So I currently have my Sam Hillborne as my only bike, though I was considering adding a front suspension/disc-brake mountain bike to the stable. There's a deal for a Jamis 650B dragon pro on the interwebs now for $1400, but I'm thinking I could rather add a second set of very nice wheels with fatter tires instead. My main reason to do this is so that first of all, I can have a set of slicks and a set of studded tires in the winter, as I live in a very icy/snowy area and am bummed out by having just studded tank tires to ride in winter. Beyond that, I want to have a set of wheels with a 55mm-ish tire that can handle most gravel/firetrail/light singletrack in a ride like the Oregon Outback, as I am hoping to actually do that ride this summer. It would also just be nice to have this set of wheels that can handle more aggressive off-road riding to go explore different areas where I'm at (Eastern Washington).
So, I guess the question I pose to the group is: better to have a second, cheap-ish mountain bike or a second set of really nice wheels to maximize the All-Rounderness of a Hillborne? I've been thinking also about Jan Heine's opinion that a rigid all-road bike with fat tires is the "Porsche 911" of a gravel-orientated ride, and I want to stick with that plan. Also, what are some ideas about the best tire model to do this kind of riding? I think that 50-54mm with a moderately aggressive tread would be perfect, but I'm wondering if there is something better than the Smart Sam? -- 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 post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
