Stevenson Demountable

1986 Stevenson Demountable travel bike

Before there were S & S couplings or Ritchey Breakaway travel bikes, there was the Herse Demountable.

This demountable is made by Bill Stevenson, a talented and experienced bike builder from Olympia, Washington.  Over the years, Bill has designed and built frames for Gary Fisher, worked as a designer and quality control inspector for Ross Bicycles and Alpinestars USA.  Bill apprenticed with Albert Eisentraut in the early seventies and built his “Limited” series of bikes.

This bike is based on a Rene’ Herse design from the early 1970s.

Lugs that melt into the tubes

Inventive and strong frame coupling

While the travel bike was built in 1986, it was years in the making.  It languished in Bill’s shop raw for a number of years before he gave it to Jeff.  The painter Jeff chose to finish the bike claimed to have “Painters Block” and let the frameset sit on a shelf for over six years.  Coming up with just the right mix of parts was quite a task itself. The bike was finally finished in 2007 and is now in regular rotation in Jeff’s fleet.

Seat tube shifters and lots of quick releases

Even the saddle is adjustable

There is a great mix of engineering and artistry evident in this Stevenson.  Shifters on the seat tube avoid problems when the frame tubes are taken apart.  The bike has a Stevenson stem that is beautiful and functional.  Check out the smooth fillet brazed lugs on the bike, the head tube lug just melts into the top tube…