| So begins a new chapter for the history of Desperado Cycles and Tailwind
Bicycle Shoppe. Project “Exodus” consisted of relocating both
the bicycle shop and myself 200 miles north of Madison WI. The move was
necessary in order to be able to reduce the cost of business to take the
pressure off of my work. Living in the city of Madison was getting to be
somewhat nerve racking with the expansion of the town moving into the suburbs,
taking up the roads that I love to ride in the country and creating high
traffic areas that began to be dangerous to travel.
My personal life also brought me to the great north in my love for the woods, fresh air and clear skies. Right out of my front door I am now able to ride country roads that are much more favorable for my style of riding. I also now have over 140,000 acres of forest land that begins somewhere outside my backyard and have all-terrain vehicles trails that seem to go everywhere. I am now in my mid-40s and have been in the bicycle business for over 25 years. I have seen much in the change of the consumer and the design of the bicycle. I have isolated myself mostly from an industry that works in such a way that if it cannot be manufactured in high-volume for low cost with adequate profits then it is not worth manufacturing at all. It seems lately the inquiries about my work leave people to ask why they cannot find the type of work that they see on my web page on anyone else's. On a weekly basis, I hear the words "genius", "master". Very few people have ever had the privilege of complements towards their work. This is one of the reasons why I have followed the path in life that I have. I work with ethics that I have been brought up with. That work ethic is to perform up to my abilities. Simply, to work up to my potential. It is not so much as to my concern what is being done in any aspic of the bicycle business, but what can be done. I believe this is why my final product is unique. I do not surrounded myself with folks that say “You can’t really do that”, and when the stuff hit the fan in the “Frame building forum” about my work, Fred Parr expressed himself “I can create joints with any of them (Silver brazing materials) that look great but can be pryed apart, or do it right and like Jalon, have a lasting joint-- it is not cut and dried-- it takes practice-- and experience…” (http://search.bikelist.org/?SearchString=%5BFrame%5D%20To%20Josh%20Silver%20vs%20Brass) In that thread, Joshua Putnam explains “Bulletin T-5: Design of silver alloy brazed joints from the standpoint of stress distribution Bulletin T-5 Supplement: Stress analysis of brazed joints Bulletin One point worth noting on the strength of *joints* vs. the strength
of I built a set of cro-mo crunches for a polio victim that broke the aluminum units on a monthly basis. After 10 years of daily use the shaft broke below the handle. The silver joint for the handle was still in tact. My original thread began: http://search.bikelist.org/?SearchString=RE%3A%20%5BFrame%5D%20RE%3A%20Math-Strength-Filet%20Radius There is much support in the methods that I have come to use. I have
become a “Master” in my work setting the standard as to what
can be accomplished. Years ago I did a lot of testing of various joining
methods and I still continue to build with 45% cadmium free Harris silver. It has been sometime that I have been in the “normal” work environment. Upon occasion I have taken different jobs to broaden my perspective of what work is to others, and expand my knowledge in the areas of computer technology, sales, even heating and air conditioning installations, etc. These work experiences most certainly have brought me back to here, in the new home and shop where I will probably work and live in until they carry me out feet first. I would like to think that it is the German blood in me that perseveres for the best product that can be made by my hands. I am only going to build at most 12 frames a year.Over a period of 10 years I have averaged almost this amount. For those concerned about this amount not bringing my skills to be sharp, Fred Parr's comment above should explain that it is not in the numbers so much, but attention to detail. I am a natural with my skills. I cut my teeth frame building with the Metax stainless. To this date no one has matched my work. I had the last Metax road tube set hanging around for the last 4 years. I sat down and built that frame and I have taken it off road. Tailwind bicycle shop started out as a service shop. Today I must have close to 500 customers who have custom bicycles from me. In order to remain a full-service shop that has personalized attention, I must keep my volume low. If you are interested in a shop that has a one-man band, someone who not only will build your dream machine but service it too, then you have found your builder. After all, the last word in the name is spelt "Shoppe" for a reason. If you are looking for a resource to help you decide on what's best for your cycling experience, is there anywhere better to go to than someone who has ridden a bicycle close to 300,000 miles? Without getting too long-winded, I am looking forward to being able to take the time that is necessary to create the type of work that I do without the constraints of time that can cause others to find shortcuts. Visionaries very rarely in history have ever been understood. Over 60 patents that have come out of my head have changed the way you are riding a bicycle today. At the time that these ideas were originally conceived they were thought absurd by others. I am still fighting with the collective mind of this industry to push it forward even farther. In the meantime you can purchase either a frame, fork or whole dream machine from a visionary whose work is both timeless and ahead of it’s time. Time is going to be allocated towards educating those who want to learn more about the fundamentals of frame building. Over the many years of my frame building experience I have collected what I feel is a vast amount of information on the engineering aspects of bicycle frame building. Hence I am beginning the first Midwest School of Bicycle Frame Building from an Engineering Perspective. In the next couple months I will be posting specific information about the classroom experience. I currently have a brochure that is made up that explains the different levels that one can take down the road of the frame building experience. As I said before, we are in a new chapter for Desperado Cycles! So strap yourself in and come along for the ride. There is so much more to the cycle experience than just the ride! |