Intro

At Cycles Tournesol we build bicycles that are as fun to ride as they are beautiful to behold. We spare no details, make few compromises, and build a whole bicycle that meets your most demanding requirements.

Looking to time-honored traditions - because sometimes the old ways are still the best - we incorporate the best of modernity's innovations in design, material, and engineering. Our aim is to build bikes that will be ridden hard and valued because they work brilliantly and they look beautiful.

Tournesol's inspiration comes primarily from the great French traditions of "constructeur" bicycles designed to incorporate all functioning parts into a greater whole, a true gestalt in which the entire bike creates a singular experience. Every Tournesol is different because each one matches its owner's vision of the perfect go-everywhere, do-everything bicycle. 

Our goal at Tournesol is to create a singular experience: because each bicycle is conceived as a whole, from beginning to end, it is much more than the sum of its parts. Sometimes a Tournesol will have aluminum mudguards mounted to round the wheel with elegant symmetry; lighting that integrates so it is safe, reliable, and out of the way; and front or rear carriers that are built with lamp mounts and are able to support bags that fit perfectly.

A Tournesol uses wider road tires than your typical racer to improve the "roll" or it might use another wheel size altogether, such as the famed 650B when you want the best in all-around or "rough stuff" riding. A Tournesol might use new old-stock parts that represent the best of the past, if that's your fancy, or it might be equipped with the most up-to-date innovations in carbon and index shifting.

At Tournesol we work with you to design and execute a bike that suits you in every way. We are here to listen to your ideas and suggestions, your preferences and needs. We'll then offer our professional input to fit and size, design and paint, equip and bring to your door a true "constructeur's bike"---a bicycle custom built to your specifications. You can have a Tournesol almost any way you like. It's our dream to build the bike of your dreams, perhaps even a bike you have not yet imagined.

Fit

The key elements to proper frame fit are to achieve optimal lengths for the top and head tubes. Once these two factors are considered everything else falls into place. When looking at a Tournesol please keep in mind that we are building you a bicycle that is primarily designed to be comfortable over long distances with less emphasis on a "powerful" or "aero" position.

When constructing a bicycle frame for a rider, we look at several factors. The principal dimensions we ask for are:

• Saddle Height
• Handlebar height from the ground
• Saddle-to-handlebar reach

As the head tube lengthens, so must the seat tube if we wish to avoid a sloping top tube. Since we build these bikes to look as traditional as possible, a level top tube is preferred - particularly when building with lugs. There will be times, however, when a sloping top tube becomes the best solution to fitting a particular rider.

A good rule of thumb in calculating your seat tube length is found using PBH minus 25cm (as an average - more for tall folks, less for shorter) or saddle height X .77. This will build a frame that shows a "fistful of seatpost" and avoids an excessive amount of stem showing.

We recommend frames built to the above specifications for those wanting to be both comfortable and fast while riding longer distances. Please note that we at Cycles Tournesol de-emphasize the importance of stand-over height (straddling the bike with your shoes flat on the ground) because we believe that this measurement has little value regarding the fit of traditional, non-sloping frames. Since we don't straddle our bicycles - we ride them - we only need enough room to stand comfortably.

Bon chance et merci!