Nice Roadini, lovely build, and I'm glad it has turned out so well for you. The Roadini certainly gets high praise from high-mileage riders.
Roadini:Fargo:Cross Check: interesting observations. One might thing that with fat, low pressure tires the frame and fork won't materially affect ride smoothness, but I had a somewhat similar experience when I replaced my (2010??) steel Fargo with the current 2016 Matthews "road bike for dirt." Both take 60s with fenders, both had the same ultra-extra-light-and-supple 450-gram 60 mm Big Ones on the same Velocity Blunt SS rims, but I immediately noticed that with these wheels, the Matthews smoothed out stutter bumps and felt definitely smoother than the same wheels/tires on the Fargo. The Fargo is overbuilt of course, and the fork is hugely overbuilt, while the Matthews is built of OS but thinwall tubing with a fork that has slender, nicely "French curve" legs (discs; nope, no problems).
Meandering on re: Fargo: I had a second wheelset with ~33 mm Kojaks; the Fargo handled -- well, not like a Rivendell, but decently; the 1.35 Kojaks made it quicker in turns but didn't harm stability, at least, I didn't notice it. But really, the Big Ones rolled much better on pavement than the Kojaks, decent tho' the Kojaks are.
Back to the Roadini: I've been told by several people, talking about the Roadeo, when I was thinking of getting one, that it had tubing too stout and stiff for good road bike feel. And doesn't the Roadini have stouter tubing yet? So to hear such praise for the Roadini tells me, I think, that the difference between stout, stiff tubing and thinwall, normal diameter tubing is by no means the main factor in smoothness and "liveliness." Again and again, experienced riders praise the low-budget Clem for its liveliness and smoothness. And yet, that 2003 Rivendell Curt custom Road was too stiff, compared to the thinner wall, normal gauge Matthews clone that replaced it -- my quads proved it. Upshot: I don't understand all this.
The Ride: like wow! So much to say, I'm going to forget a whole bunch of things I thought of during the 2hr ride. I'll compare to the Surly Cross Chek I had over a year ago and my Salsa Fargo (replaced the CC, and I love it for unpaved). Carrying the bike upstairs for the first ride, was much lighter than I thought (I have zero complaints with the weight). Minor fit issues aside (soon to be resolved, hopefully), the ride was so smooth, maybe the smoothest bike I've ever had. I had these tires on the Fargo up to now, and over the same surfaces the Roadini really smoothed out the cracks in the pavement, as well as the trails (I felt like I had a little suspension). One of the reasons I initially looked at this bike as an option for a 3rd bike was that the Fargo with 43mm for winter and anytime the road bike wouldn't cut it, was not very enjoyable (harsh, squirly streeing, sluggish). With 2.2's it is amazing and I love it on the trails where I live, but as an all-road / distance bike, I didn't enjoy it. Enter the Roadini. When I stood up to sprint or climb up a hill, it accelerated way better than the Fargo, and a bit better from the CC from what I recall. I was, again, pleasantly surprised with how fast I was moving. Cornering was predictable and neither sluggish or squirly, it just went where I wanted to go with minimal input...while holding its line predictably. The DT shifters were fun. A couple of times I tried to shift with the brake lever and remembered that's a different bike! Shifting was very light touch and I quickly realized this, as I would easily shift two gears when not wanting to...by the end of the ride I felt 75% comfortable using them (and this will only improve). Brake levers felt very good, and the braking power was also very good. I have Ultergra R8000 brakes on my road bike and they are amazing (power and modulation). These are a notch below, but very effective...and they easily clear 43mm tires so who needs discs?! I love my discs on the Fargo, in mud/dirt, but the Roadini does not need discs at all (where I live/ride). I'm so happy to have a rim brake bike that fits 43mm tires. The bars (Whiskey 12F) and 3mm bar tape with gel pad under was perfect for my hands. I like cush, and this set up is really good (for me). The mechanic dialled in the wrap and gel placement with these hoods. The 30F/32R gearing is perfect for the steepest hills where this bike will be ridden. I've went on long enough so I'll stop there. Word of the day - "smooth" :-)
Patrick Moore, grimly bottom-trimming in ABQ, NM.
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