While the phrase "sit-up-and-beg" might be fairly descriptive, I feel like it reflects a drop bar view of the world, and is perhaps somewhat demeaning to riders who are capable of enjoying a more upright stance on a bicycle. When riding about on my Clementine, I sit up and beg for no one. I would describe my body position as stately, yet convivial. It reflects a more observant posture toward one's surroundings, less self-involved as a body hunched over the handlebars, eyes forced forward, neck under strain. In the convivial stance, one is more apt to notice a neighbor on the side of the road; it offers an easier position from which to lift a hand and give a friendly wave. This is of course simply the physical manifestation of the bicycle designer's philosophy toward riding a bicycle. And those who ride this type of design, if they haven't adopted this philosophy already, soon appreciate its many charms and advantages--coming full cycle then, a case of form follows function. (Or they sell the bicycle.) Note that, as an ex-competitive cyclist, when time permits I still enjoy the occasional ramble on one of my drop bar bicycles. And not that, hands on the Clementine's Bullmoose crossbar, I can't crank up to Main Street automobile speeds. And not that I won't compare me some Compass Switchbacks vs. the stock Kendas in the near future...life is so nuanced!
On Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 6:50:29 PM UTC-5, Bill Lindsay wrote: > > I don't think anybody said 1-2 cm below the saddle was really low. I > called 10cm really low. I also said the lowest you can easily get on any > stock Rivendell would probably be about 4 or 5 cm below with a Roadeo. > Patrick Moore gets that low on his customs also. I think 4-5cm below is > still perfectly normal for Rivendells. Lungimsam observed that nobody can > get a Roadeo fit on a sub $2000 frameset, and that's true. All the sub > $2000 frames are more upright than the Roadeo/Hilsen/Atlantis. He said he > was just making an observation, and it's a correct observation. Maybe the > next step in his thought process will be "there should be a budget > Rivendell that fits like a Roadeo". I know there are a lot of potential > Rivendell customers who love the Rivendell vibe, are not going to buy a > $4000 complete bike, but still want a "road bike", not a "cruiser". There > are a lot of people that would love to buy an inflation-adjusted Romulus. > That was a $1500 complete bike road bike. Nothing dumb, but not > sit-up-and-beg like the Appaloosa. The 2016 version of that bike could be > a great add, if Rivendell had the cashflow to do it. I can't wait to sit > up and beg on my Appaloosa, and would rather eat glass than put drop bars > on it. I've got drop bar bikes coming out my ears, but for those who > don't, a budget Rivendell Road Bike might have a lot of appeal. > > Bill Lindsay > El Cerrito, CA > > > > On Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 3:09:07 PM UTC-8, RJM wrote: >> >> I really don't see 1-2 cm below saddle height as low, certainly not >> really low. >> >> The one thing Rivs are, they are usually versatile and can be set up many >> different ways. When I had my Sam I had it with drops that started two >> inches above saddle height and that eventually went down to 1 cm below the >> saddle. I just naturally felt more comfy there...then I switched it >> albatross and of course the bars were higher then. The bike worked great >> with each setup too. My Roadeo is going similar to the Sam where I started >> a little above saddle height but now I have mark's bars an inch below. Rivs >> can certainly be ridden with bars that are lower than saddle height. This >> is why quill stems are awesome too. >> >> The Joe really seems like a more laid back upright bike though. The long >> wheelbase and top tube length kinda point it in that direction. Drop bars >> would certainly work for those who don't mind actually riding in the drops. >> >> -- 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 https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
