> > I'm already a subscriber to Bicycle Quarterly. I'll have to look back > to find the fender installation issue. I'll look for the black zip > ties. I'm tempted to try to find a U-shaped bracket I could bolt to > the fender, around the chainstay, but that seems like I'm making it > more complicated than it needs to be. It's odd to me that Rivendell > doesn't drill out and tap fender mounting points on their custom > frames. It couldn't be that much trouble. It's probably one of those > things that, if I knew I needed it beforehand, I would have been able > to request it.
There has been some speculation about that. I wouldn't want to badmouth Grant or his design philosophy, but there is a distinct lack of forethought about fenders in most of the Rivendell designs. The speculation is that it is a California thing, where the weather is good so much of the year that fenders, if they are used at all, get removed when the weather is nice, and put back on when the weather goes bad. This also goes a long way towards explaining the issues with toe-clip overlap (not really an issue unless you keep bumping into a front fender), and the reliance on zip-ties as mounting hardware (makes it much easier to take fenders on and off). I wouldn't necessarily say this is an unconscious choice: in all likelihood, Grant has considered the tradeoffs and found something else he considers more important in the design than to have it be easily fenderable. His arguments defending toe-clip overlap are precisely that, a design tradeoff where one measurement was deemed more important to the handling he likes than avoiding TCO. Hope this reply is legible: I raised the TCO issue a few years ago on the old RBW list and was thoroughly roasted by the RBW HomeGuard for suggesting that excessive TCO is a design shortcoming. The consensus was that I shouldn't complain about something I don't' understand that exists for the greater good r/t front center measurements or some such hogwash. My bottom line is that I really like my Rambouillet but don't like the TCO and fender mounting kluges. I ended up having a new fork made with increased rake for and with an integrated rack that resulted in lower trail for better slow speed handling with a front bag and much less TCO. I also, had a mounting tab brazed under the fork crown for easier fender mounting. The new fork / rack has its issues too. The rack broke once and clearances are tight with anything wider than a 28 mm tire. Peace. Jon Shinefeld PhilaPA --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
