frames are all spec-ed to the length of a specific fork. Make sure of the spec before you grey-market or eBay a fork.
Thursday has OE agreements in place or pending with White Brothers and Marzocchhi.
White Brothers cross country forks are the "magic series" The Magic 100 is offered with the Eclipse cross country frame at an upcharge of $420.00
White brothers extreme ride forks include the Fluid series of 120mm travel forks in 26" and 29" wheel sizes. These are offered with the "New Model" frame at a $420.00 upcharge
Thursday has an OE agreement with Marzocchi. If you order a Marzocchi anything with a frame, you will get a killer deal. The 4-X World Cup is a great fork with stiffness in reserve for truly sick riding. And it's only five pounds!
BMX and Dirt Jumping forks
I'm having pretty good luck with SuperCross - Bill Ryan don' build no junk.
The Supercross Pro fork is available with a frame at a $90 upcharge. This is a little better than retail and saves you on shipping. We will also, on a special order basis get you any of the other great SuperX forks.
For the 26" Vida Loca cruiser, we are currently spec-ing a discontinued SuperX fork. These are $100 extra in paint or chrome. Once they are gone, then what? There are new Landing Gear forks being fabbed in Taiwan. They are longer than the OG Landing Gears and will throw off the geometry on the 26-er.
Thursday likes the MacNeil ID fork for dirt and street. Order the ID with your Black rain or Acid Rain frame for $110 extra.
BMX barsHere again, I like SuperCross - they are heat-treated light and strong. I keep the 26" low-rise cruiser bars in stock and recommend them, with a solid BMX stem for the "New Model" as well. They sell for $45 with a bike.
Wheel Goods
Wheelsets:
Wilderness Trails makes a great mountain wheelset. They are not cheap but they stay round longer. Round is good!
Laserdisc Lite: This is a disk-only cross country wheelset, geared or single speed rear: Price with frame $340.
Laserdisc DH: This is a heavier wheelset, with 20mm front axle. Use it on the "new Model" with an appropriate fork, or on any of the slalom bikes. Standard QR or thru-axle rear. Price with frame: $380
Dual duty FR: This is WTB's most versatile wheelset for disk or rim brakes, 26" or 29" tires and with a standard front QR or 20mm through axle. Price with frame $320
Tires and Tubes: Thursday is a big fan of WTB tires. YMMV. Order WTB tires and tubes with your frame. Most tire/tube combos are under $30 per wheel when ordered with a frame, with or without a wheelset. Thursday will even throw in a Pedro's rim strip if you order your wheel goods all-WTB. A special deal for 26" BMX riders: a set of Nanoraptors or Vulpines, 6 WTB presta tubes and a pair of Pedro's rim strips for $80. Should keep you going all season long.
The 4-X bike works with any good, fat tire. You may want a heavier tire with stiff sidewalls, or a light, track-weight tire. WTB's Weirwolf 2.55 race is a pretty good, light tire. The 4-X bike is really waiting for a tire that doesn't exist yet: a light, fast-rolling 3-inch tire with a small block tread on the bottom and deep-block grabbers on the sides.
Thursday's basic 26 inch cruiser wheelset. This includes plain Vanilla Sun Rhyno Lite rims, J&B sealed bearing big body BMX hubs, and stainless 2.0 straight gauge spokes. This wheelset will run you $145 when ordered with a frame.
Profile BMX disk brake hub and wheelsets. Right now profile is the only manuafacturer that will make up a disk brake BMX hub. Their rear cassette hub is as good as it gets, and will mount a disk. They are a special-order item. This hub is $220 when purchased with a frame. Or you can order a wheelset, Profile hubs, Rhyno Lite XL rims and 2.0 DT spokes, for $440.
Soft GoodsCan I get a T-shirt? How about a jacket or some nice hucking pants? Thursday thinks about this, but hasn't got 'round to it yet. One project is a "Je ne Regrette Rien" beret ... will this stuff materialize? Eventually.
Thursday Bicycle
624 W. Young St.
Pocatello ID 84204-2706
(208) 478-1358
thursday@allidaho.com
