>How many people here are active randonneurs and ride their Rivendells? My first brevets were on my Heron Road. Back then I carried everything in a Carradice saddle bag. For all the well-known reasons, I found that I preferred carrying things in a handlebar bag, and to this day I really like the Riv boxy bag and matching Nitto rack. The magnetic closure is a key feature. (But I prefer my Berthoud front bag for it's built-in map case.) I bought a Bleriot/Protovelo frame and had S&S couplers installed for a travel bike and to enjoy fatter 650B tires. I've done a fair amount of brevet and perm riding on that bike, and for a few years it was my commuting bike, as well. I also experimented with 650B on my Heron Road bikes, and that is where I discovered a handling issue, in which carrying weight in both a handlebar bag and a saddlebag at the same time created a noticeable shimmy issue. Eventually I decided to try a full-on, skinny tube, low trail rando bike, which I used for several years. I found I really liked the lower trail steering feel, especially when carrying a bunch of stuff in the handlebar bag. I particularly notice the handling difference on steep, curvy downhills (and of course steep, slow uphills). I had my Heron Road fork pulled to where the trail is now in the low 50's, and really liked the change.
I also found that each time I rode the Heron I thought, "this is my favorite bike." So, last year I had Waterford make me an ST-22 with a Heron fork raked out to get the trail into the low 40's. Using the Heron fork crown limits the fender width (it's 40mm between the tangs), so I decided to stick with 57mm reach brakes and 28mm tires with stainless steel fenders. The roads in Wisconsin are generally quite good and I haven't yet regretted going back to skinnier tires. Between the Compass EL casing and the flexy round fork blades, the bike really soaks up road imperfections nicely. The handling is right where I like it. The Schmidt dyno hub with the electrical connect built into the fork ends is a giant convenience, and having always available lights is important to me. Fenders vs tire volume depends on your riding conditions and your tolerance for bumps vs being wet. My experience with fenders hasn't been completely happy, as I find that I still get quite a bit of spray on my feet and in the drivetrain. And, one time on a commute a tire picked up a stick and the fender jammed it enough that it tore the tire. That said, I still prefer to ride with fenders if it's wet. But when I took my Bleriot/Travelo to Ireland recently I didn't bother packing fenders. (And lucked out - the weather was beautiful!) My 650b skinny tube bike is now my commuter, and I'm really happy with that. Dyno hub and lights are key, and fenders while not perfect are helpful. I carry a backpack in a Wald basket on the front and the very low trail geometry makes that work. I've done 200km on my Rivendell Road, which has 26mm tires and nothing more than a small tool wrap under the saddle, and that was fast and fine, though it meant stuffing the jersey pockets and relying more on buying stuff along the way. There is a lot that changes when you get over 200km. Contact points - feet, seat, and hands - and fueling are the areas I've had the most adjustment. None of that is really "Rivendell specific". Ted Durant Milwaukee, WI RUSA 7849 -- 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.
