Thanks everyone for the thoughtful posts and the private messages. Wow, there's a lot to parse through here, but I think what really got me are Bill's comments around it being " the nicest backroads loaded touring bike ever made" and also it being a country bike, not a mountain bike. Also Garth's comment on selling a lugged "Bombadil to get a TIG frame just seems wrong" got to me somehow.
Maybe I've been comparing apples to oranges which makes me think the Bombadil should stay and be ridden for what it was built, without it trying to be something else or fill a different gap. I'm leaning towards keeping it for now and deciding if it gets used enough or not (there's already a healthy list of RBW folks that fit and expressed interest in case a sale is in the horizon). Another thing I might do is go visit the folks at Analog to test drive their Moonshiner with monster tires and drops to see how it feels before making any hasty decisions. Also, not sure if it's feasible but maybe I'll try to test drive a Jones, because now that I think of it perhaps it's an even better choice if I'm willing to go outside of the Riv aesthetic. Thanks again everyone and I'll report back if any changes occur in the fleet. Max On Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 8:13:43 PM UTC-4 ian m wrote: > I've definitely been missing my Jones LWB, the most regretted bike sale > I've ever made. > From the info I've paid attention to, Jeff Jones has an incredibly > intelligent and intuitive design philosophy for his bikes. Lets' just say > that's not the vibe I get for the other > > On Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 7:56:58 PM UTC-4 Eric Daume wrote: > >> You guys are making me miss my Jones LWB. Both of them. >> >> Eric >> >> On Tue, Mar 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM David Ross <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Unfortunately, I can’t talk you out of it. I would definitely consider >>> myself a Luddite, and my favorite bike is my Gus. That said, if you want to >>> start doing something like riding ATV trails, a Moonshiner or a Jones would >>> be much better, particularly given tire clearances and disk brakes. >>> Personally, I’m not down with the drop bar thing for that type of riding, >>> but I do own a Jones and it’s just perfection geometry-wise. I resisted >>> buying a Jones for years because they’re not the best looking bikes in my >>> opinion, but Jones is an amazingly well designed system that includes a >>> handlebar specifically designed for a the frame’s geometry. I’d definitely >>> give the nod to the Moonshiner on aesthetics, but you can never go wrong >>> with a Jones. >>> >>> On Tue, Mar 11, 2025 at 12:50 PM maxcr <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Bunch, >>>> >>>> Can you please talk me out of my latest crazy idea. As the title says, >>>> I'm considering parting ways with my 2TT blue Bombadil to free up funds >>>> and >>>> space for a Tanglefoot Moonshiner. >>>> >>>> As always, I feel like I have too many bikes and too many projects for >>>> my lifestyle and available time. Yet, I find myself looking at bikes and >>>> wondering if they would be a better fit for my stable and whether I should >>>> give them a try (as an aside I just acquired a NOS Quickbeam prototype >>>> built by Curt Goodrich and painted by Joe Bell in a deep cobalt blue which >>>> I need to build - why do I keep doing this?). >>>> >>>> Back to MTB: The logic is as follows: as beautiful and elusive as the >>>> Bombadil is, it is very similar to my Hunqapilar in terms of capabilities. >>>> They are both beautiful in their own right, but they are comparable >>>> frames. >>>> For whatever reason, I'm in love with the Hunqa, it's my most comfortable >>>> bike and don't have any plans to sell it so it's the Bomba that might go >>>> to >>>> the chopping block. Now, the Moonshiner is described as a bike for 'super >>>> chunky ATV trails'. To be honest, I don't go out to the mountains in >>>> Vermont (or anywhere else) that often, but I am sometimes tempted by the >>>> rides organized by Analog Cycles and I feel like might end up underbiking >>>> with my 2.1" Thunderburts on the Hunqa. >>>> >>>> This might be heresy for this group, since the moonshiner would have >>>> more modern components, disc brakes and 3" tires. I don't have much >>>> experience with any of these new fancy looking parts, but for context I'm >>>> looking at this: >>>> https://analogcycles.com/products/tanglefoot-moonshiner-large-demo-sram-gx-rival-12-speed >>>> >>>> (another cool alternative would be a Jones spaceframe) >>>> >>>> The biggest con to this whole endeavor is that if I sell the Bomba, >>>> it's unlikely that I could replace it later since they just don't come up >>>> for sale ever and I don't want to regret letting it go. >>>> >>>> What do you all think? >>>> >>>> Thanks >>>> Max >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/99fb3151-5211-4eb3-b791-c68e317a1da1n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/99fb3151-5211-4eb3-b791-c68e317a1da1n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >>> 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 [email protected]. >>> >> To view this discussion visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CADA0aDchz0g_JycQv6P8x7NxjT1PvoP4TF5MFDSDrrz16YJOOg%40mail.gmail.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CADA0aDchz0g_JycQv6P8x7NxjT1PvoP4TF5MFDSDrrz16YJOOg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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