Hey all, first time posting here. I'm planning on grabbing a Sam Hillborne frameset when they go on sale this month. It'll be my first Rivendell. I decided on the Hillborne as a replacement for my 56cm Cross Check, which has never been comfortable for me. The short headtube puts the bars too far below my saddle.
I have a pair of Billie bars I'd like to put on the Hillborne for daily commuting, grocery getting, and some light off road riding. I'd also like to have the option to use drop bars at some point down the line. I went to the Rivendell shop a few weeks ago to test ride a few bikes and get sized. I'm 6' with a 92 PBH (long legs, short torso), and based on the Sam geo chart, my PBH puts me firmly in the size 60 Sam range. They didn't have a 60 Hillborne around, so I instead rode a 57 Sam and a couple of 61.5 Homers with different cockpit setups. - The 57 Sam was set up with wide, swept back bars (Ron's Ortho bars) and was comfortable. We did have to raise the seatpost up pretty high to get the saddle in a good position. - The first 61.5 Homer was set up with Billie bars and was also comfortable. The saddle was pretty close to the top tube, however - there was maybe a little less than a fistful of seatpost showing. - The second 61.5 Homer with drops made me feel a little stretched out. The saddle was raised up higher than ideal for my height, but the bike belonged to a staff member who wasn't around that day, and so we didn't adjust the saddle position. Part of me thinks it might have worked with a lower saddle, shorter stem, and higher bars, but I'm not totally sure. I left feeling like a 60 Sam would work for me, but I'm now second guessing whether it makes more sense to go down to the 57 for a shorter top tube length. However, the size 57 Sam has a suggested PBH range of 86-89, which is 3cm lower than my PBH of 92. Could anyone share if you've had a similar experience being in-between sizes for a Sam Hillborne, and how the size you chose worked out? Or better yet, is there anyone near Berkeley who has a 57cm or 60cm Hillborne you'd let me test ride to nail down my size? I'd be happy to buy you a beer or some other beverage as a thank you! David Berkeley, CA -- 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/b1f70638-36f3-4ec9-a917-9e65a0e5889en%40googlegroups.com.
