I like how the thread is developing! I will throw out a different perspective. Just a thought I had when reading the latest posts...
Disclaimer: I am not a roadie. I don't ride with groups of cyclists on road bikes. They sometimes wiz by me, usually a few say hi. Their style of riding is not my thing, my inner thoughts are what they're doing is silly (trying to act like pros), but then I calm myself down and say we're all cyclists, they're doing their thing, who am I to judge. Because you have four bikes, you could make the Charlie as fast as possible, simply to get a different experience than with your other bikes. It is fun to ride a lighter/faster bike, and even if the gains are marginal, from my experience it feels fun to go fast (most times). Lighter frame and build (check), skinnier tires (but not skinny), a mirror if you need it for safety, a couple of water bottles and you're out the door. Simple. If you want to bring additional items, of course you could, but isn't that what the other bikes are for? Like if you want to stop and make coffee in the woods somewhere, bring a Platy with rack/bag. It's not that you're grabbing Charlie for 'road' rides with other roadies, you should take whatever bike you want for these rides, depending on how you're feeling and your intentions that day. I think there is value in keeping this bike different. What is fun though, is changing the bikes in terms of your intentions with them, over time; even if back and forth, over time. That's what keeps it interesting! On Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 9:54:57 PM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > Dan, this is so refreshing to read. You get it, you really do. > > You’re riding with roadies. I’m riding with roadies. We like our > Rivendells, but wouldn’t it be nice to adapt them a little bit to make them > more official road bikes? Maybe then the roadies might recognize them as > road bikes? Pure Road Bike. Acceptance feels so nice. > > I had a Bag Boy on my racing Platypus, which was the bike I rode with the > roadies before Charlie came along. It had only the lightweight rack, which > was great. I had everything in that Mary Poppins bag. Oh, no toilet paper > at the bathroom stop, you say? I got you. You need to shed layers on the > ride? Give them to me. Ran out of water? I have this extra liter, hand me > your bottle. I even had extra full-finger gloves (gave away a pair on a > ride one time) and disposable surgical gloves so people kept grease of > their hands during roadside repairs. Snacks for all. Pulling a bonking > rider out of a crisis more than once. My best save was the woman who’d > recently miscarried, was riding a metric and was, in my opinion, low on her > lytes, which I had in the bag to give her. That bag made the bike so > useful, though it may have made it heavy. > > I am not sorry I got a Rivendell road bike, but maybe I’m sorry I thought > I should morph it into Pure Road Bike. There isn’t joy in Pure Road Bike. > There is only a pleasing aesthetic. > > Carrying a notebook and writing down one’s thoughts sounds dreamy. You > should have this. Your bike can do this for you. Bring your things and be > the happiest rider among the pack of roadies. Be the envy of all. Why would > we fight this? > > Leah > > > > On Mar 22, 2025, at 9:04 PM, Dan <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thank you for your interesting posts Leah. I love reading about your > thoughts as you grow and tinker your bike collection in ways to suit > *your* preferred way of riding. > > > I'd like to touch on one aspect of what you've brought up, and share a > similar experience. You say you tried to make your Charlie a "Pure Road > Bike" with minimal accessories, but that you failed miserably. I can > relate. I have a Roadini as of the start of the year. It's built as my Pure > Road Bike, one to bring along on rides I take with the roadies I've been > riding with lately. So it has fenders yes, but no racks. I've been trying. > But I'm so used to being able to carry things on my bike that I feel like I > am contorting myself to bring the bare minimum required for a ride: lock, > pump, spare tube. With those jammed in I've no room leftover in my small > handlebar bag for a coffee, outer layer, or book and pen for when I want to > stop at a cafe to write in my journal. I feel like I'm only riding at 90%. > > I'm inspired by you. Why fight what we know works well for us? I can see > in my future a small front or rear rack, just enough to support a larger > handlebar bag or saddlebag. It'll still be my 'road' bike, no doubt. But it > will be MY road bike. I shouldn't fight who I am, just because nobody else > is carrying a practical-sized bag on their 'road' bikes. Now that I think > on it, that's a good philosophy for life in general... > > <IMG_0257.jpeg> > > > On Thursday, 20 March 2025 at 12:53:40 UTC+10:30 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> I just want to talk bikes for a little bit. Threads with subjects are >> great and all, but so is talking shop. And we are about to hit a spate of >> cold weather here in SW Michigan and I am a little morose after a few days >> of Pretend Spring. I did get 25 miles in today and Monday, but now I want >> to talk shop. >> >> I don’t know what you all have been up to, but I have been fighting with >> and fidgeting with my bikes. >> >> Recently, I went through a great stem swap where I changed over most of >> my bikes to Faceplater stems. I even put one on my college boys’ big old >> Clem with Bosco bars. I even used my new torque wrench, and…the bars >> slipped! So now I have new Albatross bars and stem and shims because Riv >> believes this 31.8 clamp will grip 25.4 bars better. I have little >> experience with shims. And what I have learned about them is that they will >> set you to cussing. You want the bars centered, but then the shims slink >> out of their spot. When you want to nudge them just a bit, they have bitten >> into the center of the Albatross bar and you must find a way to knock them >> loose. Then the whole bar moves and you have to re-center and line up the >> gaps in shim/clamp. When you knock the shims loose a few times you realize >> there are metal shavings on your fingers, which means you are damaging >> stuff. And every time you decide to adjust the position you have to fight >> with the shims AND loosen and re-tighten 4 bolts with your torque wrench. I >> have emailed 2 people about this, badgering them to check my work and say >> it’s safe. I made peace with the shims being a millimeter uneven because at >> least the bars are centered. Then I went to wash the metal shavings off my >> hands. >> >> Shims. In short, I hate them. >> >> During the Great Stem Swap of ‘25, I managed to drop a hex wrench. I >> heard the ping of it striking the top tube of my raspberry Platypus on its >> way down. Ah, my first real paint chip, and right in a place I’ll see every >> day. Tonight, I painted that chip with nail polish I found in a close color >> match. It’s passable, but sad. >> >> I turned my attention to the mermaid Platypus, which I have no good >> excuse to have anymore, and noticed the rear tire is flat again. This is >> because on Monday, I decided I would top off the sealant, and could not be >> bothered to put the bike in the stand. The clamp on the stand needs more >> seatpost and I didn’t want to raise my saddle. So I did it with the bike on >> the kickstand and was never able to recover the seal between rim and tire. >> I have gotten by with this in the past. Got cocky and have now been brought >> low. Every week, and you can set your watch by it, I do the walk of shame >> into the shop. I fling open their door, the cowbell rings, and I announce, >> “Guys! A terrible thing has happened!” I will go there again tomorrow >> because a terrible thing has happened - that seal did not hold and we are >> back to flat tire and dripping sealant. They are sick of me at this point >> but they are Michiganders, good folk through and through, and they do not >> let on. >> >> Meanwhile, Charlie. I’ve been running away with Charlie on club rides. >> High winds have really cramped our style. Charlie and I are on a learning >> curve. I try and find out if the sounds he’s making are benign or >> malignant. There was a screeching pedal (a terrible thing that happened!) >> that my shop addressed. But now there is ghost shifting and something >> whirring when I stand to climb and toss my weight on the drive side of the >> bike. Charlie had been denied his accoutrements because I tried to make him >> Pure Road Bike and keep his accessories minimal. We failed miserably and >> I’ve junked up the bars just like Charlie’s a Platypus. The final piece, >> his German mirror, arrived today. I still don’t know if Charlie is any >> faster than a Platypus. Nothing is fast in these winds. We are out there >> shredding our thighs, trying to brave winds and get fit for the season with >> Charlie and his junked-up non-aero bars. >> >> What have you all been up to? Are you having the same struggles? Who else >> is wanting to throw up their hands and just talk shop? >> Leah >> >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/ksvlbi-Jd6w/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a7a6aeca-fbf9-4984-bf33-b0f67347e72dn%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a7a6aeca-fbf9-4984-bf33-b0f67347e72dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > <IMG_0257.jpeg> > > -- 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]. 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