The good news about my Clem is that I've been riding it a lot more since I moved. I now live on a busy 4 lane highway with no shoulders, so I was having to either brave the traffic to get to a side street or trail, or put the bike on the car, which I hate to do if I'm just going out for a fun ride. I found a gravel path behind my condo complex that goes about a quarter mile to the next cross street to the highway. From there I can cross the highway and access the regional mixed terrain trail system.
The shortcut I found has got pretty rough big-ish rocks so I am loath to ride my more roadish Rivendells with their relatively fragile Compass tires. The Clem though tackles this section with aplumb so I find myself wheeling it out for rides more than my other bikes. I also find the traction just a little bit better on the pea gravel sections of the regional trails, where the slick Compass tires might kick out a bit going around a corner, the Clem and it's big Kendas track straight and true where I point my wheels. It just feels a little less squirrely, so to say. Which is a good segue into what I don't like. I bought my 65 ClemH complete and one of the things that it came with that I am not super enamored of is the Bosco bars. This may sound odd since they are 58cm wide (I think) but they feel too narrow and too far back for me. I feel like I might hit them with my knees when I'm out riding. I feel I would prefer a bar with less intrusion into my midsection. I'd also prefer something a little less upright, which I think having a bar that's not so far into my midsection will take care of itself. It just doesn't feel dialed in the way it is now. Looking around on Rivendell's website, I like the look of the Billie bars. I'm just not sure if 58 will be wide enough for my preference. I'm thinking maybe because they flare out a lot more and much less back than the Boscos, that the 58 might be fine in this form factor. Truth is my drop bar bikes are only 48cm so having a bar not so far back like the Billie would work I think Or there is the Aherne+MAP handlebar which is 61.5 cm wide in the wider version. https://www.ahearnecycles.com/shop/ahearnemap-handlebar if you're not familar. I still have some store credit at Rivendell though so this route would cost me more out of pocket. Anyone tried either of these bars on their Clem? The other thing I don't like is friction shifting. Does Microshift or SunRace make an indexed 8 speed thumbie? I was hoping to re-use the thumb pod and just get the shifter part of it, but I can only find 8 speed in friction. I could switch to Shimano 8 which would require a different thumb pod or go 9 speed indexed T09 Microshift thumbies which would require a 9 speed cassette and potentially a different derailer. Any thoughts? -Jim -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ signature goes here -- 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.
