In the early years of research, after manually cranking through rolls of microfilm for hours on end, finding an ancestor in the census records was just cause for a mini-celebration. Most of the time the celebrations were quiet ones with my brain shouting out with joy, but not a peep escaping from my mouth. After all I was in a library. Occasionally though, I just couldn't help myself and the little squeal of delight would also bring smiles to the faces of other researchers who were also cranking the microfilm readers.
Okay, I see a "theme" developing in the random thoughts I just wrote down, so I've decided that the happy-dance moments I'm going to share will be some of those that involved making connections (kinexxions) with distant relatives and the results of those incredible experiences. These are just a few such moments.
In the spring of 1984, I began my quest to find the descendants of my 2nd great-grandparents Jacob and Louisa (Fisher) Phend by writing lots and lots of letters to anyone with the surname Phend. As replies came back, they led to more letter writing with those contacts leading to even more contacts and information. And photographs. And documents. Virtually every reply brought on a mini-celebration. But a major celebration in the journey to publish a book came about on August 18, 1985 when the first reunion since 1942 was held that included descendants from nearly all of the children of Jacob and Louisa.
I can't even begin to describe the feelings of joy that overwhelmed me that day. My grandfather, who was 92 years old at the time, met his first cousins Jacob Phend and Elizabeth Phend Young for the first time! Jacob was 65 years old at the time and Elizabeth was 63. It would be a few more years before I finished the book, which was published in July 1991, and there would be many more of those special moments during that time. The joy of finally getting the book published was tempered somewhat with disappointment in the final product that came from the printers (someday I might write about that!), but even with its printing problems, the book was a huge success, and it was all due to the wonderful responses received from previously unknown relatives.
One of my "most favorite" genea-happy-dance moments came in June .. when I was contacted by Beth who turned out to be my 5th cousin once removed. Our common ancestors are my 5th great-grandparents Lewis Sisley (1765-1826) and his wife Margaret Ellis (1773-1870). A distant relationship to be sure, but her mother, Marge, had the original pages from the Sisley Family Bible! But, to top that off, they lived on the southwest side of Indianapolis, just a three-hour drive away. Of course, my mother and I made the trip south and spent a very pleasant and exciting day with Marge and her family. You can read more about that visit, as well as view the bible pages, in this post that was published in September .. and submitted to the Show and Tell version of the Carnival of Genealogy.
A relatively recent happy dance moment came in May .. when I was contacted by Kathy Foster. She had found my website with pages on my 3rd great-grandparents, John and Susannah (Hoffman) Berlin. Kathy was a descendant of Susannah's sister Mary (Hoffman) Walker. At that time the only information I had on Susannah was that she had been born in Columbiana County, Ohio and could be the daughter of John and Catherine (Coy) Hoffman. That info had come from another researcher in 1999 but with no documentation. Other things took up my time and I never got around to doing anything with that info. Kathy had the estate settlement papers for John Hoffman that named all eleven of his children, including Susan Berlin! In addition, she had done extensive research on the family and was able to take me back another generation on both the Hoffman and Coy sides. So not only did I now have the names of Susan's parents, I had the proof to go along with it, and the names of both sets of her grandparents!
A second happy dance was done in August that year (..) that also involved Kathy. I received an email from her that said she had just gotten an old photo album from one of her relatives which included pictures of Eli and Lovina (Berlin) Yarian, my 2nd great-grandparents! You see, Kathy's ancestor, Mary Hoffman was the second wife of Thomas Walker. Their son, James Madison Walker, was Kathy's ancestor. By his first marriage, Thomas Walker had several children, among whom was William Walker who had married Eli Yarian's sister, Susanna! Kathy and I aren't related at all through that connection, but the families obviously maintained a relationship even though her family was living in Stark County, Ohio and mine in Elkhart County, Indiana. In addition to the pictures of Eli and Lovina she sent pictures of Susanna Yarian and her husband William Walker. I had previously obtained several pictures of Lovina from the Nappanee Library but did not have any photos of Eli, so this was truly one of those amazing happy dance moments.
Eli Yarian, my 2nd great-grandfather.(1839-1895)Photo received from Kathy Foster in August ...
As I've mentioned earlier, I am considering getting a custom commuter pannier made to accommodate all of my bikes, including those with short chainstays and small racks. And I've been looking at different quick-release mounting systems in attempts to determine which one would be most suitable for such a project. I'd already tried Basil and Fastrider panniers, but not many others. So I stopped by the Wheelworks, in Somerville, MA and asked to examine and photograph the panniers they had in stock, which they most graciously allowed me to do. I now bring you a comparison of several different mounting systems, which I hope you will find useful.
Ortlieb panniers are made in Germany. They are waterproof, rugged and distinctly utilitarian-looking. I found myself attracted to this neon-yellow pannier and I think it actually looks kind of good on my Gazelle. But still, overall the design is not really for me.
The mounting system, on the other hand, is fantastic. Most of the currently produced Ortlieb panniers use the QuickLock2 (QL2) system, which accommodates the stout tubing of traditional Dutch and Roadster racks, and is extremely simple to use.
The QL2 mounting system consists of a top rail with hooks and a lower support hook - both of which are adjustable without the need for tools.
The top hooks release automatically when you pull the handle, and close around the rack's tubing when you let go of the handle. The placement of the hooks on the rail can be easily adjusted, as can the position of the rail itself. This comes in handy for those planning to use the same pannier on multiple bikes with different racks: Depending on the spacing of the perpendicular slats on the rack, and depending on the length of the bike's chainstays, the adjustability allows you to control the pannier's positioning. While the top hooks alone are enough to secure the pannier to the rack, the lower hook will prevent it from moving altogether. If only this great system was attached to more classic-looking bags! How about an olive satchel with brown trim, Ortlieb?
Arkel panniers are made in Quebec, Canada. The look is similarly utilitarian, though the styling is distinctly different from that of Ortlieb. The design of the bags doesn't really speak to me, but again these things are a matter of taste. While Ortlieb makes it difficult to purchase their complete mounting kit, Arkel sells it readily - which makes it a good resource for those looking to make custom panniers with a reliable and well tested mounting system.
Arkel's Cam-Lock attachment system works similarly to Ortlieb's QL2, in that there is a top rail with adjustable hooks that release via lifting the handle, and a lower hook added for stability. However, the hardware is aluminum (Ortlieb's is plastic), and the lower hook is attached via a bungee cord. Tools are required to adjust the position of the hooks on the track. To my eye, the Arkel system looks kind of rough in comparison to Ortlieb and takes a bit longer to figure out. Also, the aluminum hooks have sharp-ish edges and I could see them scratching up the paint on a rack.
However, the bigger problem is that the Arkel hooks are not large enough to fit over the tubing of my Gazelle's rack. I am certainly glad to have discovered this before having a custom pannier made using this mounting system. Looks like Arkel is just not an option for me.
I have already described how the DutchFastrider panniers work in my review of the one I own, but will reiterate here - as well as say that the more I use this pannier, the more I appreciate its design.
The Fastrider mounting system features 3 heavy duty hooks that are plastic with metal bolts and springs. The central hook closes all the way around the rack's tubing, and the two outside hooks are for additional weight support. While the distance between hooks is not adjustable, the outside hooks pivot - which means that they can be mounted even on the curved portions of a rack, allowing for greater versatility of placement.
Here is what I mean by that. Notice that the left hook is attached to the curved rear portion of the small constructeur rack quite comfortably. Though there is no additional lower support hook like in the Ortlieb or Arkel systems, I find Fastrider's 3 hook attachment to be quite secure, with minimal swaying. For a commuting pannier, it is certainly sufficient. And the hooks are versatile enough to fit both skinny and stout rack tubing - perfect! Unfortunately, Fastrider products are not widely available in North America at the moment. The Bicycle Muse carries a few of the shopper panniers, but not the entire line.
Basil, on the other hand, is a Dutch manufacturer whose panniers are now easily available in North America. Their bags range from classic to utilitarian to quirky and they offer a great deal of choice.
This is what the mounting system looks like: Two hooks that may be either alloy or plastic (I can't tell) with a strip of velcro in the middle.The hooks are wide, non-pivotable, and the distance between them is not adjustable - which makes them incompatible with some racks. Like on the Fastrider, there is no lower support hook - which, again, I think is just fine for commuting if the upper hooks are sufficiently secure.
I also like it that the Basil's system is designed with a zipper flap that covers the hooks when they are not being used. The panniers look like regular bags when not on the bike, and the hooks won't catch on your clothing as you carry them.
But to be honest, I find it difficult to trust the Basil mounting system, because it seems to me that their design causes the hooks to be stressed every time they are used: The hooks have to be spread when attached to the rack, and spread again when detached.Is that not bound to cause fatigue when done over and over again? It does not help that I saw a couple of Basil panniers with broken hooks in local bike shops back in and have read comments from a few owners reporting the same experience (see, for example, here and here). To be fair, the majority of Basil owners I know are happy with their panniers. But I'd have a difficult time trusting my laptop to their mounting system.
Another brand of panniers I've been seeing lately is Bontrager- an American manufacturer affiliated with Trek.Their city pannier (above) resembles the Basil Mirtemodel, and features a similar mounting system.
As I understand it, these hooks will only fit Bontrager racks, or racks with similar tubing.
And finally, there is the hooks + bungee system used by OYB (see review here). Swift Industries, Axiom, and Jandd use similar configurations, but with larger hooks.
This system consists of two open metal top hooks that attach to the rack's platform, and a bungeed S-hook that attaches to a lower part of the rack. All three hooks must be used in order for the pannier to hold up securely, as the top hooks don't wrap all the way around the rack's tubing.
Depending on the size of the hooks, they may or may not fit your rack's tubing. Since both the hooks and bungees are readily obtainable in a hardware store, this method can be a great DIY solution. But keep in mind that if you use small hooks and a thin bungee cord, the system will not support a great deal of weight.
I know that there are other quick-release pannier mounting systems out there, and if you have one to recommend (or one to warn against), your comments would be most welcome. We all have different requirements and preferences that will inform what we consider to be our ideal system, and for me the best option seems to be Ortlieb, followed by Fastrider. Their mounting systems are easy to use, secure, and will fit racks with a variety of tubing diameters - from heavy duty transport racks to skinny constructeur contraptions. If I were making a pannier from scratch, I'd try to get my hands on either their mounting kits... though looking into it, this has proven to be no easy task! Ortlieb sells some, but not all of the parts needed to assemble a full QL2 kit, and I've not yet been able to determine whether Fastrider sells just the hooks alone. Will keep you updated with news on that front, and in the meanwhile I hope this comparison has been helpful.
I was visiting Bryan at Royal H Cycles yesterday and was able to get some shots of the brazing process in action. Please don't interpret this as step-by-step instructions, but here is my attempt to explain how it's done:
The frame being built here is a lugged stainless steel beauty ordered by JP. The "main triangle" (seat tube, head tube, top tube and downtube) had already been finished before my visit, and Bryan was working on attaching the seat stays - the thin parallel tubes that connect the seat tube to the dropouts.
Here are the dropouts without the seat stays.
And here is Bryan applying flux to the dropout sockets, where they will connect to the stays. "Flux" is a protective chemical mixture that is part of the brazing process, and it is applied to the joints beforehand.
The dropouts are ready for the seat stays.
The seat stays are prepared.
And attached, with more flux added.
The same is done with the seat cluster.
Here is Bryan carefully arranging everything so that it stays in place.
It is crucial that everything is aligned perfectly.
Really perfectly.
More perfectly still.
And there we go.
With more flux added for good measure.
But now, the good part. Fire!
The joint is heated with a hand-held torch, then brazed together using silver or brass (silver is shown here).
Close-up of the process.
That little wire you see is the silver; it is melted into the joint by the torch.
Same procedure for the dropouts.
The process is quite beautiful - though best observed through a camera lens that allows you to stand back while enjoying a close-up view.
I lose track of time when absorbed in something like this, but the brazing did not take long. The key is precision - having steady hands and a good eye, so as to align all the parts perfectly, heat the joint evenly and distribute the silver properly.
The dropouts post brazing. There is still a lot to do here, such as cleaning and finishing work, but this is the joint. This bicycle will have an internally geared hub, so these are technically "fork ends" rather than dropouts - but nice either way.
I hope this gives you some idea of how lugged steel frames are built, and a Thank You to Bryan for allowing me to photograph him working. If you want to learn more about the hand brazing process, a good place to start is here, as well as this nice video from MAP Cycles. There is also a Framebuilders subforum on bikeforums that is quite helpful. While I have no plans to build frames myself, I enjoy learning how it is done and seeing the process up close.