I Got the Blues: a Bombus Bikes Blue Steel Tourer

Photos by Kyle Kelley words by John Watson

A simple search online for Bombus Bikes won’t turn up a whole lot of information. A video here, a random photo there, and a Yelp page with not a lot of information. Yet if you talk to people of Seattle, they know good and well about this small time framebuilding shop. Well, some of they do anyway. Throughout the year, we get lots of touring bikes coming through Los Angeles, specifically through the doors at GSC. Sometimes I’m around the document them and sometimes I’m not, leaving it up to Kyle to do so.

Something you might or might not know about Kyle is he’s a raconteur and a good one. He loves talking to people, to the point of physical exhaustion. Or in most cases, he talks to the wanderlust-filled tourist so much that there’s not enough time to photograph their bike. Which is why I was so stoked to see these photos. As I said, I can’t be around to document everything or everyone, but it’s nice to know there’s a guy who knows his stuff hanging around as well.

The bike is clearly a dedicated touring bike with all the bells and whistles. Ok, maybe not the whistles. Shutter Precision generator hub, lights, White Industries cranks, spare tubes and spokes taped all over, Swift Industries bags, TRP disc brakes, painted-to-match Tubus rack, fenders (clearly not from SoCal!) and lots of beausage.

As for this traveler, his name is James Stroud and this is his Bombus Bikes Blue Steel Tourer. Does he himself have the blues? Doubtful. Anyone that’s touring on a bike like this has got to be stoked.

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