Bike Check: Nickolas’s Stoemper Track
When you start to look into boutique frame builders you’re usually in for a wild ride. Sizing, color, custom bits, waiting time, and of course money are many reasons for a lot of us to go back to simplicity and pick something off the shelf.But what happens when all of the hard work has already been done and you just need to put money on the table?
That’s what happened with Nickolas and his handbuilt Stoemoer.
Here is how it went down: A friend places an order, months go by, and when it’s finally here things aren’t the same anymore. A change of heart made the original owner give up on this project to focus on other things with “more gears”.Jumping on the opportunity, Nickolas got this Oregon beauty, delivered to his door, with zero waiting time and at a very fair price. A very rare opportunity that has to be seized no matter what.
With its oversized tubing, CNC machined dropouts, and custom Enve seat-mast the Stoemper Angus has a few tricks under its belt that makes it a monster on the track and a rocket in the streets.
That special one has been custom-made for the Japanese roads with internal cable routing and a drilled rear wishbone, but let’s get on with the build.
I’ll start directly with the wheels! Because when you have a pair of Philwoods, you’re already on the high end of the spectrum, but when you go with the pro version with ceramic bearing and all that jazz, you’re definitely a baller. Coming in a classy back anodize, they are beautifully laced to Mavic Open Pro CD and warped in the very fast Vittoria Corsa Graphene. And this is how you get yourself a smooth, solid, and very fast pair of wheels.
For the rest of the components, it was logical to match the custom-painted Enve fork with matching stem and drop bars.
Even with a healthy 49x17 ratio, this “fixed-road” build it’s an absolute reaper. Thankfully, a pair of Shimano 105 calipers and Sram levers are here to stop you in any situation, but also for that “full control” ride style.
On a personal note, I’ve also been riding with two brakes recently, and the extra control you can have over your speed, just makes you more confident to get into tight spaces or reach more towards your limits.
But coming back to the build, I really like how Nickolas mixed his worlds by mixing US-made gears like this AARN and King-Kog collab chainring, a 17T Philwood Cog, with a trusty Dura Ace crankset and pedals.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
Custom Stoemper Angus
Chainring and Cog AARNn x KingKog 49T - Philwood 17T Cog
Crank Duraace FC-7710
Seatpost and Saddle
Custom Enve seatmast - Specialized saddle
Stem and Handlebar
Enve 100mm Stem - Enve 420mm Drops
Wheels Mavic Open Pro CD laced to Philwood Pro Track hubs
Tires Vittoria Corsa Graphene 2.0 25c
Finally a mate pink Chris King and some Fizik Bicolor Vento bar tape for the last details, and we are set!
As for many of the bike checks that I’ll do in Japan, they almost all have that vibe of “practical beauty”. There isn’t any form over function or function over form here. It needs to work, and always with style.
I’ve ridden plenty of bikes, from fully decked out thirty years old carbon builds that are awesome looking out, but an absolute pain to ride. To average-looking builds that just feel like you could spin on them forever. Finding the right balance between those two is probably by far the hardest job when it comes to this hobby.
I also really want to thank Nickolas for keeping the culture by having this awesome little golden nugget of a shop. If you drop by Tokyo, make sure to check out his shop (25LAS) where you might find your next NJS dream, or something completely different.
Support small businesses, because this is where you find incredible people.
