Say you had been a lifelong road racer. Had a master frame builder as a brother; what would you may have him construct? That’s the query Dan DePaemelaere requested himself a couple of years in the past, and for him, the reply was simple: a no-nonsense TIG-welded titanium workhorse purpose-constructed for the kermesse-model race scene of the Colorado Front Range.
Sometimes it pays to be nice to your siblings.
Dan DePaemelaere dove into the Colorado street racing scene in 1985. Thirty-two years later, he’s nonetheless going robust – both figuratively and literally – and titanium sheet racing continues to circulation by his veins. So when the chance got here for him to get a brand new customized titanium frame, there was little question what he would ask for.
To add further incentive to the deal, it wouldn’t be just anyone building that body, however somewhat his personal brother, Joe, the only real proprietor of highly regarded local outfit Primus Mootry and one-time bike sponsor of American cyclocross legend Katie Compton.
Dan DePaemelaere had way back settled on a geometry that labored effectively for him, one with slightly steeper angles, a taller backside bracket, and customarily twitchier handling that fits the kind of racing he does in Colorado. Brother Joe had already built a scandium frame for him a few years prior, so it was primarily a matter of transferring those dimensions over to titanium, and then understanding some of the details.
“I typically want one thing that’s slightly bit quicker than something built for long [road] races,” he mentioned. “I sometimes tighten up the wheelbase a little bit bit because I would like it slightly bit snappier. But in any other case, it’s simply primary geometry that fits me. I believe it’s seventy three head, 73.5-degree seat [tube angle], a 54.5cm prime tube as a result of I’m a bit longer within the torso, and a 52.5cm seat tube.”
DePaemelaere also wanted a bit extra stoutness than what is often found on titanium tube frames to better suit the bike’s goal purpose. The 7/8″-diameter chainstays are bigger than common, the down tube is slightly bigger as properly, and up front is an oversized head tube that envelopes an internal-cup headset. The entire tubing is straight-gauge, slightly than butted.
“I needed him to build it a little bit stiffer,” he said. “I like them lively, and I want them to go forward. I knew the instant I bought on this thing and began to ride down my driveway and out to go for a ride that it was stiff, but I could also experience this thing all day long and it’s not going to punish me.”
DePaemelaere put that “all day” consolation to check last yr on the Robidoux Quick and Dirty in Gering, Nebraska – a 75-mile-lengthy occasion held totally on unpaved road and populated almost solely by gravel bikes. Despite being distinctly outgunned with comparatively skinny 25c tires, DePaemelaere nonetheless finished 11th out of seventy three starters.
“That race was one in all the toughest I’d ever finished, and I used to be the one person on a highway bike,” he mentioned. “And yeah, my back hurt a bit bit, but if I had finished it on every other bike, I never would have made it. This thing was simply super snug.”
As a longtime industry insider – he’s been the sales and logistics manager for Wheels Manufacturing since 2006 – DePaemelaere has plenty of assets obtainable when it got here to procuring gear for the construct. Nevertheless, it’s a straightforward setup that displays his workhorse ideals.
DePaemelaere had already hopped on the digital groupset bandwagon with the unique Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 7970 digital groupset, so for this bike, a newer Dura-Ace Di2 9070 package was a straightforward selection. He stored his previous externally mounted battery, nevertheless, and as a substitute opted to simply upgrade the wiring harness for more routing flexibility. Speaking of which, the interior routing association is especially neat and tidy.
DePaemelaere – a meticulous mechanic who insists on doing all of his personal work – not too long ago upgraded to Shimano’s new handlebar-mounted junction field, which he needed to source from the UK since they have been still too rare within the U. If you beloved this article and you would like to receive more info with regards to titanium rod; simply click the following webpage, please visit our web-site. S. From there, he fed the wire via a small hole he drilled near the tip of the bar to the left-hand lever. Another wire joins the 2 levers together, after which a third goes from there to the port on the top tube. Meanwhile, the latest Shimano D-Fly wireless communication widget is secured beneath the saddle shell, titanium alloy rod where it’s not only readily accessible, however visually hidden.
One would possibly assume that, as a racer, DePaemelaere would prefer deep-part carbon fiber tubular wheels for racing. And though he has a set of older Edge Composites (not Enve Composites) wheels in his stable, he prefers Shimano’s C24 aluminum/carbon fiber hybrid clinchers for his or her bombproof toughness and tubeless compatibility.
“For me, it got here down to price, availability, weight, and durability – and that i like tubeless. I’ve converted every part over to tubeless. I miss riding on tubulars generally, but the older you get, the busier you get. I just don’t have the time anymore.”
As expected, DePaemelaere’s Primus Mootry isn’t the lightest machine in the world, but then once more, it wasn’t alleged to be. Total weight as pictured is a very cheap 8.00kg (17.64lb).
“I’ve never been that big of a weight guy,” he mentioned. “I wish to really feel stuff. I want to feel what the highway is doing beneath me.”
Nevertheless, the bike isn’t 100% enterprise.
Although the end has no paint to chip or scratch, the customized anodizing incorporates some deeply private touches. An eight-ball on the head tube and sixteen dots on the highest tube denote DePaemelaere’s birthday (August 16th), and the classic Lion of Flanders is however a slight downwards glance away any time he’s in the saddle. “I grew up with the Coors Classic – right here -. My dad used to take us to look at the races. I saw Bernard Hinault, I noticed Greg LeMond, I saw Phil Anderson, I saw Moreno Argentin. I saw all of those guys race their bikes. I could reach out. Touch them. That’s what obtained me into racing; it was because of my dad.
“My dad’s facet of the family is Belgian – my cousins stay about 5km away from Oudenaarde – and i must have the Lion of Flanders on there. My dad isn’t with me anymore, so it’s just my little gentle reminder that he’s always riding with me.