On Mon, 2009-08-31 at 12:55 -0700, Erik wrote: > My largest concern is this: most of my friends and neighbors go on 3 - > 4 hour rides up into the mountains on their super-light carbon > frames. Is there a way for me to set up the AHH so that it is > functional on mellow gravel roads, but also keeps up with my friends > on the steep climbs? Will a 32 tire work for this? I would prefer to > only own one set of tires if this is possible.
Depends a lot on your weight. If you're light enough, 32mm is fine for gravel roads. (If you're heavier, you'd be better served with 36-42mm tires, since you can run lower pressures.) The Grand Bois 700x30 (actually as wide as the 32mm Pasela, another reasonable choice) can be ridden on gravel roads, and on pavement is every bit as fast as a 25mm Michelin. You don't say how fast you are and how fast your friends are. I'm positive anyone from the pro peleton could ride faster than me in the mountains if they were riding a 1950s Schwinn Phantom and I was on a top-line Madone. > > And I am leaning towards building the bike with bar-end shifters. Any > reason I should consider otherwise? If you like them, use them. The only disadvantage compared to brifters is that you can't shift while sprinting or climbing out of the saddle. If you do a lot of "town line sprints" that may be an issue for you; otherwise, probably not. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" 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/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
