On Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 11:19:26 PM UTC-6, Patrick Moore wrote: > > Is this the consensus among Clem owners who have ridden the Jones? I'd be > interested to hear more about how they compare. > > > Back to Clem: I particularly am interested in how it does on dirt; not > necessarily tight, technical singletrack, which I don't like anyway, but on > dirt roads and doubletrack -- compared to the Jones, and compared to your > standard mountain bike. >
Interesting question for me, as this is how I've been spending the first few weeks of the riding season this year - swapping back and forth between a Clem and a Jones. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5gLoVjRUWpE/VzEuUe7jrNI/AAAAAAAAAWA/DAzJz_hS56ggX8rJXWv2GSoLoT2Qiiu5wCLcB/s1600/20160508_164824_resized.jpg> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SmiPIHtQqFc/VzEudOxh_wI/AAAAAAAAAWE/oe-do3M3eyQn1eJqmJ2RSC7sAGiFs685wCLcB/s1600/20160508_164639_resized.jpg> I agree with Jeremy that the riding position is very similar - though I usually say that the Jones feels like a Rivendell, rather than the other way around. Chicken & egg thing, I guess. The one thing I really gained from the Jones, that I believe you'll struggle with at first, Patrick, is a completely different view of saddle position. Whereas a Rivendell merely "suggests" a large setback, rearward bias, the Jones "requires" it. *Without* a huge setback, it is impossible to climb. *With* a huge setback, all of the handling improves greatly. I used to set up all my bikes with the same saddle position, relative to the crank (more or less KOPS), but no longer. Once I got used to the setback on the Jones, everything else felt a little off. So I've gradually been shoving all of my saddles rearward now. (now I'll need to get new stems, darn it.) I tried to set the Clem up so that the position matched the Jones as close as possible. With the huge reach-back of the Bosco bar, it is almost necessary. I suspect most people are making a comparison between the Plus Jones and the Clem, because of the long chainstays, so the rest of this may not be relevant. But even the Plus and Clem are different animals, with 19 & 21" chainstays respectively, and completely different front end geometries. My short-wheelbase, 17" chainstay Jones is a single track carving machine. Very different from the Clem. It goes wherever you point it, and you can lean over and take corners as fast as you want without worrying about losing traction. I can't lift the front end of the Clem to save my life, whereas the Jones manuals and wheelies at will. Both bikes are extremely stable, and are my two easiest bikes to ride no-hands. I'm getting comfortable with the flexiness of the Bosco bar (plus I tightened it a lot more in the clamp), so I'm starting to take it on single track more, and I will say that it is very fun. The long wheelbase doesn't make me worry about "high-centering," though I do worry about pedal strikes a bit more. I might do a multi-day, loaded forest service road tour later this summer, and I'm almost positive the Clem is the bike I'd take. Up until I started riding it, I thought I'd take the Jones. To me, I'd say they are very nice complements to each other, but with entirely different personalities - despite the similar fit and comfort. I'm guessing the Plus would fall something in between and/or more redundant? One amazing thing I'll say is this: Despite the Jones having an intentionally compliant frame, a 3" / 13psi tire in the rear, and a 4.8" / 5psi tire in front, the long-wheelbase Clem is MUCH smoother on rough surfaces - even with its "skinny" 2.4 Super Motos. It is unbelievable how the bike just smooths everything out. For that reason alone, I've been opting to grab it more often than not. I think the Hunquapillar fork must have a lot to do with this, in addition to the chainstay length. I can actually see it flexing and absorbing vibration. The Jones fork, on the other hand, is intended to not move or flex or twist an iota. -- 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.
