Overview
The Team SST represents the culmination of over 22 years of building light weight cross country hard tails frames. The Team SST, as with all Dekerf frames, is made one at a time specifically for each customer by Chris Dekerf himself. His vast experience and international reputation for quality and attention to detail is poured into each frame.
The tubing of choice is Reynolds 853 because of its strength, proven durability, accuracy, and light weight. The specific tube diameters and wall thicknesses vary from frame to frame depending on size (SST stands for Size Specific Tubing), and rider preferences. The trademark Dekerf wishbone monostay design is stock on all Dekerf frames including the Team SST.
The Team SST is also now available with a huge range of options. Options such as 26”, 650b, or 29” wheels, as well as custom sizing are now all included in the stock pricing. Additions such as Fillet Brazing, Internal cable routing, Sliding drop-outs, Rohloff drop-outs, Eccentric Bottom Bracket, Belt drive sets ups, and other custom options are also all available on the SST. Consult the price list for details.
Once built, each Team SST frame makes its way into our own in-house paint shop. The Dekerf paint shop is a state of the art facility utilizing the latest waterborne paints for beautiful colour and amazing durability, while maintaining the highest environmental standards. We offer 17 beautiful stock colours, but this is only the beginning. Because we mix and formulate our own paints, the options for colours and customization are virtually limitless. Please contact us for information and to share ideas on custom paint for your Team SST.
SST Technology
Dekerf Pierced Monostay Assembly
This signature design feature strengthens the rear end while showcasing our craftsmanship and differentiating our frames from mass production models.
Reynolds 853 Tubing and Chainstays
This seamless, air-hardened, heat-treated tubeset is among the most advanced material available for building bicycle frames. This allows us to create steel frames that are durable, lightweight and lively.
Dekerf Seat Collar Assembly
The top of the seat tube on the Team853 is made of a separate non heat-treated cro-moly collar. This collar is machined externally for weight reduction and internally to ensure a highly accurate fit on the seat post.The collar provides a strong joining surface for the top tube, seat tube and the wishbone assembly. As the collar is non-heat treated the many welds in that area do not affect it. This also works in the reverse- if the tube is damages repairs can be made without affecting the structural integrity of the joints. For the same reason the head tube and bottom bracket shell as also not heat-treated.
Dekerf Brazed Headtube Gusset
A strengthening, laser cut, cro-moly plate that is brazed in place to ensure the entire gusset is fused to the downtube. We also use a small fillet braze to smooth the transition between the headtube and the gusset, thereby eliminating stress risers. A smarter way to gusset.
We used to polish our gussets however, in order to polish a gusset, it should be made of stainless steel. Stainless can only silver soldiered. In the days of Ritchey tubing, this all worked well. But, silver soldier flows at too low of a temperature to take advantage of the air hardening propperties of 853. Hence, since switching to 853, frames now have cro-moly gussets which can be brazed in place using higher termperature bronze alloys. If we polish a cro-moly gusset and clear over it, it will in very short order begin to rust under the clear coat. Therefore, we don\’t polish gussets on 853 frames any more.