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Tomac Primer 220's are now AVAILABLE

Total Heckler

Beer and Bike Enthusiast
Apr 28, 2005
8,171
189
Santa Cruz, CA
:rockout: That's right. You can get them now. :rockout:

* 220mm rear travel, designed for 203mm travel fork
* 11.5 pound frame and shock weight for medium size bike
* 6061 T6 aluminum front triangle and rear end with CNC aluminum links and dropouts
* Single pivot linkage design with oversize 83mm bottom bracket shell
* Custom hex rear axle (included with bike)
* Low leverage 9.5 X 3 inch stroke rear shock
* Oversize bearings
* Low stand over height
* Available in medium and large
* Only available in white


Mmmmmm... More pictures one the blog! http://tomacfan.blogspot.com/



 

Total Heckler

Beer and Bike Enthusiast
Apr 28, 2005
8,171
189
Santa Cruz, CA
I know, its a tease for me too. I think it looks awesome in the black/red. I love the color combo on my Snyper. I believe the bike pictured above is a one off (for the time being) for MBA to test/review.

I will have more pictures of the frame a little later this week so check back soon. If any of you will be making it to the Sea Otter Classic this year, Tomac will have Primers there for people to check out in person.

It looks like it might be 11.5lbs with rear shock. So 10lbs I think is without shock. I will confirm this soon.

Also, for more pictures of the white production version, check out the picture of factory rider Robin Hagen's ride.
 

Pslide

Turbo Monkey
Hmmm, not so sure that 11.5 lbs deserves a banana dance.

Brand new race bikes ought to be coming in lighter than that. The Orange 224 is around 9.5 lbs, the Socom about 9.0 lbs (both with shock).

Banshee's new Legend prototype is 8.7 lbs without shock, so should be just over 10, but they think they can still take some weight out for the production models.

The Tomac looks light...but I think they could have done a bit more engineering to get the weight down. This is a high end race bike after all.

I guess I feel like the new Tomac is a bit of form over function. Yeah, it's a good design, but it's nothing new and doesn't have any real advantages or unique selling points over any other frame. I guess I'm just a bit disappointed, being an owner of a 204 Magnum, which was such a cool bike... (apart from the weight) :nopity:
 

ridiculous

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2005
2,907
1
MD / NoVA
Interesting the description you just mentioned sounds alot like manitou stuff. Oh wait, the frame was designed by Doug Bradbury (Founder of Manitou).

I cant believe that its a 12lb frame either but at least the bulk of the weight is low on the frame. It does aesthetically look really nice and the geometry looks great for a race bike.
 

OilCanRacer

Chimp
Feb 13, 2008
18
0
seems like they are useing the same old design as other frames.

i see a single piviot(good that it is foward of the bb) with a motolink.

think of a "big hit" with an extra arm or a rm7

not too much research there? and at that weight they are going backwards as far as what people want. not even a good rising rate on it......seems like anything with the tomac name should pedal better at least.
 

NY_Star

Turbo Monkey
seems like they are using the same old design as other frames.

i see a single pivot(good that it is forward of the bb) with a motolink.

think of a "big hit" with an extra arm or a rm7

not too much research there? and at that weight they are going backwards as far as what people want. not even a good rising rate on it......seems like anything with the tomac name should pedal better at least.
They did not just build this bike in a few weeks. The bike took over a year and a half to get from idea to production.I'm pretty sure that there were at least five generations of prototypes before the production bikes. The linkage is not revolutionary but it doesn't have to be. If you look at moto bikes the suspension is all a single pivot with a linkage driven shock(but KTM). All of the suspension looks the same but all the linkages are different, this makes a huge difference on how the bike rides. If you move any of the pivots a cm it will make a large difference in how the bike responds to bumps. Many companies will make very slight changes in the pivot placement and it will make a large difference in the ride. The linkage is progressive by the way.
 

Mc.Dub

Monkey
Feb 28, 2007
115
0
Montreal
What's the weight diff on a DHX vs. say a Vivid or CCBD? Somone posted an M6 somewhere saying it was 10.5lbs with the CCDB and a TI spring.

I'm a 204 Magnum rider too. So i'm partial to the new frame, lighter then the 204, that's for sure. lol
 

Pslide

Turbo Monkey
I'm afraid I've jumped off the Tomac ship... I'll keep my 204 because it looks filthy hot, but I'll be riding a new Banshee Legend come June (I'm on the short list).

To me, the Banshee is pushing the limits of downhill bike design, with forged tub to lower shock position and CG and an axle path and suspension action that is basically DW Link Ver 2.0. And at least a 1lb lighter than the Tomac. I reckon the boys a Banshee are a bit more inspired than the boys at Tomac.

The only thing the Tomac has got on it is that it's made in the USA. Oops, no wait...they've move their production overseas as well... :plthumbsdown: (please correct me if I'm wrong)
 

bdamschen

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2005
3,377
156
Spreckels, CA
Dang, there's some serious hate going on. Maybe it's because I'm partial to single pivots, but the primer looks like a fun bike to race.
 

Total Heckler

Beer and Bike Enthusiast
Apr 28, 2005
8,171
189
Santa Cruz, CA
Dang, there's some serious hate going on. Maybe it's because I'm partial to single pivots, but the primer looks like a fun bike to race.
I agree. Posting something that isn't the big hype (Sundays, M6s, etc) seems to always cause some negative comments. Everyone always has a lot to say about a bike they have never seen in person or even ridden.

I'm not too concerned about it. This bike was designed by Doug Bradbury and I sure in the 2008 season will prove its quality. =]
 

Threepointtwo

Monkey
Jun 21, 2002
632
0
SLC, UT
They did not just build this bike in a few weeks. The bike took over a year and a half to get from idea to production.I'm pretty sure that there were at least five generations of prototypes before the production bikes. The linkage is not revolutionary but it doesn't have to be. If you look at moto bikes the suspension is all a single pivot with a linkage driven shock(but KTM). All of the suspension looks the same but all the linkages are different, this makes a huge difference on how the bike rides. If you move any of the pivots a cm it will make a large difference in how the bike responds to bumps. Many companies will make very slight changes in the pivot placement and it will make a large difference in the ride. The linkage is progressive by the way.
Amen. Changing pivots anywhere in the system changes the suspension dramatically as we found with the Fezzari. It took months of trial and error to figure it out.

I have always been a fan of more complicated designs (rode DH9, V10, 303) and they all work well but a properly designed single pivot can really perfom too. I fell in love with the Turner and have been on a single pivot ever since. Just my $.02.
 

Rover Nick

Monkey
Oct 17, 2006
280
0
Lets hope the welding is better than the previous Tomacs...

no story=no good. All bikes will break, so how about telling us the conditions of that pic. I mean that frame(aside from the obvious) looks like it's had a pretty tough life.
 

wysiwyg

Monkey
May 22, 2002
734
27
Sherwood Forest, UK
Not had a hard life at all - the paintwork was crap too! Thats just rub from being in a van with a load of other bikes.
Never raced, not ridden particularly hard, 2 weeks in France was its worst outting.

The welds were just terrible, they hadnt penetrated whatsoever and downtube around the weld was mega thin, the weld was just sitting on top of the tubing like someone had squeezed toothpaste on it and it had hardened.

ABG refused to help out and then stopped doing Tomac, simply a nightmare.

Shoulda simply sued someone, it seems to be the american way - I figure a few days in intensive care and 9 days in hospital and being told not to ride for 6 months must be worth summat..
 

Total Heckler

Beer and Bike Enthusiast
Apr 28, 2005
8,171
189
Santa Cruz, CA
Not had a hard life at all - the paintwork was crap too! Thats just rub from being in a van with a load of other bikes.
Never raced, not ridden particularly hard, 2 weeks in France was its worst outting.

The welds were just terrible, they hadnt penetrated whatsoever and downtube around the weld was mega thin, the weld was just sitting on top of the tubing like someone had squeezed toothpaste on it and it had hardened.

ABG refused to help out and then stopped doing Tomac, simply a nightmare.

Shoulda simply sued someone, it seems to be the american way - I figure a few days in intensive care and 9 days in hospital and being told not to ride for 6 months must be worth summat..
Sorry to hear about that. I have seen that picture before but never heard any story behind it.

I don't blame you for hating on a companies bike that did that to you, but Tomac isn't the same company it used to be. New ownership, new designs, new manufacturer, everything. Again, I'm sorry you had such an awful experience, but things are a lot different than they used to be.

I will never eat at a local burrito place now since I found a used band aid in my burrito.
 

wysiwyg

Monkey
May 22, 2002
734
27
Sherwood Forest, UK
Just looking on the website for Tomac, have american bicycle group gone pop, or just the UK branch?

Anyway, what annoyed me about the new Tomac name was it did say "if you have a problem with an older Tomac, contact us and we will endevour to help you with a newer Tomac frame" or words to that effect. So it was taken to the Tomac UK importers, although not there when the frame was inspected, I am reliably informed they just laughed...and wanted nothing to do with it.

Now thats service!
 

NY_Star

Turbo Monkey
Just looking on the website for Tomac, have american bicycle group gone pop, or just the UK branch?

Anyway, what annoyed me about the new Tomac name was it did say "if you have a problem with an older Tomac, contact us and we will endevour to help you with a newer Tomac frame" or words to that effect. So it was taken to the Tomac UK importers, although not there when the frame was inspected, I am reliably informed they just laughed...and wanted nothing to do with it.

Now thats service!
Do you not realize that all that is the same about the old Tomac and the "New" Tomac is the name. It is like bringing a Specialized to Trek and saying i want my money back because i broke a Specialized frame.
 

wysiwyg

Monkey
May 22, 2002
734
27
Sherwood Forest, UK
Do you not realize that all that is the same about the old Tomac and the "New" Tomac is the name. It is like bringing a Specialized to Trek and saying i want my money back because i broke a Specialized frame.
Yes. Read where i quote from the NEW Tomac website about helping anyone out with an OLD Tomac...
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
That's really disappointing about the way Tomac won't offer any form of support.

I know the new tomac isn't the old tomac, but if you're using the name, you're continuing the business...with all the bad and good that comes with it.

Reminds me of Ellsworth support. "We don't make that anymore, buy a new bike, then we can repair that when it breaks."

Even though I do think the new bikes look nice and seeing a bunch of Tomac guys on here is encouraging...I still don't think I'd buy a bike that has the possibility of having ZERO support in a year or two....Jan Karpiel...
 

Total Heckler

Beer and Bike Enthusiast
Apr 28, 2005
8,171
189
Santa Cruz, CA
I think if you were to talk to Tomac about the older products, I am sure they would do everything they could to help out. Unfortunately, I only think there is so much they could do since it is an older product, especially one they really had nothing to do with the production of. The new guys at Tomac are really nice guys but again, there is only so much they can do. Its almost like having a Macintosh Commodor and trying to get hardware support from Apple today. Obviously a little exaggerated, but you get the idea.