I would recommend some lighter, and more importantly, far more aero wheels. In this day and age, such wheels, with, for example, 24 spokes front and rear, are totally bomber if you buy from a reputable brand. I have ridden piles of miles on such wheels in the dirt, without a hitch. Cyclocross racers and lots of other heavy users rides wheels like these all the time. (For that matter, I was riding 24 spokes, front and rear, way back in 1985 and raced RAAM in 1987 with 20 spokes front and 24 spokes rear. I have never broken a spoke in any of these wheels and get out a spoke wrench maybe once a year. I weigh 172 and am six foot.) The wheels made today have really optimized the weigh / aeroness factor the max. Truly, except for maybe 100-milers on dirt, or people who weight 250+ pounds, or fully loaded touring, the case for 32 spoke wheels doesn't exist anymore. Here's a good example of what I'd suggest, and they're only $300:
http://www.ritcheylogic.com/dyn_prodfamily.php?k=355378 You can see something similar on my Roadeo here: http://www.xo-1.org/2010/03/rough-riding-in-snow-mount-laguna.html You put those 24 spoke Ritchey wheels on your Sam Hillborne with some high-performance tyres and you are going to be shocked at the difference, in a very good way. Of course, I still believe in keeping wheels like these just for special occasions, events, epics, etc. I say that not because the wheels can't handle year-round use - they can - but because you'll appreciate them more if you don't use them all the time. (It's kind of like baseball batters swinging with two bats while warming up.) Train / ride / commute on heavy-duty 32 hole wheels, then use these special wheels when it's appropriate. (It bugs the crap out of me that modern road bikes are sold with full-blown "racing wheels" as the OEM wheel.) - Chris Kostman La Jolla, CA http://www.XO-1.org http://www.adventurecorps.com On Jun 13, 7:17 pm, andrew hill <neurod...@gmail.com> wrote: > hi folks, > > i loved riding my first century recently, on a Sam Hillborne, but it was a > pretty slow (though mostly comfortable) push. so the way i have it set up > it's excellent for city commuting and loaded touring / randonneuring, but > still think i want a gofast for club/training rides, built up with lighter > wheels/rubber, etc. > > the thing is - the expanded geometry of the Sam fits my build (and that of a > few other odd ducks who have recently posted) at 5'11 with an 84.5 pbh, > rounding up. > > so - of the current frames new or in circulation, what lightish, expandedish > frame should i be looking for for? should i simply try another Sam? maybe a > size down with a longer stem? :) > > just musing - but i figured y'all would have some opinions. > > thanks, > andrew -- 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.
