Impressive, Craig. Man, you keep that sweet baby ready-to-go. All packed, just let go the toe-strap & you out the door in search of some tumbleweed to camp under.
BEST / Jock Dewey / Athens, GA On Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 8:07:41 PM UTC-4, Craig Montgomery wrote: > > *My takeaway from all this is that in this case a "lively" frame will feel > that way with large of range of tire quality.... whereas a frame that isn't > so lively, even with specifically "supple" tires isn't going to compensate > for it's not so liveliness. Improve the ride, yes. * > > Bingo! That's the epiphany. And that's the case for handbuilt frames > by master builders; AND looking for vintage frames built by master > builders. You have,Garth ol' boy, a full-on old school touring frame of the > highest order (in materials and craftsmanship) built by someone who knew > what they were doing. That's why it rides the way it does, on the tires > (which don't matter that much overall) you choose for it. > Nobody I know of makes these things anymore except for a few of the > remaining old English companies like Mercian or Ellis Briggs or one offers > like Kevin Sayles. Or in France, the Alex Singer shop. Back in those days > (1999? THOSE days? Gimme a break!...sorry) about the only tires available > were 27x1 1/4" or 1 3/8" or 700x32's or maybe 35's (we're talking touring > now...not toodling around on pavement in urban environments). So the frame > had to be so masterfully built that it would allow the bike tourist to hit > rough pavement and dirt roads without him being bludgeoned to death. > Without having his gonads ground into cottage cheese. > Hence, our bikes Garth: > Here's my '99 Jack Taylor Tourist (essentially an unchanged design > since the 40's). Almost but not quite the spittin' image of yours. > 72STA/72.5HTA with a fork rake that ends somewhere just outside of China. > These were standard touring designs for decades. Loaded or unloaded, when > you hit the rough stuff with a bike like this, it was like jumping onto a > very lusciously firm water bed (Oh gawd I'm dating myself again). Don't get > me wrong, I really like my Black Mountain Monster Cross with its light > tubing and fat Gravel Kings. But at the end of a long rough ride (esp. > loaded touring) it doesn't leave me feeling as "refreshed" as the > traditional Taylor on it's 700x35 Paselas. > > "*I can see how those that have both a lively frame and supple tires > would find it blissful!" *We should have been living in England or > France 60 or 70 years ago when this was common knowledge. > > Craig "Old and In the Way"(Tony Rice/Jerry Garcia-1973) in Tucson > > On Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 2:01:01 PM UTC-7, Garth wrote: >> >> Yeah Ted it seems I do prefer frames that have some flex in the right >> places. The 531ST tubes are intended for touring, slightly thicker wall >> diameter than the regular 531. OF course I know nothing of designing bikes, >> but thankfully the designer/builder does and he would not do something he >> wasn't comfortable with. Tall head tube, yes, I've seen taller ! Fork flex >> is in the blades. >> >> In regards to the tubing, 531 seems to have a kind of PFM status... pure >> f'n magic for their ride characteristics. >> >> https://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cycling-article-blog/87-reynolds-531-tubing-the-cycle-tourists-friend >> >> My takeaway from all this is that in this case a "lively" frame will feel >> that way with large of range of tire quality.... whereas a frame that isn't >> so lively, even with specifically "supple" tires isn't going to compensate >> for it's not so liveliness. Improve the ride, yes. >> >> I can see how those that have both a lively frame and supple tires would >> find it blissful ! >> >> At 165lbs or so I would have to go really low on the Bomba to get a pinch >> flat as I naturally ride "light" over things. I have Big Ben 50 on there >> now @25-30 psi. I'll try lowering them off the pavement and see how it >> goes. As for other tires .... man it's like pie in the sky. They all look >> good from afar ! Ahahaha ! >> >> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b9a0101b-eda3-48cf-a7b0-a9b56d913a5fo%40googlegroups.com.
