I love seeing the wonderful Rambouillet builds. After I got my orange 64cm, I rode it across the country on a credit card TransAm ride with a Nelson Longflap on the saddle. Since then, mostly without luggage. Either way, I appreciate that it isn't rigid or floppy.
I did the now-uncommon thing: I learned the bike. I incorporated its character into how I ride it to take advantage of its strengths and avoid shortcomings. This is how I learned that the widest tires it can fit don't make things better; they actually dulled handling attributes that I'd come to appreciate, and produced the single tank-slapper shimmy on the front end that I ever had on that bike. I've been down that same road many times since then on supple 32s without event or concern. I see tube wall specs with caution since frame size will dictate tube lengths, and things like the length of the parallel wall tube run between the butted segments can affect a bike's ride and handling. I ride larger frame sizes and always wondered if production model runs objectify 58cm, once the highest-selling size, with the most optimized expression of the design, the others being a bit blurred from that. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Monday, February 16, 2026 at 11:50:40 AM UTC-5 iamkeith wrote: > I take that back. I must be thinking about a different bike. Here's > historical info on ram tubing: > > > https://web.archive.org/web/20070513053057/http://rivbike.com/webalog/frames/50074.html > > BTW, it was Reed [Idlewide?] that was measuring tubes. Look for threads > titled "unmeeting", from around 2008. > > On Monday, February 16, 2026 at 11:30:47 AM UTC-5 iamkeith wrote: > >> On Monday, February 16, 2026 at 1:00:25 AM UTC-5 [email protected] >> wrote: >> >> I'd not be at all surprised if even the Roadini has thicker tubing than >> your Rambouillet. If that's true, the Roadini will not only be heavier, but >> noticably stiffer. If you're sensitive to a stiff bike, I can see you >> preferring one or the other on that basis alone. (I dislike stiff frames. >> Others prefer them. Most don't care.) >> >> Just a thought. >> >> --Shannon >> >> >> >> That's a good point. I have this vague recollection that the 58cm was >> the cutoff pount after which some of the tubing became more stout, too. I >> could be wrong, but I have a 60 Ram, next size up, so it stuck with me for >> some reason. It might have been a number of years back when the someone in >> this group was measuring members' bikes and creating a spreadsheet. >> >> >> >> >> *Also, that's a stunning bike. I'd have to actively hate it before I'd >> sell something that pretty. >> On Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 7:17:28 PM UTC-8 Arvi wrote: >> >> Hello. I'm tentatively considering whether my new to me Rambouillet >> (blue, size 58) has a long term home in my stable. It's a great bike, but I >> already have a perfect-for-me 700x30 road bike and a 650x42 randonneur, and >> the Ram overlaps with these. >> >> A 54 lugged roadini would fit me and be a little more different, with >> bigger tires and slacker angles. Let me know if a trade (with $ to balance >> as needed) interests anyone. I'm in Oakland, CA. >> >> (I would not be interested in other, stouter-tubed Riv models or non >> Rivs, thanks!)[image: IMG_7716.jpeg] >> [image: IMG_8784.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]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/da61ef03-b93d-45d6-9167-3f2cfbc67987n%40googlegroups.com.
