Richard and Georgena enjoying a bike ride in Vermont.
How the rider will look on the bike.
A couple of months ago, Earl’s Cyclery in South Burlington, VT, delivered this Gale Force to a customer. Richard Tom, one of the nicest bike guys you’d ever want to meet, made the sale. Earl’s doesn’t stock my bikes, but Richard is very familiar with them and with my design philosophy. When a customer came into Earl’s inquiring about a custom Terry, Richard began the fit process. Between the three of us, through many emails and several conversations, a Gale Force bicycle was born.
The nice thing about building bikes to order is the ability to customize them. I used a long reach brake on this bike so the rider would have the option of using a wider tire than the 23mm Schwalbe Ultremo tire specced on the bike. It’s not something you think about until you want it. Typically, the brakes on a road bike don’t have enough room between the top of the tire and the underside of the brake arch to accommodate a tire much wider than 25mm. Depending on how the frame was built, 28′s may work, but there’s no guarantee. With longer reach brakes, this rider can use a 32mm tire. Perfect for the occasional dirt road or rough road.
There are plenty of stock colors to chose from, but we can paint a bike any color. This one is painted “Cinnamon Stick” per the customer’s request.
Many thanks to Richard at Earl’s for doing a great job on the fit and assembly of this Gale Force. I hope there are many more Terry’s in their future!
Gale Force in the work stand.
The finished product. Ready to ride!
Hi Georgena, I’ve been with Susan on a couple of rides with her new Terry. It is a BEAUTIFUL bike, looks awesome on the road. It’s a real work of art! I haven’t ridden it but I’ve picked it up and I love the way it feels. It’s light and feels really balanced. Also, I love the way the tubes fit in my hand when I pick it up. My first real tour bike was a Schwinn Le Tour Lux and I LOVED that bike, though it didn’t fit. I’m now riding a Scott Contessa and it fits…but someday…a Terry! Thanks for building such beautiful bikes. And Yes, Richard is awesome! I love going to Earl’s.