Danneaux's Sherpa

[Relayer]

#8 rubber stopper 
all-stainless compression hardware 
wing nut is captive 
Evozote closed-cell foam 
expansion plug with high-test monofilament 
nitrile o-ring 

Geez, I have so much to learn ... or maybe not   

Sounds great Professor Dan   

[triaesthete]

Truly a bespoke spoke holder.
Do you carry a cassette lockring tool as well?
Ian

[Danneaux]

Hi Ian,

Do you carry a cassette lockring tool as well?

I sure do, as part of my underseat-bag contents (have to remove the cassette to change spokes on the more highly-stressed right rear...or use homemade z-spokes or a FiberFix). My preferred model is the original Pamir HyperCracker, bought in 1991. I have found it superior to presently available models because the longer lever arm places less strain and stress on the dropout opening than do the current "mini" models. I still pad it with my sock doubled-over to better distribute the stress on the stays. I've never had a problem when playing with it or when using it to rescue friends.

A good review of cassette removers is here: http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-029/index.html and this site http://www.mark-ju.net/bike_ride/equipment/hypercracker.htm also illustrates nicely some of the damage that can be incurred from using the more minimalist models that place their moment arm within the dropout. A fully tight cassette lockring is...tight. Not a bad thing when you're working with shop-length removers, but it places a lot of force on a dropout when the remover arm is only a couple-centimeters long.

Fortunately, I've never had to replace spokes on any wheels I've built. I keep a good watch on my wheels, and the spokes always have a high-average even tension, which helps extend their life. If one is going to have a spoke fail, it will commonly be on the more highly dished right-rear (on bikes with freewheels or cassettes), and one is much more likely to break a spoke if the wheel has low spoke tension (spokes generally break from fretting loads at the elbow, though they can break at the end of the nipple if the wheel is built incorrectly or the spoke exits the rim at a too-acute angle, just past the last threads). Minimize those contributors, and one minimizes the chance of needing or using a spare spoke or cassette remover in the field.

Still good practice to carry a remover. A spoke wrench and spare spokes, too. I'm humble enough to know that Someday I'll need 'em, and will be glad I have them along.

If you have minor welding/brazing skills and have access to even a few basic machine-shop tools, it isn't hard to come up with a very nice cassette remover of your own that will be much safer on dropouts than many current models.

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Sherpa and I went out for a longish (87mi/140km) ride to Corvallis and back Sunday, and had a grand time. As you can see from the photos, flooding remains a problem, and I had to alter my route a number of times (neither Sherpa nor I swim). There's still a lot of storm damage -- downed trees and such -- from the wet snowstorm we had on the 2nd day of Spring, and from the heavy rains and winds that followed. A number of farmers had pushed their downed orchard trees into huge piles for burning.

I brought my Pocket Kitchen ( http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3850.msg16915#msg16915 ) with me, and had a nice lunch of piping hot rehydrated chicken noodle soup steeped in a Reflectix cozy, a couple energy bars, and some hot apple juice. The setting was lovely, and made for a nice alfresco restaurant setting. Want some? I had split pea soup in reserve.

I saw a lot, including the annual plastic pink flamingo migration. Residents thoughtfully posted their crossing; you don't want to get in their way when they're on the move! Relentless as lemmings, they are.

One of my detours had some really bad potholes where it had been washed out by the floods, and another had a fresh pour of 15cm of 3/4-minus crushed granite. Both were malignant (I class gravel as benign and malignant; these were the latter), but Sherpa and his 26x2 Schwalbe Duremes handled them with aplomb. There were hills, too; take a look at that 13% slope grade on my SkyMounti inclinometer! Speaking of Duremes, look at the photo of my front tire in motion. Back on asphalt, the dirt has been worn away in the center -- the width of the rim. It was only in the soft, deep gravel the entire width of the 26x2.0 Dureme came into play. And then, I rode to Ireland! Not really, of course, but I've included the flag I saw for Andre, jags, and Jawine.

And last, this has been a strange weather year for the Willamette Valley and the entire US Pacific Northwest. As you can see, there's still lots of snow in the mountains. It just came late this year, and spring has been badly delayed. we're still having the occasional freezing night.Makes for pretty scenes, though.

Although Sherpa and I have taken a number of rides together, for some reason something "clicked" this ride and he didn't just feel like a nice bike. He felt like my bike, a Danneaux Bike. Nice.

Oops. Pics are collectively too big for one post, so I'll post the second batch in a separate entry.

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

The rest of the pics from Sunday's ride to Corvallis and back...

Best,

Dan.

[jags]

ah fantastic photos Dan thanks for posting.
man than was a great spin  my longest this year was 55miles i think you put
me to shame.bike and pilot looking class.
just spotted the tri colors what was that all about i wonder.

[JimK]

Great ride pix! But - oh, that gravel! Malignant, for sure! Brutal!

[il padrone]

Oh, maaate! Those shoes!

Haven't seen a pair like that since I pensioned off my old Detto Pietros several years back (and they were vintage then ). Are they Dettos or Sidis, and are you riding with the slotted cleats?

[Danneaux]

Those shoes!

Pete, my Detto-Brother! Sharp eyes.

Yes, they are Detto Pietro Article 74 slotted-cleat cycling shoes (detail pic below). Got just over 100,000 miles from the first pair, with care. The second died an early death in rain-soaked Belgium on the cobbles, but held together just long enough to finish the trip. I bought out the remainders from a failing mom 'n' pop bike shop in Texas some 20 years ago, and I believe there's two pair of size 45s remaining unused in my gear lockers. Mine are the newer Detto 74s (post-1976) with the nylon sole, rather than the earlier laminated leather or ash-wood versions. Much more weather-resistant, though care must still be used to walk in them only minimally. I've only ever used the nylon-soled models with the steel-plate reinforcement and threaded-bolt cleat mounts. Too wet in Oregon for the all-leather or wood-soled models.

Unfortunately, the Pavarin cleats are no longer available. I'd laid in several pairs of the older 2-bolt type, only to find the remainder of the shoes I got use the newer (and inferior) single-bolt design. These newer ones are also LOOK-drilled. I may mill some replacement cleats from block nylon while I still have fresh examples to go on. Meantime, I made steel "wear bars" to extend the life of the plastic cleats I have (standing or walking is what kills them).

They were a tremendous advance for me after blowing out the fat sacs in my feet using Nike Waffle Trainers on quill cages back in the day (they had two advantages -- I already owned them, and the waffly studs cleated over the pedals).  I'd tried Lyotard M23 'Marcel Berthet' platform pedals, but gave up on them. See: http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=31CA38D4-B05E-4050-8B43-8E4BEF89AD9A&Enum=109&AbsPos=0 The cleat-ridge was too shallow for my Pavarin cleats and the rivets would shear, causing the pedals to fall apart. The bearings were remarkably good for a cheap pedal. I eventually equipped all my bikes with SunTour Superbe Pro road-quill pedals with replaceable cages and sealed conrad and roller cartridge bearings and never looked back. See: http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=A23B62DA-F3BB-42F2-8203-2EDF4C1C445E&Enum=109&AbsPos=36 Not a single failure in the 7 or 8 pair I own. Given they just won't die, it would be cost-prohibitive to switch all the bikes over to something else now. The only thing is, the Superbe Pros have a non-standard cage spacing, so shoes set for them won't give the correct position on other quill road pedals. The Dettos show no signs of giving out either, so we soldier on together and yes, this is what I use on Sherpa.

The second collage below shows me touring even earlier. Who is that skinny kid? He had hair, and lots of it! Notice the state-of-the-art cotton gym shorts and t-shirt with those Nike Waffle Trainers (Nike Elites, I might add). Those are Danneaux-made HB bag and panniers, and a touring bike with criterium racer geometry. None of it spoiled the fun. And a shot or two in camp...still cooking lunch, 34 years ago. The Early Winters Pocket Hotel bivy-tents sure held up well. Mine only died in 2010 when the urethane coating on the floor rotted away. Otherwise, I'd still be using it. Pretty light at only 1kg complete with carry sack and stakes.

All the best,

Dan.

[richie thornger]

Hi Dan, loving the old photos 
What's the twin bottle cage you have on the front.
I've got a super long steerer tube dying for a bit more action
Cheers
Richie

I'll need the room for me tins of Dehydrated Water. What a find, can't believe I've never heard of it before.

[sg37409]

Looked like a nice wee trip on the bike, Dan.

[Danneaux]

What's the twin bottle cage you have on the front. I've got a super long steerer tube dying for a bit more action

Hi Richie,

Those two bottle cages are CatEye nylon cages. Very light, flexible, secure, long-lived, and gentle on plastic bottles. They don't hurt if you accidentally hit them with a knee or elbow, but bottles don't rattle. I inserted synthetic rubber bumpers in the holes where the cages would ordinarily mount to a frame boss, then zip-tied them to the spacer stack using wide industrial zip-ties. The rubber bumpers provide friction to keep the cages from "clocking" 'round the steerer under the weight of full bottles.

This was something I had in mind from the first time I spotted Thorn's use of extended steerers and stacked spacers. I figured it would make an ideal location for bottles and I have not been disappointed. Although the weight is up high, there is no effect on steering, since the weight is distributed around the steering axis. It is a really convenient location, and I am toying with the idea of fitting a flexible straw so they don't even have to be removed. One of my concerns was knee clearance while climbing out of the saddle, but it has not proven to be a problem (look closely and you'll see the bottles are even with the rear face of the steerer, aiding clearance further).

My frame is a 560S, so your clearances might differ depending on frame and body size. I use two 1l Zefal Magnum water bottles in this location, with three 1.5l bottles on the frame in Blackburn Bomber cages. An MSR Dromedary lets me carry an additional 10l on the rear rack when/if necessary, for a total capacity of 16.5l for extended solo desert touring. Not as much capacity as you'd think and not much reserve. I can carry more distributed in my panniers, but pay sorely in additional weight. By the way, the two 1l Zefal Magnums have the same capacity as two .75l + one .5l bottles, so they're really handy for carrying that little bit "extra" water in less space and still fit in standard cages. There's a trick to putting the lids on leak-tight, but they're great otherwise.

I may someday drill and tap a couple steerer spacers or mill them from scratch so I can bolt the bottles in place, but this is working very well so far. Conceivably, if only one of the liter-bottles was full it could move around some on a really rough road, but so far I seem to drink from them about equally and it hasn't been a problem. The zip-ties are really tight, thanks to using my Fourth Hand on them.

When I got Sherpa, I specified an uncut steerer so I could get the handlebar-tops level with the saddle-top and have the stem horizontal for easy mounting and reading of the stem-mounted GPS. The uncut steerer allowed room for the two additional bottle cages, and for the bottle opener as well as the Tout Terrain The Plug2 and PAT "extra power" cable inside the steerer. That was the plan from the start, and happily it has all worked out nicely.

I'll need the room for me tins of Dehydrated Water

Tip: Buy it by the case to save more weight; that's what I do! 

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Yesterday was only our second day of truly Springlike weather, so what better time for a bike ride? Sherpa and I rode north through Oregon's Willamette Valley to Corvallis, then back through Albany and the heart of farming country. Oregon (and the Willamette Valley in particular) is one of the world's largest producers of filberts (hazlenuts, primarily exported to Europe for candymaking) and is the leading supplier of grass seed. It felt like  aswitch hd been thrown, and I could almost *hear* things grow when I stopped to take photos.

I put in a 109-mile/175km ride yesterday that was wonderful in terrific weather, but also a little difficult at times -- many roads still closed due to flood or flood damage, and a number of bridges out. Unfortunately, there was no advance notice, so lots of backtracking. And, of course, there was a headwind on the outbound leg as well as the return trip. A really strong one holding steady at 24mph/39kph. This was the only the second day of true, spring-like weather (no complaints there!) but it felt very ewarm after our previous cool weather. A couple times, both my digital thermometers hit 98F/37C and finally settled down to 94F/34C for quite awhile. My average was slow 13.7mph/22kph because I spent a lot of time on really bad gravel roads where I could only manage 9mph/14.4kph -- just as I had planned. I love riding gravel!

And, of course, I had a flat tire about 8 mi/13km from home with the temperature dropping, the wind picking up, and thunder-and-lightining rainstorms on the way. Rear, of course. It was due to an exploded steel-belted truck tire. The little metal wire just penetrated right through the Schwalbe Dureme's belt. I had a hard time grasping it and finally pulled it back out from the outside. I swapped in my spare tube, 'cos this is going to take a bathtub full of water to find and patch properly, and I was motivated to get home for dinner!

All in all, a lovely, wonderful day. When I stopped, I closed my eyes briefly and I swear I could almost *hear* things grow. It was wonderful!  Now, I need to do that ride 4x/week and push again toward 200km and then 300km regularly on Sherpa before my next loaded tour. I've some challenges ahead, and it will be so much easier if I'm riding the bigger distances regularly. I may ballast-up to a full touring load on the next few rides. Yesterday, I carried about 25lb/11kg, mostly water. I drank 3.5 liters today; it was very warm and I wanted to stay hydrated.

All in all, a wonderful trip; can't wait to get out on Sherpa again. He performed like a champ!

Best,

Dan.

Photoset 1:
- Orchards suddenly in bloom, Flood detours.

Photoset 2:
- Me and my shadow, nostril shot of Danneaux, rich river-bottom farmland.

Photoset 3:
- Moss hangs long on the trees after a wet winter.

- Farmland? Kinda. This is the lower property of the H-P Printer Facility, located in Corvallis. If you own an H-P printer, it was likely born here. They lease-out part of their business campus for farming and as a perimeter buffer.

- Corvallis is home to Oregon State University. Though the distinctions are now blurred a bit, it has traditionally been the state's agricultural and engineering school (the University of Oregon in Eugene is regarded as the state's research institution). As a result, odd things appear in the community. Restaurant grease barrels are repurposed titanium sponge containers.

- Gently uppy-downy roads typical of the mid-Valley.

More photos in the next couple posts...

[Danneaux]

More from Monday's ride (23 April 2012)...

Photoset 4:
- Danneaux eating dinner at Hyak Park, just outside Albany (See: http://www.co.benton.or.us/parks/facilities/hyak.php ). A lovely setting, the park sits along the Marys River and has picnicing facilities including tables and (sometimes) restrooms and a boat-launching ramp. It was formerly part of Camp Adair, a WWII training facility that covered a wide area. Lunch was a can of vienna sausages, some hot red bean and rice soup, water, and an energy bar. Good! The little .75oz/21g stove in my Pocket Kitchen brought the water to a boil in just 4 minutes. After that, 5 minutes in the Reflectix cozy gave me hot soup with tender beans and rice.

Photoset 5:
- Hot and slow were the order of the day. Lots of fun, though!

- Oakville Presbyterian Church on the little hill in Oakville, which is not even a village.

- An example of one of the few remaining "barn-vertisements" popular years ago in this area. Farmers would get their barns painted free in exchange for advertising billboards. There's not many left now, but as recently as 30 years ago, they were still quite common (holdovers from the 1940s; then the barns collapsed).

- We have castles! This one was built a few years ago, and is one of several castle-like recreations I see on my rides.

- Photoset 6:
- Uh-oh! Another bridge out. Rerouting...

- Harvest time isn't far away.

[Danneaux]

Danneaux's Sherpa, yesterday...