Killer find, Max! Good for you. Looks great. On Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 11:49:12 AM UTC-5 maxcr wrote:
> Hi Everyone, > > As mentioned in the CL thread, I was the lucky buyer of the AR from eBay. > > Here's a bad photo from my basement last night after picking it up. I > promise better photos at some point in the future: > > [image: IMG_8327.jpg] > > I've always been curious about the early models, the 26 wheels on large > frame with a tighter geo, canti posts and great tire clearance made it > super appealing to me. The price was fair, larger ARs don't come up for > sale often. > > I'm really happy that my hunch was correct, it's a 59! Which is the > goldilocks size for me and more appropriate than 57 or 58. > > The seller said that the owner was a doctor who recently passed away and > his wife has been slowly selling his bikes through a friend who used to > work at their LBS (he has a couple of tandems, a Jack Taylor, a Ti Seven > and others that he's going to list). The bike has the original owners name > in the top tube, which is kinda cool, to keep the legacy going for him. > > Now the details. The bike is an early model. Based on the serial (JS0030) > and the JB in the chain stay, it's a Joe Starck /Joe Bell combo from 2000. > It's also number 30. 30 what? I don't know, the 30th All-Rounder ever > built? Maybe. > > The metallic blue paint with the cream head tube is just amazing even > after 25 years. There are some minor blemishes and chips as you would > expect from a bike that has been ridden, but it's really in top condition. > > I will probably ride it as is for a bit, but have plans to rebuild it. The > Ultegra group with brifters isn't what I want. I will probably keep the > drops (they say N Grand Randoneur which I assume is a Nitto noodle variant) > but need to see if they will work for me. I also plan to swap out the > drivetrain - probably put on a NOS Ritchey Logic crankset that I have or a > TA Carmina that I recently acquired paired with an XTR rapid rise RD (or > maybe an OM-1?). > > For tires, I'd love your thoughts. I'm thinking of RH Rat Trap Pass tires, > unless you convince me that the Naches Pass or the Simworks Homage are a > better option. I might want to keep it fendered, not sure... but these > fenders won't clear a really wide tire. > > Anyway, please offer your suggestions as I rethink this build. It won't > happen until next year given my time availability and other projects in the > pipeline. > > As you can see my downsizing isn't going well. I think I'm up to 11 with > the latest purchase of that time capsule brown Saluki and this AR. At some > point some will have to go, but I have a feeling that the AR is a keeper. > > Cheers > Max in Boston > -- 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/481abdb6-405a-4605-95ca-3f248675a839n%40googlegroups.com.
