Sometimes Lightning Strikes Twice.

Lightning does strike twice..........it does. It's been proven. Sometimes lottery winners win more than once too. For me, I've never been lucky enough to win a lottery but I've been pretty lucky recently and pretty euphoric about what has taken place also. Lottery-like euphoria almost; an excitement in finally getting back on something that I've always said I would.

A look into past posts will find you reading about Dekerf. Even the picture at the top of this blog is a very old pic of my feet and my Dekerf Team ST that I rode and raced for 9 full seasons (99-08). That bike is the greatest bike I've ever owned (still have it) and very early on, it showed me what a bike "can" truly be.

It instilled an appreciation of the finer things in cycling. It opened up a whole new world and understanding for me. I learned to look past marketing bullshit and see what's really real. It made me appreciate the subtleties of a build and I learned what I wanted out of a bike over those earlier years. That bike set the bar wickedly high and it'll be tough to beat.

I've been fortunate too to be able to own many nice rides (at least I think they're nice) but I always knew that someday, someday I'd snag up another Dekerf. I had to.

I know the quality. I know the reliability. I know the feel and I simply LOVE Chris's work. I knew my time would come.

For those who may not know of Dekerf Cycle Innovations, here's a nice video of Chris Dekerf and his work. He's an absolute master of this craft.

Chris Dekerf / Dekerf Cycle Innovations from Mike Nairne on Vimeo.


Well, that time has come and I'm quite excited. I........AM.........BACK!! Twice Dekerfed. Freshly built in the following photos and equipped with matching Dekerf tuning fork.

The Niner MCR 9 was stripped and all parts were swapped over for the build. Everything that was not replaced was simply gone over, cleaned, tuned and slapped on the DK. This helps keep the budget down and the wife happy.

XO shifter/derailleur was converted to 1x9 setup using a Truvativ Noir crank and Race Face Single Ring up front. I then slipped a SRAM PG 990 cassette I had kicking around onto the King rear hub for that lovely buzzzzzzzzzz out on the trail.

Stopping is accomplished via Avid BB7's mated to Paul Love Levers up front. Living in a flatter part of the world, the BB7's provide more than enough power and their simplicity is quite appealing. Hydraulics were pulled for use on the fatbike.

Stans ZTR Arch hoops are laced with DT double butted spokes and a mix of Thomson Elite stem/post, Niner bars, Odi Lock-On grips and Maxxis Cross Mark rubber round off the build.

Pictures never do a bike any justice but I do the best with my limited photographic skills.

Here, some random shots of the bike as I try and capture some of those immaculate welds and craftsmanship.

In purchasing the frame, it was not desirable to separate the tuning fork from it so I got both. To separate this bike and fork would be like severing an arm. Very glad to keep it all together.

I'm still battling my pneumonia (getting better every day) but building this while recovering has made it much easier.

Managed to get out on a few shorter test/shakedown rides as of late and I can tell you that this bike has me extremely excited.

It's good to be back................so damn good to be back.

Shakedown ride shot.

Apologies for posting about my own bike like this but I couldn't help it. I quite excited.

Cheers and keep the rubber side down, folks!

Thanks for reading...........comment if you want.

The Cross Check Is Gone.

After years of total reliability and flawless performance, I got rid of a bike that set quite a standard in my quiver: my Surly Cross Check.

It was a bike that was actually a bit painful to part with but, at least, it isn't far. Sold it to a buddy of mine. At least I will see it out being ridden every now and again. It's gone to a good place.

One may ask, "Why part with something so admired?" Well, there is a simple answer. Surly released something that, for me, hit the nail right smack on the head! Something that I'd been wanting for years! Basically, not "totally" mind you, but pretty much, a Cross Check with disc tabs.

Yes, I'm speaking of course of the Straggler. It was a God damned no brainer for me when I saw it way back when. A bike with all the versatility of my CC, some minor geometry changes but disc tabs were a big deal for me. Once I spotted the "Glitter Dreams" paint.................well........................metallic flake??????

I'm all over that!!

So..............I pulled the Cross Check apart swapping all the parts I could. I was bound and determined to keep my Campy Chorus/Record groupo I loved so much and found the conversion cassette to be a simple solution to getting a Campy groupset to work on a Shimano disc hub. I purchasing only brakes (which were a trade for mtb BB7's I had already), new Brooks Swallow Titanium saddle, Stan ZTR Crest rims (pealed some of the stickers off to make them less "vibrant" - yuck) and laced them up on some older XT disc hubs. I did take the time to apply matching purple nipples to the wheels though. I had a good laugh (we all did) when I went into the shop and asked if I "......could get some purple nipples". Hahaha

Slapped it all together at my usual stop, Blackwell Cycle, and James was kind enough to lace the wheels up for me. That's about the only thing I don't do. F@#% lacing wheels. I can't stand it. It truly pisses me off. Hahaha Thanks again to James and John for getting the frame, fork and extra parts I needed in. Cheers once again.

Freaking stoked on this build.

Gotta get these exams done so I can rip it up!

And my other rides!!! I'm missing my bikes right now.

I of course snapped some pictures fresh off the bike stand. Here's how it turned out.

Can't wait to get it dirty!