Looks fantastic! I love the pink with it. Great call On Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 7:27:37 PM UTC-4 Chester wrote:
> Took me a while to get around to ordering new handlebars and then took me > a while to get around to swapping the bars, then a while to commit to > wrapping and another while to take a few pictures. > > A few here and below: > > https://imgur.com/a/FgPzkYf > > Raised the stem up to just about as high as it can go without > precipitating the need to re-do the front brake cable. So the riding > position is quite upright and comfortable but because the stem is a short > 50mm, the bar ends only come back roughly level with the stem bolt and so > position doesn't feel cruiser-upright. Riding on the forward bends or brake > hoods makes it feel sporty. > > I wouldn't have predicted that I'd end up with brakes positioned as they > are, but I've got them set a good deal less "inward" and more toward the > apex of the forward bends than the Bridgestone orthodoxy > <https://web.stanford.edu/~dru/moustache.html>. For me, the levers are in > a good position when I'm in the forward bends, since the more natural spot > for me feels like slightly to the outside rather than straight forward. And > having them less inward makes it really quick and natural to inch my hands > up slightly from the bar ends to catch the end of the levers. And it's even > pretty close and natural when I'm on the bar ends to get my left thumb over > to the bell where it is. The ends are also really nice for sprinting and > climbing. > > I can totally see why some people arrange so the bar ends are the primary > hand position, with flat-bar-style or reverse levers positioned for that. > It's definitely the most relaxed position, but I wanted brakes placed for > least non-aero position and also to enable the furthest forward brake hood > position. > > Because of the handlebar bag, I lose the position flanking the stem, which > is what I rode in the most when I had mustache bars on a couple of other > bikes. But that was to get a more upright cruising position, with lower and > longer stems, and with the stem how it is now, all positions are various > grades of chill. > > I had mentally agonized a bunch over shift lever positions. It would be > nice to make them bar-ends, but the more I ride this bike, the more I'm > finding that downtube levers being less accessible makes me shift less in a > good way. Right now, I'm pretty much only riding on flat land and so I > don't really need to shift at all, and hardly do, which is nice. When I > realized this was going on, it reminded me of how pleasant of a surprise it > was when I realized that I had been subconsciously appreciating the Zen of > a singlespeed. > > Really happy with the setup and the one thing I think I might do is try to > try to see at what point dropping the stem lower becomes too low for me. > > Chester > SF Bay Area > > [image: 20230805_140612.jpg] > [image: 20230804_201825.jpg][image: 20230804_201844.jpg] > > On Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 4:37:47 PM UTC-7 Chester wrote: > >> Recently bought Ed C's Roadini and have been riding it as much as I can. >> I asked him a few geo questions and he warned me that the stem (5cm) would >> probably be short for me and he's right in that I find riding the tops of >> the Nitto Noodles a little cramped. >> >> As I think about changing stem and/or bars, I end up in a chain reaction >> of additional changes that I think are basically about me wanting to make >> this Roadini more "gravel"-ish than roadish. On one hand, I have been >> intending to build out a Homer when they come in later this summer, but on >> the other hand, I just bought this Roadini, just bought a Clem L for my >> wife (that I ride more than she does), and just stumbled on and bought a >> Bridgestone RB-1 at the end of last year. So I feel like I should not buy >> more bikes to "save money"...and blow it all on new parts. >> >> Anyway, so this is where the somewhat cramped cockpit of what was Ed's >> Roadini takes me. Typing this out to get my thoughts down for myself to >> better sort them out, and also because I do have some questions below, and >> if anyone is kind enough to offer thoughts on what I'm thinking, I'd >> appreciate it. >> >> *Handlebars: Mustache* >> >> I could swap in a longer stem for a better fit but the Noodles are 46cm >> and are narrower than what I'd want. And I almost never ride in the drops >> or hooks of drop bars anyway. So thinking that a Mustache would be pretty >> perfect. What I'm used to on road type geometry and drop bars is a drop bar >> top that is about 4-6cm more forward. So I think the forward curves of the >> Nitto Mustache would be between what I'm used to as drop bar tops and hoods >> positions. >> >> I looked a lot at other bars and there are some dirt drop sort of bars >> I'd like to try, but they're not 26/25.4 clamp size. >> >> *Brake Levers: Non-Aero?* >> >> Ed put on aero Shimano levers and these will work fine. I've ridden a >> couple bikes with mustache bars with aero brake levers and it's what I'm >> used to but I'm thinking non-aero levers will make for less compromised >> brake cable routing. But I'm also wondering/worried that this "better" >> cable routing will conflict with using a handlebar bag. I suppose a lot >> depends on exactly where along the front curves the levers are mounted. >> >> *Shifting: Downtube or Bar-Con or Thumbies?* >> >> Current setup is Silver1 levers on the downtube. It's fine and I've come >> to re-acquire appreciation for the zen of shifting less, which came back >> quickly, since I've ridden singlespeed or fixed rigs as townies a lot. But >> I feel like bar-cons are still a nice compromise in being more conveniently >> placed while still not totally optimally placed. And I was thinking about >> thumbies instead, since bar-cons are a bit of a pain when trying to >> trackstand at lights, and thumbies might be really nice to have in natural >> spot when riding with hands on ends of the mustache bars. >> >> And if I'm going to re-do brake cabling I'll probably switch the housing >> to do a different accent color and if I do that then I might as well do >> shifting cables the same too. Or, I might as well do this while also trying >> out a different shift lever position. I've never ridden with bar-cons and >> the last time I used thumbies, it was with above-bar thumbies on a >> Bridgestone MB-5, almost 30 years ago. >> >> I'm think I'm thinking that converting the Silver1's to thumbies mounted >> where they'd be mounted for primary grip position on a townie/fully swept >> back bar makes the most sense, even though the orthodox thing to do is to >> go bar-con (or downtube). I have seen a picture of someone with a mustache >> setup with thumbies...*along the inboard of the forward curves* and that >> is sort of intriguing but looks weird and, somehow, ugly. I think bar-con >> would look nicer than thumbies inside standard end grip position, and >> downtube looks even better, but I can picture it being nice to have rear >> shifting accessible from a grip position, such as when starting off from a >> dead stop at red lights. >> >> *Tires: Wider than 32-35mm? Tubeless?* >> *Brake Calipers: Centerpull or Longer Reach?* >> >> Feels like if I'm going to switch handlebars and no matter what will >> re-do brake cabling, then it will also be the time to consider changing the >> brake calipers for more tire clearance. It has mid-reach Shimano BR-R451 >> which its specs say accommodate up to 32mm tires and Ed thinks might take >> up to 35mm. I wouldn't even swap out the 32mm Herse Stampede Passes on the >> bike, but am considering swapping tires and calipers if I can go from 32mm >> to 40mm or even 38mm. >> >> I don't even know *how much tire clearance the Roadini has*. I did some >> searching and it seems last year's Roadini had clearance increased to 42mm? >> Ed's was I think the 2017 and I haven't found any statement on the frame's >> tire clearance. >> >> I first thought about the Dia-Compe GC610 calipers for clearance and for >> looks but I don't know if I want to fiddle with centerpull cabling. I've >> never ridden with long-reach sidepulls and so I don't know *how much I >> should be concerned about long-reach stopping power*. >> >> But along with wanting to go wider than 32mm I also have been thinking >> about going tubeless since this has Velocity A23 wheels and they're >> tubeless compatible. In my case, going tubeless would be for reducing flats >> due to road debris and not to run much lower pressures off-road. >> >> Anyway, if I go tubeless I feel like I might as well try wider tires too >> and, if so, then need to change brake calipers. >> >> *What This Roadini'd Be For / Other Bikes* >> >> I guess I should've started with this. I would be riding this Roadini >> overwhelmingly on pavement, with some gravelish and non-technical dirt here >> and there. Most frequently commuting, but hopefully longer and longer paved >> rides as I work that back into my diet, after having all but given up road >> riding since I had kids. I definitely don't need wider than 32mm but want >> to see how wide I can go on roadish geometry while still keeping spirited >> roadish feel. >> >> And to get some more separation between the Roadini and my RB-1, which >> I'm keeping stock other than the tires and saddle. Making the Roadini more >> gravelish or all-roadish will make me feel better about keeping both of >> these bikes. It also helps me resist buying a Homer at least this year. >> While also giving me more experience with stuff that would help me dial in >> the build spec for a future Homer. >> >> I live in the South Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area and there >> isn't a ton of what I think of as ideal country bike or hillibike riding. >> Off-road riding tends to feature a fair amount to a ton of climbing. I >> don't have stuff within short distance of my front door and I also have a >> modern hardtail that I think is probably more fun to ride most of the dirt >> near where I live. >> >> Maybe I find that I can build the Roadini to be pretty much exactly what >> I want to have in between old-school road race geo, and XC MTB. >> > -- 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/68d6c761-b131-470b-8222-b41a7dc54d6cn%40googlegroups.com.
