I owned a Roadini for a relatively short time before selling it to someone on this list, I believe. I liked the aesthetics a lot, but did find it on the sluggish side and have other bikes that fit the “country bike” theme that I found myself riding instead. Previous to that, I owned a Romulus, which saw many miles and lots of brevet riding, but also was always a bit on the sluggish side, particularly when climbing. Still, it was a really comfortable rig, and well suited to distance riding as long as the hills weren’t too brutal. I sold that once I got a Black Mountain Road, which checks all of the boxes for me: great fit, room for 35mm tires, great climber, planes like the dickens, super comfortable and versatile. So no I’m Riv-less (even sold my ‘94 RB-T!), but I enjoy reading this list.
Neal Lerner Brookline MA USA On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 1:46:17 PM UTC-5 Jason Fuller wrote: > The tubing spec needs to be matched well with the geometry to provide what > Jan calls planing - the flex in the frame needs to match your power output > and rhythm to give you a small but important "springboard" effect with each > pedal stroke, in order to feel fast. It really has little to nothing to do > with the weight of the frame, but about how it is tuned to the rider. > > However, Jan tends to think that this basically requires superlight > tubing, but I don't think that's quite true - I think the "rhythm" can be > found in multiples, like harmonics, but if the stiffness of your bike lands > between these harmonics, then it'll feel like you're trying to bounce on a > trampoline where it's out of sync with your jumps. My wild theory is that > the Rivendells that ride like magic despite being objectively quite > overbuilt for a "fast" bike manage to land in the next stiffer "harmonic" > for the average rider. I think my Sam does this for me and I think the > Roadini could very well end up in this zone too. > > On Friday, 28 January 2022 at 13:21:45 UTC-8 kwi...@weimar.edu wrote: > >> The Roadini is a very nice looking bike, too. I hope this does not sound >> superficial, but I enjoy the head badge, the decals, and the painted >> cutouts on the seat lug more than if it were just 2 pounds lighter! Also, >> I rode a 'Redwood' (tall Romulus) frame back in the 2000's and really liked >> it, but the Roadini is a more advance frame design in general (long head >> tube, sloping top tube, wheel clearance, and more.). I have an old Calfee >> carbon frame I got used. It is very light. But I hardly ride it. Why? >> Hard to say, but I suspect that it has a lot to do with how the Roadini >> feels 'planted' or secure (words fail me here), but on the human level, I >> just prefer the look of the Roadini-- it has character and a timeless >> beauty that makes the sum of all its parts more than just a 'fast bike', a >> 'super light frame', or even a practical 'get the job done' machine. And, >> of course, it is always comfortable! This is key: the Roadini does not >> cause neck pain, back pain, hand tingling or stress from the worry of going >> down if I hit a pot hole. I won't be selling mine. >> >> On Friday, January 28, 2022 at 12:48:36 PM UTC-8 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >>> Well said, Karl. Add to that the probably (I've not ridden one) >>> signature Rivendell handling of the Roadini* and the pros may well outweigh >>> the cons. And of course, weighing the balance between pros and cons is >>> largely a matter of individual taste. >>> >>> Patrick Moore, ruthlessly botton-trimming his replies, in ABQ, NM. >>> >>> * I certainly loved this in the customs, and found it in the Ram and >>> even in the Sam, tho' the same had too much wheel flop for my taste. >>> >>> On Fri, Jan 28, 2022 at 1:31 PM Karl Wilcox <kwi...@weimar.edu> wrote: >>> >>>> It might be helpful when considering a Roadini to observe that frame >>>> stiffness or compliance are not the only things that matter. I find my >>>> Roadini stiffer than I prefer, but the >>>> Roadini offers other features that I just can't find in other >>>> production frames. For instance, the roadini fits me perfectly and I can >>>> get my bars up higher without making the bicycle appear silly or handle >>>> funny (my bars are exactly 1 inch below my saddle height). Also, I can >>>> ride 33c tires (I have the 2018 roadini), and the long wheelbase is >>>> wonderful. The Roadini is also versatile: I ride it on trails and on >>>> pavement. I can ride with fast club rides and I can do light touring, >>>> too. I have a 1977 custom Mercian that is wonderfully compliant, but on >>>> fast descents it can be scary and it cannot carry any kind of load. My >>>> point is that the Roadini has many virtues, but no individual frame can be >>>> any other frame. >>>> >>> -- 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/41fba8dc-754a-4b68-a8db-ed83ab3751b9n%40googlegroups.com.
