I went out and did a 200K brevet on Presidents' day. It rained the first 25 miles, which I was not expecting. So me and the bike ended up looking like crap again. I need a bike that can accomodate fenders. My Riv is a custom built with short reach brakes. I bought it secondhand. Although I love it and I've probably put 20 or 25 thousand miles on it in the last 4 years, it would really be nice if I could mount fenders. At least I've found that I can mount the wonderful Grand Bois 700x30 tires and still fit under the brakes.
The thing is, I would really rather buy an off the shelf bike. But I am 6'7" so my options are limited. So I got to thinking about the AHH again. Last year I thought about the AHH and I called Riv and whoever I talked to discouraged me because of my weight, probably 255-260 at that time. But now I have slimmed down to the 235-240 range so I started thinking AHH again. Rivendell's site says the weight limit is 220 lbs on fire roads. But I am never going to ride on fire roads. The AHH would mainly be my brevet bike. And that is one of the recommended uses of it. Anyways, here is an email I sent to the friend that I rode with on Monday. ------------------------------------------------------------------ I am thinking of a new bike. need fenders. I wanted custom Ti for a while but then decided the steel rust thing really doesn't bother me that much. It's not like my current Rivendell is falling apart from rust or anything and I've put it through the wars. I called Rivendell. The A Homer looks like the best fit for a light touring kind of bike, but they say the weight limit is 220 on fire roads on their web site. I talked to someone a while back and they tried to guide me more towards an Atlantis. Well I weigh around 240, but I will probably never take it on a fire road. The infamous Kulow Road will probably be the worst thing it ever sees. I know you haven't done a Houston Randonneurs ride but if you ever do, Kulow is a road not to be missed ;-) ;-) So anyways this time Riv said if I rode in on-road only that it should probably be no problem at all. My current Riv Custom was built for a guy that was 6'5", 190, after all. On the 67cm AHH, the seat tube is a cm shorter but the top tube is actually a bit longer (64.5). So I would get stretched out just a little more if I were using the same stem. Of course I could always shorten up the stem a cm and that would leave things about equal. OTOH, my go-fast Paul Taylor custom has a 66cm top tube and it's not at all uncomfortable, although it does have a real short stubby threadless stem on it. One sticking point is, the price on the AHH frame has gone up by $500, to $2000. That's kind of hard to take, knowing it was $500 cheaper not that long ago. But I know they raised the price because they were getting squeezed by the exchange rates and they need to make their business work. Still, the American consumerist in me just doesn't like it I guess. I suppose I could maximize my economy by doing the bog stock complete build. That is $3400. They descibed it to me on the phone about how it was described on the site: Headset: Shimano Ultegra or just as good equivalent. Seat post: Nitto Crystal Fellow 27.2. Stem: Nitto Technomic Deluxe. Handlebar: Nitto Noodle. Saddle: Brooks B.17 or Selle An-Atomica. Brake lever: Shimano Tiagra (BL-400). We use it on all the bikes. Brakes: Silver sidepulls. Shifters: Shimano bar-ends or Silver (about same price). Front Der: Campagnolo Mirage or Champ, or IRD or Shimano. Rear Der: Shimano LX Rapid-Rise. Others available, too Chain: Shimano or IRD or SRAM. All about the same. Cassette: IRD 8- or 9-speed, or Shimano/SRAM equiv. We recommend a 11 OR 12-32 if you want the most versatility, for steep roads and trails. Shimano makes the XTR ina 12-32, but that's like $150. IRD makes a 9sp or 8sp for about $55. Basically, no diff between an 11 or 12. They're both such big gears that you'll hardly ever use them, so they just become space-takers, anyway. Wheels: Shimano LX hubs, Synergy or Mavic rims, DT butted spokes, built here by Rich, and they're poifect in every way. Tires: Any you like, but we recommend the newly arrived Jack Browns. Bottom Bracket: IRD or Shimano or Tange 113mm Crank: Sugino XD-2 46-36-24. Pedals: If you have your own favorite modern clipless, go with them. I think I might run my TA carmina in lieu of the Sugino, and I would definitely want Tektro brake levers instead of the Shimanos, I have them now and love them, they set up real nice with the Noodles. Maybe I should try a 48cm Noodle. Haha. Well, we'll see how my taxes look... --------------------------------------------------------- thoughts appreciated. I am not against the Sugino btw, but I prefer a 180 crank. I have a real nice Campy Record alloy double that was originally on the Custom, I could put it back on and use my TA on the AHH. Decisions, decisions. -- having a blood clot is a sticky situation --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
