Part of it for me probably hinges on the fact that I'm a mechanic. As a mechanic, the frame and the parts are the paints and the canvas, and....the frame. As the mechanic, I'm the painter. The build is the thing, to me. For exactly the same reason you said: "I wouldn't recommend getting a Sam thinking it's a Hilsen", I would say: "I wouldn't recommend putting racks and heavy tires on one bike thinking it's a sporty build". You built your Sam not to be sporty, so it's not. You built your Hilsen to be sporty, so it is. If you flipped your intentions, I bet you would succeed.
Bill Lindsay El Cerrito, CA On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 12:25:39 PM UTC-8, Dave Small wrote: > > Hi Bill, > > My comment reflected only my opinion that the models ride a little > differently. I own both now, so like you I can directly compare them. > There's not a *lot* of difference between them, but in general I find > the Hilsen to be a little sportier and a little more fun. I have them set > up a little differently, with racks and wider-tougher tires on the Sam, so > that could contribute to the difference I feel but I don't think it > explains all of it. I prefer the Hilsen for general fun-rides and take the > Sam for short tours, although both models could handle both tasks albeit > maybe just a little better or worse than the other, depending on the task. > After my first ride on the Hilsen I told my wife that if I were ever > forced to trim to N=1, the Hilsen would be a strong contender to be that > one. I've never felt that way about the Sam, but I guess I might if I > didn't have the Hilsen. > > I remember a thread a few months back on the subject of Sam versus Homer, > with many posters reflecting your opinion and many others reflecting mine. > It was interesting to watch that discussion develop since I had a definite > opinion and so many of the initial responders disagreed with it. I think > it's safe to say that if there's a difference, it's not a big one. > > Dave > > On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 1:03:53 PM UTC-5, Bill Lindsay wrote: >> >> Dave Small stated that he does not consider the Hillborne and the Hilsen >> functionally equivalent. >> >> I respect that opinion but I respectfully disagree with it, as it applies >> to myself. I owned them both, both at the same time. I considered them >> functionally equivalent, so I sold the "expensive" one and kept the >> "inexpensive" one. The inexpensive one (Hillborne) happened to have more >> natural versatility because it has cantilever brakes, and greater resulting >> clearances. It is definitely possible that I don't have the sensitivity to >> detect the differences that others may detect. The geometry is virtually >> identical so that contribution to "ride" should be identical. I definitely >> did not possess the sensitivity to detect "planing" differences between my >> Hilsen and my Hillborne. I rode the Hilsen a lot more than I rode the >> Hillborne, because, of course, it was the 'nicer' bike. I detected no >> difference in the ride quality between the two. Others more sensitive than >> me or who ride a lot more than me might detect something. The Hilsen is >> certainly no worse than the Hillborne. >> >> Bill Lindsay >> El Cerrito, CA >> >> On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 9:17:32 AM UTC-8, Dave Small wrote: >>> >>> I don't consider these substitutable. I mean, yeah, you can substitute >>> a Sam for a Homer, but they ride differently. If I wanted a Hilsen, I'd >>> get a Hilsen. I wouldn't recommend getting a Sam thinking it's a Hilsen. >>> >>> >>> On Monday, February 26, 2018 at 3:17:33 PM UTC-5, Bill Lindsay wrote: >>>> >>>> If I was in the market for a used 59cm Hilsen, I would give serious >>>> consideration to a NEW 55cm canti-Hillborne. >>>>> >>>>> Thanks!! >>>>> >>>> -- 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.
