Thanks for this topic. It explains a few things. I rode a Diamondback Approach for 18 years, including when I used to live in Germany and would throw it on the Bahn. It had straight bars, 3x7 speed grip shifts, and brakes big enough for 622x42 tires. But eventually things were falling apart.
In 2015 I retired and got a Sam. I got the 55 size with Albatross bars, and it was a dream come true. Just a touch tall for me, bit it rode so well… I did notice that I couldn’t “jump a curb” as easily. I also noticed that It wouldn’t fit on the bus rack like the Diamondback had, but I put that down to changes to the bus rack. I downloaded the then current Riv geometry chart. It showed the chain stays at 45.5, which matches what I just measured. Looking at newer geometry charts, the Sam hasn’t changed much - chain stays have grown to 46.5, top tube has shrunk from 59 to 58. Then I bought an A. Homer Hilsen. The Sam is my “everything” bike, while the Homer was going to be light touring. I called Rivendell and mentioned the 55 Sam was a little big for me, so they suggested a 51 Homer. This also meant 650b wheels.The Homer came with chain stays of 47.5. After reading this thread I just backed both of them up against the garage door. The 51 Homer with 37x650b wheels is longer than the 55 Sam with 37x700c wheels. Not much, but it’s there. It looks like a scooter next to the Sam - lower, longer, small wheels, tall stem. It rides ok, in a softer, cushier kind of way (same tire pressure). I haven’t had any toe overlap like I’ve had a couple of times on the Sam. I HAVE had a lot more pedal strikes for the same turn radius (same crank length), so I went to thin pedals and adapted. The bus rack problem is no worse. But if I had to do it again, I’d get the 51 Sam instead of the 51 Homer. I like the feel of steel, but not the soft ride of the longer chain stays. -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/1ca24242-565f-4912-bd0f-e2116689a6f6%40googlegroups.com.
