I have a long chainstay gravel bike (built on a Schwinn passage) and a more modern frame with discs. Long chainstays obviously make chunky terrain and descents much more tolerable and controlled. Depending on the style of riding, though, they make getting your front wheel up and over obstacles (common here in New England) difficult. For that riding, I much prefer to have my rear wheel right under me.
Will On Monday, July 3, 2023 at 12:18:13 PM UTC-4 George Schick wrote: > Great responses to this post! Thanks all. I would have several things to > say about this "gravel bike" business: first of all, I agree that it's a > concept that reminds me of the very early days of mountain biking (what was > originally called "mountain surfing," IIRC) where someone got ahold of an > old Schwinn cantilever-framed "clunker," refitted it with gears and rim > brakes, and went out to ride it. Things evolved from there into very > specifically designed and outfitted bikes with shock suspensions, > linear-pull brakes, etc. I remember wa-a-a-ay back when I was a little kid > in the mid-50's my dad had gotten ahold of an old 24" (wheel size) > cantilever-balloon-tire-equipped Schwinn, repainted it, and gave it to me > for my birthday. It was the first bike I learned to ride and I rode it > everywhere. We lived in the country back then where there were nothing but > gravel roads and I would ride it several miles to a gas station to buy > candy, down the road a piece to play around in a creek, and just about > every place else. 'Course, I was much lighter back then, but still to me > it was the original "gravel bike." > > Having reviewed the responders' personal experiences and recommendations > I'd be inclined toward either a Riv Atlantis or a Waterford Adventure cycle > - either of which could be set up with wide 650B tires. The Atlantis has > the advantage of longer chain and seat stays allowing for both wide tires > and fenders; the Adventure cycle not so much (although using 650B tires on > it could open up the rear stays area enough to allow fender mounting). > Thanks again! > > On Sunday, July 2, 2023 at 9:02:50 PM UTC-5 ascpgh wrote: > >> I looked to 650B as a solution to my particular fit issues for an all >> road bike the other year. Grant was very frame size dependent in his >> support of 650B and felt that above a certain size (several below mine) the >> utility of the wheel size ended its utility. Those considerations are fair >> for stock geometry. >> >> The problem for me and my ideal under square (2-3cm) frame dimensioning >> is that I get into toe overlap with 700c wheels with fatter tires. I wanted >> broader capacity for rougher road riding and load carrying so 650B was my >> way to go. I still would rather ride smarter than fasteron unpaved surfaces >> and 650Bx42 has provided all the envelope I need without tapping my Walter >> Mitty thoughts. >> >> I made many purchases and gone down bicycle and equipment rabbit holes >> chasing more "performance" only to find out the lease expensive component >> of my bike is where the greatest capacity to upgrade resides...me. >> >> I had my 650B bike built and ride it hundreds of miles off pavement, with >> fenders, on RH Babyshoe Pass tires set up tubeless on Pacenti Brevet rims, >> three years so far without reason to look back or second guess the formula. >> >> Andy Cheatham >> Pittsburgh >> >> On Saturday, July 1, 2023 at 8:03:47 PM UTC-4 ted.l...@gmail.com wrote: >> >>> I don’t know about a bike dedicated to 650B in all sizes but some >>> smaller Rivs come as a 650B and the Susie is 650B… but what is a gravel >>> bike, after all, but a bike ridden on gravel or hard-pack dirt roads? I >>> would classify most of the bikes made by Riv as gravel or gravel adjacent. >>> They’ve almost all got generous tire clearance. The only thing modern >>> gravel bikes have that Rivs lack are expensive electronics and disc brakes, >>> really… >>> >>> On Sat, Jul 1, 2023 at 4:47 PM George Schick <bhi...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> There has been a lot of discussion about "gravel bikes" on this blog >>>> lately, but has there been any consideration given to a 650B gravel bike, >>>> so to speak? IOW, are there any bikes set up like a 650B and with >>>> available "gravel accommodating" tires available? Maybe I've missed >>>> something in the discussion threads, but I can't recall seeing this. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b7a8ff2c-8657-40c4-845e-a0a3416bed20n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b7a8ff2c-8657-40c4-845e-a0a3416bed20n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >>> Ted Wood < ted.l...@gmail.com > >>> >> -- 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/12a3e43f-7687-4f7b-9c55-b2e5acd7e6b2n%40googlegroups.com.
