New Westerners

Local Boy Builds ‘em Good

By YogeshSimpson, 7-06-05

	Photos by Yogesh Simpson/New West

It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon and Sam Hall is in his shop working on a bike. He wears wrap-around eye protection and a cycling cap with the bill flipped up. To call his workspace a shop is somewhat misleading. If you took out the workbench, welding equipment and drill press, the tiny garage would barely accommodate Hall’s silver Honda hatchback. For Hall working on bikes doesn’t mean fixing flats or oiling chains. He builds them from scratch. Welcome to the factory floor of Ramblumtick Bikes..

“How’s it?� says Hall. His standard greeting hints at his Hawaiian roots and his layed-back manner oozes island cool. “I think people are looking for an alternative to the big manufacturers,� he says punctuating each sentence with his distinctive laugh and leaving no doubt that he is indeed an alternative manufacturer.

Many folks in Missoula opt for pedals instead of petrol to get to work, and there are a fair number of recreational bikers in town. But for Hall, and a smaller group of Missoulians, cycling is not just a mode of transport, it’s a passion bordering on an obsession. For these serious enthusiasts looking to spend a little (or a lot) more on a custom bike, Hall is filling the niche.

In the garage Hall is cutting the down tube for his 34th bike, and has orders to keep him busy through the summer. He works exclusively with steel and has made just about every type of bike, including time trial, cyclocross, mountain, road, and touring bikes. The garage is attached to a small one-bedroom house on Woodford Avenue doing double-duty as the world headquarters of Ramblumtick Bikes and home to Hall and his wife Barbara.

Hall first visited Montana as 14-year-old on a cycling trip with his dad, and even then had the wisdom to know he would end up back in big sky country. After high school in Honolulu Hall attended the University of Montana to study history, philosophy and political science. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1998, but bikes are what Hall knows best and he moved back to Honalulu to fulfill one of his earliest goals, to start his own bike shop.

After two years of running “The Steady Wrench� in Honolulu. Hall had had enough of the daily grind and stress of the retail business and returned to Missoula to stay. He’s been building bikes full time for a little over a year now and couldn’t be happier.

“It’s ideal, the flexibility of working at home,� he says. “And it’s so rewarding when people pick up their bikes and knowing that you’ve contributed to this thing that people are going to have for many happy miles.�

With 15 years of experience working on bikes Hall knows how to outfit a bike with the best components for any budget, and his paint colors are all pretty hip. But it is the custom fit that makes bike dorks drool. Starting with the rider’s dimensions and riding style, Hall designs a frame geometry aimed at achieving the perfect riding experience.

“I have a pretty extensive interview process and the design is based off that,� says Hall.

Custom fit doesn’t come cheap – Ramblumtick frames start at $875 – still Hall is hardly making a killing. “Eight seventy-five is a lot of money, but they’re worth more than that if you consider of the quality of materials I use and time. With the amount of time I put into each bike I’m lucky to make 6, 7 bucks an hour.�

Hall built his own bike (a pea green, 29 inch, fully rigid, single speed mountain bike) with special stainless steel couplings on the top tube and down tube that allow the bike to be taken apart and packed in an airline-checkable bag. With his frequent trips to Hawaii Hall was eager to try the system produced by S and S Machining. He’s now made three other bikes with the couplings for customers in Hawaii.

“It adds about $450 to the cost of the frame when you include the bag,� Hall says. “But if you travel a lot it pays for itself pretty quick. You’re looking at $60, $80 each way taking a regular bike on the plane.�

When it comes to bike mechanics Hall has all the answers, but he’s not so clear on the answer to the big question everyone asks about Ramblumtick: “What does it mean?�

“It’s kind of a weird word development,� Hall says. “A combination of rambling on bike . . . my blue tick dog, Echo. I wish I a better story. I should probably come up with one. It’s just a weird-ass name, but I liked it.�

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.