Earl: What ring sizes are you using?
dougP On Jan 5, 7:39 am, Earl Grey <earlg...@gmail.com> wrote: > It's an IRD compact I had lying around. I am actually not that happy > with it. It requires severe overshifting to go from granny to the > middle ring (ramped, brand-new Sugino rings) regardless of which gear > I am in in the back. Anyone know if I can tweak the setup to improve > it? Pretty much followed Sheldon's installation instructions... > > What tire clearance issues do you have? Interference with the front > derailer? > > Cheers, > > Gernot > > On Jan 5, 9:48 pm, doc <gspi...@aol.com> wrote: > > > > > What front derailleur are you using? I have a similar setup, but have > > issues with the tire clearance. thx. > > > On Jan 4, 11:22 pm, Earl Grey <earlg...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > I bought a Hillborne a couple of months ago, built it up for commuting > > > and mixed road/off-road riding, and have been loving it. I feel like I > > > have found my perfect bike, even though as recently as a year ago I > > > never seriously thought of buying a Rivendell. Here it > > > is:http://tinyurl.com/y8ay6gg > > > The following is the history that led me to buy a Sam, and I thought > > > it might be of interest to some of you (I sent a version to Grant as > > > well). > > > > The funny thing is that the Hillborne is almost exactly the bike I > > > have wanted for the past 20 years, although at times I didn't quite > > > know it. And the bike I have been riding for the last 19 years is a > > > lot like a Sam Hillborne, only not nearly as nice a bike. So here is > > > the back story: > > > > Back in 1991 when I bought my first "real" bike, I looked at > > > Bridgestones, but wanted neither a road nor a mountain bike, and the > > > RB-T was still too much of a road bike for me. I also had a Shimano > > > bias (since cured), which made at least some Bridgestones less > > > attractive. I wanted a bike that could do anything, and in my college > > > student's $600 price range, the Fisher Sphinx (basically a rigid 29er > > > with drop bars, or a proto monster cross) was almost exactly it. > > > > I still consider the Fisher Sphinx a ground-breaking bike, but it > > > never gets mentioned in discussions of the origins of all-arounders or > > > whatever you want to call them, and I've only ever been able to find > > > ONE photo of it on the web: http://tinyurl.com/yhlo7jy(withall > > > stock parts excecpt the tires: it came with 38mm semi-knobbies; note > > > the "it's so hideous it's almost good" 'sharkbite' paint job). I'll > > > put photos of mine up on cyclofiend at some point. > > > > I did admire the Bridgestones though, still have the 1992-94 > > > catalogues, and even bought a long sleeve wool jersey with tagua nut > > > buttons from Bridgestone. I particularly liked the XO-1, and if it had > > > had a triple crank and 700C wheels, I might have bought one and sold > > > the Fisher. In the late 90s I tried buying an MB-1 off a friend who > > > wasn't riding it, but he wasn't selling, either. :) The Fisher is > > > still my main ride (well, was, until the Sam arrived), but it bugs me > > > that it has a 1 1/4 headset and 88mm bottom bracket shell, which mean > > > it's going to be a pain in the butt to maintain long term. The frame > > > is also not of terribly high quality, with a chainstay bridge that > > > runs diagonal, and some subpar welds. > > > > Even though I vaguely knew about Rivendell from early on, I somewhat > > > strangely did not think of buying a Rivendell until fairly recently. I > > > still remember my first conscious Riv sighting, at a critical mass in > > > San Francisco around 2000. I was very intrigued, but also mystified. I > > > talked to the owner for a while, admired the burnt orange paint job > > > ( a lot like the orange Sam) and the SON dynohub, but thought it was > > > trying a bit too hard to look retro. Another part of not thinking > > > about buying one was the high price, not wanting to own a bike that > > > precious and unusual, and partly, since I already had a very sensible > > > bike, I wanted something a bit racier for fast club rides. In '96, I > > > had bought a NOS 1995 Bianchi Veloce, the last lugged steel bike with > > > steel fork they made, I think. At the time I remembered being a bit > > > sad that the Veloce didn't come with a carbon fork, but over the years > > > I became glad it was all steel. I also considered buying an Ibis > > > Hakkalügi cyclocross at one point (I already had an Ibis Uncle Fester > > > tandem, which I loved), but wasn't quite ready to build up a frame > > > myself, and also thought it too precious/expensive. The Bianchi was > > > stolen in 2003 or so, and in 2006 I replaced it with a used > > > Independent Fabrications Planet Cross (http://tinyurl.com/yduufyx) > > > that could do double duty as a fast road bike and an off-roader > > > (though the rear can't quite fit 42 mm knobbies). My Sphinx meanwhile > > > wore fenders and got me to school and back. I even went so far as to > > > buy a silly aero wheelset for the Indy Fab so I could switch it back > > > and forth from road to off road quickly, and was thinking of replacing > > > the dowdy Sugino triple with something sexier and lighter-weight (I > > > hadn't yet reallized that there isn't anything sexier than a Sugino). > > > > But then it started bugging me that the Indy Fab couldn't take fenders > > > or racks (no braze-ons) and slowly the things that initially turned me > > > off a bit about Rivendell (why do the MUSA pants have to be two-tone? > > > Flat pedals? Without toe-straps, even? Mud flaps? In California? > > > What's up with the ridiculously high stems? [I still don't understand > > > why Riv doesn't promote Periscopa type stems more, I think they would > > > look much better than a Technomic raised to the max]), well, those > > > things didn't bug me so much anymore. I still didn't want to/couldn't > > > spend $2000 on a frame, the Atlantis seemed heavy and 26" wheels look > > > wrong to me on a medium-sized drop bar bike, the AHH didn't have > > > enough tire clearance and I like cantilevers, and for the last couple > > > of years I was thinking of getting a Surly Cross Check or a Soma > > > Double Cross and just moving the parts from my Sphinx over. But then I > > > saw the Soma Speedster and thought why can't someone make a sub-$1000 > > > cantilever bike with lugs? And then along comes the Hillborne. And in > > > my favorite bike color ever, burnt orange. And not with (to me, on a > > > bigger frame) ungainly 26" wheels, yet with good clearance, although > > > by now I was enough of a retro grouch that the up-sloping top tube > > > bothered me. :) So I started leaning towards the Velo Orange Rando, > > > but then I realized that the Hillborne had a much better chance of > > > being well-thought out in every little detail than the first > > > production frame from a new company. Besides, the VO Rando still isn't > > > shipping, and its clearances will probably be smaller than the > > > AHH's... > > > > So here I am with my first Grant-designed bike, almost 20 years after > > > his sensibilities started influencing my bike thinking. I have only > > > ridden it for a couple of months, but I have the feeling I will ride > > > it for as long as I ride bikes. I can't imagine outgrowing it or > > > wanting something different, with the possible exception of an > > > Atlantis for serious 3rd world touring (though hopefully any touring > > > will happen with my wife on our tandem), or perhaps a single speed at > > > some point down the road, or a 650b porteur for running errands, or... > > > > Thank you, Grant. The Hillborne was worth waiting for. > > > > Gernot > > > > Chiang Mai, Thailand- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- 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-bu...@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.
