|   Van Dessel | Duncan (UK)
Feb 2, 2003 5:18 AM | | I'm hoping someone on this list can shed some light on the subject of Van Dessel. A little before Christmas I e-mailed info@vandesselsports.com with some questions about their flip-flop hubs and availability in the UK, far I've had no response. This is despite a follow-up e-mail a little over a week ago.
So can anybody on this board shed any light on what's happening at Van Dessel? I'm assuming they're still in business as the site is still up but, can anyone confirm this?
Thanks |
| re: Van Dessel | SingleHeadTed
Feb 2, 2003 7:52 AM | | They are in business still.
We just had a customer order one up yesterday.
Not sure of the email issue, but they
answered the phone one the first ring.
The hubs look pretty good. Can't say that
I've noticed anything negative 'bout 'em yet.
Email 'em more, maybe they have a messy inbox!!
Ted |
| red-haze:1-Van Dessel Hub:0 | red-haze
Feb 2, 2003 8:35 AM | | Thats the score so far.
Let me explain. bought a van dessel hub from a new friend in Iowa for a good price. laced it up and ran it as a fixed gear with the 16t cog supplied with the hub. Stripped out the threads on the hub in the first mile of trail. Now I'm not sure where the blame lies, because the steel cog supplied with the hub fits loosely on the freewheel side of the hub, so either the cog is a bit oversized or the threads are cut a bit undersized. I can only assume that the fixed side of the hub was the same way. I have a 16t freewheel that also fits loose on the freewheel side. The fixed cog has almost a millimeter of play.
My friend is gonna send me another hub, but I'm gonna check tolerances closely, may have to buy a different brand track cog to ensure a good fit.
The hub is very light and I like the Allen key bolts, tho they need to be 6mm vice 5mm as supplied.
bob |
| re: Van Dessel | reutebh
Feb 2, 2003 10:14 AM | | not sure on the quality, but in Nov when I was trying to gather parts for my Matt Chester Indie Rock I emailed them- no response, emailed again- no response, called them- they said they would get back to me within the next few days, called again 7 days later- machine picked. At that point I said forget about it- if it is this hard to get ahold of them to order something then what happens if there is a problem? My solution- got my local shop to order me a Phil Wood hub- more pricey yes, but of the highest quality and you know they have good customer service (hub was at the shop 3 days after it was ordered)
Ben |
| re: Van Dessel | ss-nyc
Feb 2, 2003 12:57 PM | | I have emailed then a few times in the past few weeks and always got a response within 24 hours. They even sent me the technical drawings for the Country Road Bob becasue I had a question about chainline.
I tried to call last week and ask about thier hubs and the phone was answered after only 2 rings. The person did not have the answer but got another more technical person on the line within a few minutes.
They even mentioned that the 2003 Country Road bob will not be painted but wil be offered in a clear coat aluminium finish.
"Red Haze" mentioned a problem with the hubs. I can only state that when I spoke with VDS on the phone they mentioned that thier hubs had some room/space to help get a better chainline. It seems that a 1mm spacer can be used to help. Maybe that is what Red Haze needed.
As for me, I purhcased a Country Road Bob on eBay for real cheap. I figured that with an alumnium frame, carbon fork, and ritchey headset my problems were limited. I am going to build it up with XT components from my old mountain bike and use a beefey track chain.
I cannot say much about the future of the company becasue it seems every local bike shop in NYC that carries the brand loves the bikes but has not been able to move them as quickly as they would have liked. The company is trying to reach a very diverse market.
Country Road Bob - 700c single speed - single speeders?
Buzz Bomb - very expensive - people with too much money?
Beach criusers - many models - weenend beach going types that usually purchase schwins?
I hope the company will be around but it seems they are a clasic case of having a good product at a fair value but nobody knows about them...They need to spend some money on marketing very soon...
Hope this helps. |
| hub play | red-haze
Feb 2, 2003 2:37 PM | | the play I referred to was in a radial direction, ie, at right angles to the axle, wholly related to the threads not mating sufficiently. chainline spacing was not a factor. side note: there is very little thread on the fixed gear side to use a spacer on. I use adjustable BB to setup my chainlines.
I have seen the country road bob and liked it. I like the company bike building philosophy, use of internal geared hubs and so on. Similar to how I like to build up bikes for myself.
Will see when new hub comes in.
bob |
| re: Van Dessel | Duncan (UK)
Feb 3, 2003 4:26 AM | | Well thanks for all the responses. When I initially inquired about ordering a set of hubs directly from Van Dessel I got an immediate response. The guys were even good enough to send the hubs marked up as a gift so that I was able to avoid paying import duty.
My initial opinion of the hubs is very good. Though I agree the bolts are a little tight. No problems with the thread for the fixed sprocket or freewheel though.
My first post here was because I've been unsuccessfully trying to contact Van Dessel about making their products (in particular the hubs) available in the UK. I guess their reluctance to reply to my e-mails (not even a p*ss off and leave us alone) means they're simply not interested.
Duncan |
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