Thread: Tsunami frame
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Old 04-11-13 | 08:00 AM
  #3  
carpediemracing
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Tariffville, CT

Bikes: Tsunami road bikes, Dolan DF4 track

The Tsunami Bikes have a story. Originally an aerospace welder started making frames for himself and some fellow workers. I think he worked at Reynolds (the wheel company) when they were located in Vista CA. He started making frames for locals. In that area "locals" include former Olympians and such. Racers rode his frames to various championships.

At some point the two people doing Tsunami separated. One moved to Arizona. He is the welder, he welds the frames himself. He is the person behind tsunamibikes.com. He doesn't stock frames. If you want a frame he builds it for you. Every frame is custom, from tubes to geometry to size to paint.

I bought two frames from him. I specified what I wanted (seat tube angle, seat tube length, effective top tube length, head tube length, head tube angle, and chainstay length) and left the rest to him. After the first frame I realized that I wanted a shorter chainstay so I got a second frame, trying an aero theme for that one. I really liked the shorter stays so I sent my first frame back to get the stays shortened. I had the frame painted locally since he didn't want to paint the frame. I just started racing the repainted, shortened frame.

Of course right now I can't get to his page, not sure what's happening.

The other I don't know much about. He's the one that imports the frames and sells them on eBay. He apparently stocks frames. They are stock builds. He doesn't offer custom frames.

The two are not associated other than the name and the fact that they know/knew each other. They use different decals.

My original Tsunami (note the decal font). The basic specs - 40 cm seat tube, 75.5 deg seat tube angle, 56.5 effective top tube, 73 deg head tube angle, "shortest possible" head tube 9.5 cm, 40.5 cm chainstays.


Original with the second "aero" frame draped over the bars. Note the dent in the orange bike's top tube from a fall. The black frame is virtually the same except the chainstays are 39 cm versus 40.5 cm and it has an integrated seat post.


The now-red frame, no decals. I did some finishing on the welds and the local painter used an expanding primer to smoothing things out even more - no more dent in top tube. Note the distance between the tire and the seat tube - the chainstay is 1.2 cm shorter now:
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