if you carry a lot of weight and ride more bumpy roads i would go clem if you carry a lot of weight and ride smooth single track, pavement, or dirt roads, i would go appaloosa
if you carry stuff on your commute that is able to fit in a basket, i would get the sam. if you're going to ride upright then get a clem or appaloosa, if youre going drop bars then get the sam I used to have a sam, but upright bars were cramped, my appaloosa should be coming in soon. On Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 11:35:57 AM UTC-4, Jonathan Donehower wrote: > > This is my first post. I have been commuting regularly now for over a > year and ready to buy a new bike with my wife's support. We will be going > to one car and VW will partially subsidize this purchase with the Diesel > Scandal settlement. I am struggling to decide which model to buy and was > wondering what advice you all might have. I am debating between the Sam, > Joe and Clem. I realize there is probably no bad choice. I currently > have two bikes. I have a Rivendell Romulus I purchased from a friend but > it isn't my first choice for commuting. I also converted a Jamis Nova > Steel bike (probably similar to the cross check) to a more relaxed ride > with the Soma Oxford Bars. I enjoy the bike but thinking I want the > flexibility of larger wheels, and a more upright position. Currently > running 32 mm. I don't really go on bike tours since riding the Oregon > Coast with the wrong equipment 9 years back but as my kids grow up, I would > like that flexibility. It would mostly be for weekend rides, fire roads and > primarily commuting. > > The Joe Appaloosa seems to be a reflect Grant's latest thinking on bikes. > It seems like a fantastic bike but perhaps overkill for what I ride. I am > not sure I need 45 mm tires and 52 CS. But then I think perhaps I should > just go all in on the Rivendell philosophy instead of taking baby steps. > The Joe seems like the heir to the Atlantis reflecting what Grant has > learned over the last decade. > > The Clem Smith Jr seems like a wonderful bike and very similar to the Joe. > I can't figure out after reading the lists what the real differences would > be beyond lugs. I have some concern with the sizing. My PBH of 85cm would > put me at a 52 in the Clem (55 in the Joe). I am at the top end of the > sizing. I am 6 ft with shorter legs. In fact the 52 would fit both my wife > at 5'3" and me at 6 ft. Logically I realize this bike would fit my needs > but then emotionally I got back to the Joe. > > I am also looking at the Sam Hillborne seems like it might be a good > compromise. it takes fat wheels, good for light touring (probably heavy > touring by my standards) and allows for a more relaxed fit. I also think I > would be losing long-term flexibility and I weigh 210 lbs, and might be > better off with the more robust bike. > > Again I realize there is probably no wrong choice but would love to hear > your thoughts. I love reading the forum, I really appreciate the Rivendell > philosophy and excited to take a big jump in. > > > -- 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.
