Gorgeous. Don't forget to send some photos to the cyclofiend collection. I have a been riding for 35 years and my blue Rambouillet is my all time favorite bike. It just has excellent road manners - climbs well, is rock solid on high speed descents, and comfortable for all day riding. I have long regretted not getting the orange. I hesitated until I saw one in person on a ferry leaving Victoria, but by then they weren't available in my size.
I have the hammered Honjos on my Ram, and they have held up very well. I have the fluted Honjos on my Ebisu, which I use for commuting. That bike sees a lot of rough road ever day and it has more of a challenge to keep the fenders (and lots of other parts) tightened down and rattle free. Congratulations, and I hope you enjoy every mile on that bike. Michael Westford, Vt On May 25, 2:00 am, Stuart Fletcher <stuart.fletc...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello all, > > Well, I can finally post here as a Rivendell owner, pretty exciting! > > About a month ago everything finally came together and a Rambouillet > frame I bought last year is now a *bike* and is rolling the streets of > Seattle. I'm very happy with it so far -- "smooth" is the word I keep > coming back to to describe the ride. Just really smooth! That was > true with the pre-fender Jack Browns (greens) but is proving to be > equally true with the be-fendered Grand Bois Cypres. > > I've been putting off posting until I got the fenders on, which > happened Saturday. There are still a couple things I'm pondering > changing, but there's no nagging "I gotta change that!" aspect. It's > ready to ride! > > Here's a set on flickr: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/ratrocket/sets/72157624126974480/ > > or:http://bit.ly/coKwm8 > > The frame is a 60cm, orange. It's a mongel-y build -- barely anything > "matches" (and there's not a single Shimano part on it -- which wasn't > on purpose, it just happened). Some of the highlights are TA Pro5 > crank (with 42/26 rings), Campagnolo front derailer, Suntour XC Pro > rear derailer, Silver downtube shifters, lugged Nitto stem, Nitto > Noodles (narrow ones -- 42cm), Suntour Superbe Pro brake levers > pulling on Mafac Racers (with non-Mafac-style Kool Stop pads, > however), American Classic seatpost holding up a B17 Champion Special > (that started life honey colored), and the wheels are Torelli Masters > (bane of my tire-changing existence!), Suzue Campy-copy hubs and an > IRD 7 speed freewheel. Honjo fluted fenders round it out. Plus the > previously mentioned Grand Bois Cypres tires. I guess those aren't > highlights, that's everything! Oh, pedals: Black Ops platform pedals. > > Some thoughts on a few of the parts: I hadn't used downtube shifters > in awhile, so that was a change in direction for me. So far so good > -- just another way to shift. > > I've been wanting to try narrower bars. I have 46cm Noodles on my > (previous?) main bike, an 80s Specialized Expedition. I'm sort of > narrow-bodied, so I thought the 42s might suit me. Again, so far so > good. Also, I like the feeling of changing from wider to narrower and > vice versa when I switch between bikes. > > The gearing was a big question for me. I've never had a wide range > double before, so didn't know exactly what direction to go with it, > but I knew I wanted to try it out. My one worry about the gearing was > that I might want something bigger than 42x13 in some situation (an > incredibly strong tailwind perhaps?). So far it hasn't been a problem > though. And overall the range of gears and shifting pattern (such as > it is) has worked great for the riding I've been doing, which > (unfortunately!) has mostly been around the city and commuting. But > that includes long hills and short steep hills -- up & down -- and > long straight flat sections (with plenty of wind lately). Pretty > varied I think, and an all right test of a bike's gearing. > > The pedals were a last minute change from using a rat trap-type pedal. > My shop completely sold me on the giant Black Ops studded platform > pedals and I'm glad they did. They're so grippy and the big platform > is really comfortable. I think these are my favorite pedals I've > ridden since I quit clipless a couple years ago. Black Ops is a J&B > Importers brand. > > The American Classic seatpost is just for fun. I hope it doesn't > break my saddle rails. Or is it the seatpost itself that's reputed to > break? > > That's about all. I think there are fun times ahead! I'm really > looking forward to riding this bike a lot this spring & summer & > beyond. > > Thanks for reading/looking if you've read this far. If you see me > rolling around Seattle (or anywhere), say hi. (Or nod in my > direction... or... something!) > > Stuart Fletcher > Seattle, WA > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
