WIND CYCLESWORDS, a Dutch framebuilder based in GOES, has freshly finished the WIND 24, an MTB made of steel that is gonna be used for light xc riding (no race), trail, chilling on the bike and offroad adventure. for this machine, Bart as built a frame made to measure, but he also has took in consideration the specification of the riding area : Friesland - situated in the north of The Netherlands.
In fact, FIRESLAND is a well known tourism area for its ice-skaters and its winter ice skating rallye across 11 cities..but also well known for its lakes, polders...and peatland. Wet area !
Spongy ground, wet and peatland, a marshy area due to its close distance with the north sea, here is the program expected by the WIND24. It is in order to answer a real problematic that WIND CYCLESWORKS has decided to set up this MTB with an integrated gear-hub. The mud in this area, acting like glue,has already caused several damaged to numbers of rear dérailleurs set up on the previous MTB of Arjen (owner of the wind24).
The main advantage of the Rohloff rear hub is that all the speeds shift internally. Gears are continuously "swimming" in a bath of oil closed in a sealed body. It protect the gear shifting for all outside aggressive elements : a best for a so wet and muddy area. But we need to agreed, a Rohloff hub still need a bit of maintenance each year if you wish it to work properly, it is like the oil maintenance on your car engine. The rear dropout, Paragon Machine Works, are specifically designed for this kind of hub. They allow to easily set-up the tension of the chain by moving the wheel front or rear.
No belt on the WIN24, but the frame is what we call "open" and belt-ready (rigid rear triangle and long wheelbase) in case Arjen wish to set up one. Initially Arjen wished to have a belt transmission on its WIND24 to fully or almost have no maintenance. After several researches, shares of experience and a long talk with Bart, it finally appeared that a classic transmission with a chain would be a better choice. If a belt is the right choice for a city bike or MTB ride in great weather or light mud, the story is not the same in hard muddy ride and on daily and regular use. And if a belt broke, then you have no way to repair it. so if you are far from your home or if like kife Arjen you think about Offroad adventure on several days, then i can be a real problem.
To improve the life of the transmission in muddy condition, the crank ring, the chain but also the rear sprocket are made of hardened steel...but it still request lubrication !
Designed for a tall rider, 188cm, this frame is made of steel from Columbus and Deda set of tubes. The method used to build the frame is by Fillet-Brazing that bring the security advantage to not overheat the tubes and allow to fyllu keep its technical properties.
Columbus ZONA is used for the top tube, diameter 31,7 (thickness 08-05-08) and also the seat tube, diameter 28,6mm (08-06-12). The down tube is from DEDA with the Deda Evo-zero, 35mm diameter, same for the seatstay from Deda Zero Uno. To end, chainstays are made of Columbus 29er. The headtube is of course a 44mm diameter model that welcome a Rock Shox REBA suspension fork.
On the request of Arjen, aesthetic purpose, the down tube is straight and not bend like most common 29er. An easy stuff to do thanks to the fact that the frame is large, no issue regarding the space between it and the front whell. The rider wish to have a clean and classic looking bike. The cable routing for the Rohloff rear hud and the rear disc brake is internal to the down tube and then external along the left chainstay. If Arjen wish to go on an adventure offroad ride in the week-end, the frame is equiped with rack eyelets on the rear triangle.
The bike is set-up with the following components. About wheels, the built is done by WIND CYCLESWORKS with a the base the ROHLOFF rear hub with DT Swiss E512 rims 32 spokes. The front hub is the excellent Hope Pro 4 15mm. Tires are CONTINENTAL Mountain King / X-King (2.4 inches). The crank is a Truvativ Stylo, GXP 22-24mm with a steel ring of 39T from Id Worx Heggemann. The rear sprocket, 16T is also made of steel.
To stop the bike, Shimano SLX brakes with 180 front and 160mm rear rotor. Stem and handlebar are from the range RITCHEY WCS. Bottom bracket and headset are provided by our English Friend HOPE, quality and reliable product on every riding condition.
And about the paint, it is done by NICOLOR - "ultramarine blue" (RAL 5002) also applied on the fork.
WIND CYCLEWORKS frames are sold over europe. You ll find all the necessary details about options pricing on its website http://windcycleworks.com/yourbike
A presentation of the Dutch handcrafter has been done here...but sorry only in French : https://www.veloacier.com/fr/velo-de-route-acier/wind-cycleworks-artisan-neerlandais/
WIND CYCLEWORKS : http://windcycleworks.com/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/WINDcycleworks/
