Reportage

2021 Philly Bike Expo: LaMarche Bike Co. Town & Country All-Road

For our final feature from the 2021 Philly Bike Expo, we’re taking a look at this beautiful Town & Country all-road from LaMarche Bike Co. Tom LaMarche (yes, that Tom LaMarche) has been on and around bikes for a good chunk of his life. In addition to being a sponsored fixed-gear freestyle rider and professional stuntman, Tom recently added framebuilder to his resume. He’s currently offering two framesets – one is a rowdy-looking 27.5″ hardtail and the other is the uber-capable Town & Country. Continue reading below for details on the Town & Country Tom had exquisitely built up for the Expo, as documented by Jarrod Bunk‘s luxe photoset.

Before venturing out on his own, Tom gained valuable experience with both custom and production bike fabrication. He started out with an apprenticeship at Brooklyn-based Squarebuilt and then spent some time working with Horse Cycles on Affinity track frames. Then, following a year-long stint with Stinner Frameworks in Santa Barbara, Tom moved back to Philly (his hometown), opened his own shop, and launched LaMarche Bike Co in 2020.

The Town & Country Tom displayed at PBE is an example of his motivation to build the type of bikes he and his friends would want to ride, but aren’t readily available in the marketplace. The first Town & Country was custom-built for Tom’s friend Jordan, who sought out a “gravel” bike that was also capable of loaded touring. A gravel bike with randonneuring aptitude. Moving forward, the Town & Country will be available as semi-production with stock geometries and custom fit options featuring tailored toptube and seattube sizing.

The frame is build around 650b wheels and will accommodate 48c tires with fenders, like the Velo Orange 58mm displayed on the show bike, or up to about a 2.2″ tire without fenders. Rims on this build are Cliffhangers from Velocity.

Rack mounts are standard on all Town & Country frames. The fork, which is Tom’s custom unicrown design, is also equipped with ample attachment points.

The fork also features internal routing for a super clean appearance when equipped with a dynamo hub like the Shutter Precision from Velocity.

The mountain drivetrain, with SRAM Eagle 12-speed gearing and up to a 40-tooth chainring, is the icing on the cake for this randoneur, enabling riders to confidently approach anything the city and country might throw at them. Microshift bar-end shifters complete the streamlined Simworks cockpit along with matching silver Tektro brake levers and TRP Spyre calipers.

Head over to LaMarche Bike Co. to learn more and follow along on Instagram!