Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie - Season 3

[Rich_W]

Thanks Jeff -- I prefer more braking power (leverage) with the straddle cables lower. Higher straddles produce a mushier lever feel... then you also have to factor in the shorter lever geometry of 7900 levers. If they were high with 7900, braking would be awful.

Again, this will not be one of the frames I race on... this is a tester. The matte finish frames will be here next week.

I'm actually torn on going with 54cm frames as the 56 has a somewhat long headtube. I could easily do a 54 with a 13 stem. Another option is I may use fork mounted cable stops and low FSA top caps which will enable me to drop the bars about 12mm.

[OnTheRivet]

I'm actually torn on going with 54cm frames as the 56 has a somewhat long headtube. I could easily do a 54 with a 13 stem. Another option is I may use fork mounted cable stops and low FSA top caps which will enable me to drop the bars about 12mm.

Wow, really? You already seem to have an extremely long low road type position, won't that lead to sketchy handling? It's seems counter to what you see from the guys who make a living racing their bikes....well except the giants like Treefarm but he's an outlier in the scheme and frankly isn't known for his technical ability. Me personally, I have slowly raised my bar height and hood position over the years and it's made a massive difference in handling the bike in techy situations, it's less aero but come on, it's cross.

[ADP]

Nice build

[jmoote]

Thanks Jeff -- I prefer more braking power (leverage) with the straddle cables lower. Higher straddles produce a mushier lever feel... then you also have to factor in the shorter lever geometry of 7900 levers. If they were high with 7900, braking would be awful.

Right, you certainly know what you are after; I just wanted to know what the rationale was. I do not have much experience on 7900, but I do go for more of a mushy feel myself (on SRAM)...

Again, this will not be one of the frames I race on... this is a tester. The matte finish frames will be here next week.

Excellent - can't wait to see the pair built and hear what they weigh in at!

I'm actually torn on going with 54cm frames as the 56 has a somewhat long headtube. I could easily do a 54 with a 13 stem. Another option is I may use fork mounted cable stops and low FSA top caps which will enable me to drop the bars about 12mm.

I'd definitely do what you have to in order to get the bars down on the 56. The low top caps are certainly easy enough. Running the 54 with a 130 stem is not going to handle nearly as well I think. Cross bikes don't seem to like stems much more than 110 mm. I feel the sweet spot for me on large-ish frames (usually 58) is 100-110.

[dlight]

Understated beauty. Ready to do some serious business. Can't wait for the ride review. How much clearance do yo have on the rear end. Can not really tell from the pic but seems tight back there. Wonder why they just didn't go all the way with the top cable routing?

Write soon Rich_W.

[Rich_W]

Not so sure I agree about the smaller frame points. Remember I'm coming off a Steven's with a 55.4 TT and the 56 TT feels quite a bit different... really just long. My stem is a 12cm. The bike does handle like its on rails though.

So I am torn between using a 56 frame neg 17 stem or a 54 with a 6 deg 13cm stem. Regardless, I will be able to ride a 54 and decide then.

As for the FD on the down tube, why? It simply works better in VD's opinion. Note the cable stop is on the drive side so its not hitting you in the back when the bike is being carried.

Clearance? Plenty! Since this is not the *official* frame, I did not want to post too many pics... but be certain every aspect of this frame was carefully thought through and purposeful. You will not be disappointed!

[limba]

Here's another random picture of the bike just because it looks so pretty.

[Rich_W]

Here's another random picture of the bike just because it looks so pretty.

Thats also a pre-production gloss clearcoat version. That bike is actually the test mule. That pic was snapped on Friday night... Right now, its not quite as pretty...

[dlight]

From a manufacturing standpoint wouldn't it be easier to put the fd cable along with the other cables then there is no need for the separate stops.

For a rider, I have only once had a FD failure due to mud cloggin the cable. But I always think about it. Also while grapping the downtube the cable scuffs the frame. Some riders (never experience or seen it myself) claims to have gotten figures caught. Which I can somewhat understand.

So the thinking is if you are gonna put cables on the toptube why not just put all of them on the toptube.

But regardless, I am still getting the frame.

[Rich_W]

Putting the FD on the top tube means you need to use a pulley, the post for the pulley and an additional piece of housing. It's a performance decision.

[RollingGoat]

i just got a set of the easton wheels in the pic to race road and cross on, how do you stop them from filling with water?

[Rich_W]

i just got a set of the easton wheels in the pic to race road and cross on, how do you stop them from filling with water?

The bike on page 2 is mine. The bike posted on page 3 leaning against the trailer has those wheels on it just for the photo. They're not glued as they are for road use.

FWIW, all carbon wheels can get water in them... most have drain holes.

[Rich_W]

FWIW -- I switched to the slightly shorter 54cm (In a Stevens, I rode a 56) and could not be happier. Tossable handling is an understatement!

[jmoote]

Do you have any photos of the 54 as setup with your saddle/bar position?

I was looking at the Stevens earlier this year for myself and could not figure out if I'd be best on a 56 or 58. Ended up with a large Blue Norcross which has a 580 top tube, but more importantly the kind of headtube dimension needed to get the bars where I need them with my 800 mm saddle height.

On the Full Tilt Boogie, the 58 would probably be perfect for me with the 575 top tube and reasonable head tube length. A bit steep for me in the STA though...

These look to be awesome bikes, and they certainly bring something different to the current grouping of high end carbon cross bikes, which I think is important. Branding and looks aside, a lot of the bikes were starting to seem the same as each other in geometry, features (BB30, tapered steertube, etc) and ride qualities. The FTB is different, and is well thought out. They should have no trouble selling lots of them

[Rich_W]

Jeff -- I will shoot some pics of my "temp" 54cm (its a pre-production glossy clearcoat version) so you can get a feel for it. Looking at pics of your True North bike and considering your saddle height is 80cm (mine is 77.5)... you may want to consider a 56 and run 20-30mm of spacers under the stem. The handling will be abolutely *tossable* for you!

Some matte finish versions have arrived for media distribution. Here's a shot of what the matte looks like from yesterday's photoshoot. Note this is the "team" version, not the stock "force" build. The team riders will be on SRAM, FSA and Revolution. These happen to be one of my personal sets of REVs/FMBs as posted earlier in this thread. But it sure gives you an idea of how 'effin awesome the bike looks in matte.



As for selling a bunch? Half of this season's incoming lot are already sold. Want one? My advice would be to act quickly. If you wait until October, you will like be SOL until next season!