ragnarock
Retro Guru
For my second proper post: Dekerf
I feel things have slowed down here at RB since I joined in 2011. There's been chat amongst the misty eyed oldtimers about it in various threads. It goes in waves, things are not the way they used to be. So I decided maybe I should post a bit rather than just lurking. I don't have that much to share... but every little bit helps right? At this stage, I now only own one "true retrobike". A '91 Yeti FRO, it's all period correct and specced to the hilt, but there's Yeti overload. As cool and grin inducing as they are to ride, and as much as I, and those that own them, love and covet our turquoise wonders, at this stage nobody needs to see another over kitted FRO.
I joined our forum because I was hunting down a Klein Mantra and found a frame for sale by decal man Gil_m and had to sign up to message him.
It was a strange but beautiful bike when built, but it was "special" to ride. A friend of mine in Germany told me it had been referred to as a "Fliegende Bockwurst" (Flying Sausage) in a magazine review there. It was also a size too small - so off it went after a brief but intense ownership period - back when choice parts were cheap and bountiful, restomods weren't frowned upon quite as much, beer poured out of every faucet and the sun was always shining. Lot's of bikes passed through my hands in a similar pattern.
Somewhere along the line I turned 30 and I decided the Mongoose I'd originally bought as a 15 year old with my paper round money was too lowly for me as my main MTB. So I decided to invest in a new bike that would be perfect for me in every way. I decided to go bespoke, and having been semi Canadian during my formative teens I decided to speak to Chris Dekerf (who had just come out of "retirement") and build this in a more or less full-on Canuckian spec in honour of poutine, maple syrup cured bacon, beavers, and hockey.
I'd never done anything similar. It was a huge amount of money for me, and seems a bit nuts in retrospect. Like many of us I've spent a fair amount of time just drooling at the pictures of other people's bikes and I guess at some point I just said to myself "why not?"... and I justified it quite simply in terms that I don't drive, and people drop idiotic money on cars, most of them not even that special, all the time. All things are relative.
Frame Spec.
It was obviously going to be steel, being a big guy, it was also going to be a 29er. After talking to Chris, measuring my arms and where my bollocks hang in relation to the ground, we decided to go with his standard 29er geo in size XL.
I love gear hubs. It had to be the gear hub to end all gear hubs - Rohloff - and I went with paragon sliders at the rear which I later also used on my FTW mini mtb.
I wasn't going to piddle about with tapered head tubes that were just appearing or oversized axles which were still all over the place in terms of standards. I'd had and still have had zero problems with good old fashioned 1.1/8 and 9mm qr's. This was going to be classic, and forever.
I like suspension to a degree... but I don't downhill and I sort of prided myself on the skill of riding rigid. So a tuning fork joined the bill, (though I do ride this off and on with a bouncy fork.)
It would be silly to work with Chris and not get some of the finest fillet brazing around.
I added a few discreet mounting points for a rack so I could throw on some 700c tyres and turn this into an occasional tourer.
Lastly came the paint.
I originally intended to go with one of Chris' standard colours "Tangerine". I still have the swatches he sent me. Then a greeny yellow road bike frame on his website caught my eye. That was apparently an off the cuff mix he'd done - and I asked, can you do it again from memory? Chris threw the custom paint colour in for free at this point. Hooray!
The Frame Build:
There wasn't that much interaction during the actual build as it had all been decided beforehand. We had a brief discussion about routing of the Rohloff cables. He queried whether I wanted them under the downtube as they're fully sheathed and would have quite a presence mounted on the top tube. In the end we decided to go classic. They're definitely there, but I like them. They have purpose and really visually join that mechanical beast of a hub to the rest of the frame. Other than that I just had one quick pic from him after it came out of the paint booth as he was particularly excited by the colour!
I flew out to meet a friend in Calgary and had it posted to pick it up there. It was nearly the same price as posting to the UK. (Seriously WTAF is up with Canadian postal prices?) As a bonus I got to buy some cowboy boots. Back when flights were cheap... perhaps too cheap really.
The build list:
LIke many things this has been iterative, parts have changed over the years, and what you see is it in its current mature build. Many of my decisions were based on this being a sort of ultimate/forever/zero maintenance build. But I'm fully at ease with where it is now and have been for a while.
▪ Headset: CK, but if I could find a really great condition
RaceFace or Syncros I'd consider swapping.
▪Top cap: Raceface because they've been awesome since 1993.
▪Stem: Race Face Turbine
▪Handlebars: Chromag Fubars
▪ Brakes: Hope Tech X2 (from the Empire) old now, but peak CNC to solid ratio in my mind.
▪ Shifter: Rohloff with Ergon Rohloff flavoured grips.
▪Seatpost: Chromag Dolomite
▪Seat Clamp: Chromag QR
▪ Saddle: Ergon to fit to my rear (no point in riding something uncomfortable)
▪Cranks: Syncros revolution (bling bling)
▪Bottom bracket: Syncros Ti (hidden bling)
▪Pedals: Raceface Aeffect (not pictured as I'm waiting for some bearings)
▪ Chainring: Surly stainless steel
▪ Chain: KMC X1 (Rohloff specific)
▪ Wheel Front: Mavic 719
▪ Hub Front: Royce MTB 9mm QR (from the Empire)
▪ Wheel Rear: Mavic 719
▪ Hub Rear: Rohloff 14s with Rohloff cog
▪ Pretty mode tyres: Maxxis Ardent folding gumwalls 2.4" front, 2.2" rear
Last but not least: a Ringlé bottle cage (retrobike
)
Final Thoughts:
BY FAR FAR FAR FAR the most comfortable, confidence inspiring, springy, responsive and energising bike I own. People always ask about Rohloff and weight and supposed drag...and "can you bunnyhop?"... and maybe it's philosophically wrong to pair all that lovely lively supermodel light steel with a German anchor...but I don't really get all the hubbub about it. Shut up and pedal. It's a near silent drivetrain, with a superbly positive feeling shifting...it's a mechanical joy and to me it really feels like you're powering along - sometimes it's like being in a light weight hotrod being pushed forward by a powerful motor it feels so direct...powered by your own legs. It's magic.
The frame is gorgeous, the fillet brazing is like butter.. Chris' paint is like every other aspect of his work ... artisanal and bright, sparkly and jewel like. It's a little delicate, I put some helicopter tape on the bottom of the down tube. That was a mistake as it took off a chunk of clear coat when I removed it. I consider that my mistake though, and I've managed to recoat that little patch. Other than some small chips and nicks here and there with the years, but it has stood up and still looks great. Sadly living in London I don't get out enough in the mud - but I do ride it regularly.
I feel things have slowed down here at RB since I joined in 2011. There's been chat amongst the misty eyed oldtimers about it in various threads. It goes in waves, things are not the way they used to be. So I decided maybe I should post a bit rather than just lurking. I don't have that much to share... but every little bit helps right? At this stage, I now only own one "true retrobike". A '91 Yeti FRO, it's all period correct and specced to the hilt, but there's Yeti overload. As cool and grin inducing as they are to ride, and as much as I, and those that own them, love and covet our turquoise wonders, at this stage nobody needs to see another over kitted FRO.
I joined our forum because I was hunting down a Klein Mantra and found a frame for sale by decal man Gil_m and had to sign up to message him.
It was a strange but beautiful bike when built, but it was "special" to ride. A friend of mine in Germany told me it had been referred to as a "Fliegende Bockwurst" (Flying Sausage) in a magazine review there. It was also a size too small - so off it went after a brief but intense ownership period - back when choice parts were cheap and bountiful, restomods weren't frowned upon quite as much, beer poured out of every faucet and the sun was always shining. Lot's of bikes passed through my hands in a similar pattern.
Somewhere along the line I turned 30 and I decided the Mongoose I'd originally bought as a 15 year old with my paper round money was too lowly for me as my main MTB. So I decided to invest in a new bike that would be perfect for me in every way. I decided to go bespoke, and having been semi Canadian during my formative teens I decided to speak to Chris Dekerf (who had just come out of "retirement") and build this in a more or less full-on Canuckian spec in honour of poutine, maple syrup cured bacon, beavers, and hockey.
I'd never done anything similar. It was a huge amount of money for me, and seems a bit nuts in retrospect. Like many of us I've spent a fair amount of time just drooling at the pictures of other people's bikes and I guess at some point I just said to myself "why not?"... and I justified it quite simply in terms that I don't drive, and people drop idiotic money on cars, most of them not even that special, all the time. All things are relative.
Frame Spec.
It was obviously going to be steel, being a big guy, it was also going to be a 29er. After talking to Chris, measuring my arms and where my bollocks hang in relation to the ground, we decided to go with his standard 29er geo in size XL.
I love gear hubs. It had to be the gear hub to end all gear hubs - Rohloff - and I went with paragon sliders at the rear which I later also used on my FTW mini mtb.
I wasn't going to piddle about with tapered head tubes that were just appearing or oversized axles which were still all over the place in terms of standards. I'd had and still have had zero problems with good old fashioned 1.1/8 and 9mm qr's. This was going to be classic, and forever.
I like suspension to a degree... but I don't downhill and I sort of prided myself on the skill of riding rigid. So a tuning fork joined the bill, (though I do ride this off and on with a bouncy fork.)
It would be silly to work with Chris and not get some of the finest fillet brazing around.
I added a few discreet mounting points for a rack so I could throw on some 700c tyres and turn this into an occasional tourer.
Lastly came the paint.
I originally intended to go with one of Chris' standard colours "Tangerine". I still have the swatches he sent me. Then a greeny yellow road bike frame on his website caught my eye. That was apparently an off the cuff mix he'd done - and I asked, can you do it again from memory? Chris threw the custom paint colour in for free at this point. Hooray!
The Frame Build:
There wasn't that much interaction during the actual build as it had all been decided beforehand. We had a brief discussion about routing of the Rohloff cables. He queried whether I wanted them under the downtube as they're fully sheathed and would have quite a presence mounted on the top tube. In the end we decided to go classic. They're definitely there, but I like them. They have purpose and really visually join that mechanical beast of a hub to the rest of the frame. Other than that I just had one quick pic from him after it came out of the paint booth as he was particularly excited by the colour!
I flew out to meet a friend in Calgary and had it posted to pick it up there. It was nearly the same price as posting to the UK. (Seriously WTAF is up with Canadian postal prices?) As a bonus I got to buy some cowboy boots. Back when flights were cheap... perhaps too cheap really.
The build list:
LIke many things this has been iterative, parts have changed over the years, and what you see is it in its current mature build. Many of my decisions were based on this being a sort of ultimate/forever/zero maintenance build. But I'm fully at ease with where it is now and have been for a while.
▪ Headset: CK, but if I could find a really great condition
RaceFace or Syncros I'd consider swapping.▪
Top cap: Raceface because they've been awesome since 1993.▪
Stem: Race Face Turbine▪
Handlebars: Chromag Fubars▪ Brakes: Hope Tech X2 (from the Empire) old now, but peak CNC to solid ratio in my mind.
▪ Shifter: Rohloff with Ergon Rohloff flavoured grips.
▪
Seatpost: Chromag Dolomite▪
Seat Clamp: Chromag QR▪ Saddle: Ergon to fit to my rear (no point in riding something uncomfortable)
▪
Cranks: Syncros revolution (bling bling)▪
Bottom bracket: Syncros Ti (hidden bling)▪
Pedals: Raceface Aeffect (not pictured as I'm waiting for some bearings)▪ Chainring: Surly stainless steel
▪ Chain: KMC X1 (Rohloff specific)
▪ Wheel Front: Mavic 719
▪ Hub Front: Royce MTB 9mm QR (from the Empire)
▪ Wheel Rear: Mavic 719
▪ Hub Rear: Rohloff 14s with Rohloff cog
▪ Pretty mode tyres: Maxxis Ardent folding gumwalls 2.4" front, 2.2" rear
Last but not least: a Ringlé bottle cage (retrobike
)Final Thoughts:
BY FAR FAR FAR FAR the most comfortable, confidence inspiring, springy, responsive and energising bike I own. People always ask about Rohloff and weight and supposed drag...and "can you bunnyhop?"... and maybe it's philosophically wrong to pair all that lovely lively supermodel light steel with a German anchor...but I don't really get all the hubbub about it. Shut up and pedal. It's a near silent drivetrain, with a superbly positive feeling shifting...it's a mechanical joy and to me it really feels like you're powering along - sometimes it's like being in a light weight hotrod being pushed forward by a powerful motor it feels so direct...powered by your own legs. It's magic.
The frame is gorgeous, the fillet brazing is like butter.. Chris' paint is like every other aspect of his work ... artisanal and bright, sparkly and jewel like. It's a little delicate, I put some helicopter tape on the bottom of the down tube. That was a mistake as it took off a chunk of clear coat when I removed it. I consider that my mistake though, and I've managed to recoat that little patch. Other than some small chips and nicks here and there with the years, but it has stood up and still looks great. Sadly living in London I don't get out enough in the mud - but I do ride it regularly.
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