We're putting up Homer frames for presale next Tuesday the 23rd at noon PST. The A. Homer Hilsen is our flagship country bike - They're on the more roadish side of our line up, but fit a 45mm tire which means they can be stretched into light trail bikes or even a road touring bike if you're not bringing your cast iron cookware.
I use my Homer, in addition to commuting, for longer, mixed terrain rides with a big chunk of road mixed in. Last Wednesday I rode mine out to Mt. Tam, where I did some trails, but spent about 75% of the time on the road. The 45mm tires don't feel slow on pavement and let me ride most trails comfortably, although more carefully than when I ride my Susie Longbolts with 2.6 chunkers. If that's what you're aiming for and you're under... say, 210 pounds, the Homer is a great way to go.
Grant has used his for tons of S240s, and not always with a minimal load. If bike camping is your main type of riding, maybe wait for an Atlantis or Gus frame, but if camping only makes up a fraction of your bike riding life, then the Homer is perfect.
We're getting 140 frames or so, which is a big increase from our previous orders so we're not going to do a lottery this time. We also need the $ quickly to pay for the incoming Gus and Susie frames.. so no lotto.
When the time comes, please add one of these instructional products to your cart as well so we know what your plans are. We've done a fairly good job of hoarding parts for builds so don't let the giant sections of the site listing "out of stock" scare you off. Here's a couple more pics of Homers I found on my hard drive:
Here's Liz and her 51cm Homer. Liz had a Sam, but wanted the longer chainstays on the Homer.
Sams and Homers are similar and almost functional equivalents, but Homers take a sidepull brake instead of V's, and have slightly lighter tubing.
The 64cm frames, made for PBHs 94 to 100 or maybe more, come with a fillet brazed, arc'd and ovalized double top tube.
This is our old 54.5cm demo. Homers are compatible with all of our bars, including drops, although Boscos might need to be shaved down a bit.
If you don't know your frame size, or if you have other questions, call us at 800-345-3918 and we can figure it out. We expect to get the frames mid-December.
-will