I have run them both & would like know if the brain trust can compare
for me the "ride comfort" level of them
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* [email protected]
<[email protected]> on behalf of Corwin Zechar
<[email protected]>
*Sent:* Tuesday, February 24, 2026 11:54 AM
*To:* RBW Owners Bunch <[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [RBW] Re: My Rambouillet Build
I have ridden 38 mm Schwalbe Marathon Supremes on my first generation
orange Ram. This is without fenders of course.
Regards,
Corwin
San Francisco Bay Area
On Monday, February 23, 2026 at 10:06:45 PM UTC-8 Victor Meng wrote:
To my fellow Ram riders,
I have a question about tire clearance for my '05 blue Ram. I
currently run 35mm GravelKing SK. I live in the SF Bay Area and
ride the Ram around the East Bay and on some gravel on the Bay
Trail, which the GravelKings are great for. When riding trails in
Oakland Hills I usually take my Homer that has 47mm Terra Trails.
But Ben's green Ram with Barlow Pass and Bryan's orange one with
Steilacoom from this thread has piqued my interest in the two Rene
Herse 38mm options. I don't have a caliper but the GravelKings
measure around 35mm with a tape measure on rims with 18mm internal
width. As you can see, there isn't much space left to spare; I
have about 4mm of clearance to the chain stay on either side in
the rear (I can just fit in a 4mm hex wrench). Do you guys think
my Ram could safely fit either RH 38mm tire in the available
space? To the extent it's relevant, I'm light weight at 150lbs.
Any thoughts appreciated.
IMG_0193.jpeg
IMG_0195.jpeg
Best,
Victor
On Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 8:19:47 PM UTC-7 Cal Patterson wrote:
Thanks Ben and Joyce,
The front bag was made by Jay Ritchey, bagsxbird. Everything
I've gotten from him has been super well made and lasted a
long time for me, I'm a believer. Top notch stuff. That bag
is/was called the Tailgrab, and I/think/ it's white, or
offwhite ecopack fabric.
I spaced it off the front brake cable/taillight wire/head tube
interaction like so (attached picture below):
Just 2 foam spacer blocks and a strap. It's loose enough to
not squeak or affect steering.
On Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 1:35:35 PM UTC-7
[email protected] wrote:
Ben - never thought about horizontal spacing, only
vertical. If I get it out a little further with a washer
that should solve the problem. Thanks so much!
On Tue, Oct 21, 2025 at 3:02 PM Ben Miller
<[email protected]> wrote:
Bryan, thanks for the kind words and sharing a photo
of your Ram. That's a finely curated build right
there. Agree that the Steilacoom's look great!
Yeah, that style light mount can be tricky with
certain headsets. I think the Tange caged BB headset
that came with the frame has just enough clearance to
play nice with the mount. But I know other headsets
that are a bit bulkier that I had issues. I think I
used a spacer washer on one to get the mount to clear
the headset.
On Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 1:04:55 PM UTC-7
[email protected] wrote:
Those Steilacooms look good, Bryan!
On Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 1:22:53 PM UTC-7
Bryan Dalik wrote:
Ben what a perfect build that is - i'll attach
a photo of mine as well as it's been very very
fun to make this frame into a true "country
bike". Quick question for you - I have the
same light mount on the fork crown and it's a
matter of millimeters to get the light mount
into that position without rubbing the tire or
the bottom of the headset. Do you have the
same extremely tight clearance? Trying to see
if I can get that to be a little more easy of
a fit. Seeing your deeper setback seatpost was
a lightbulb for me too as I feel I'm a bit
tight in terms of reach on mine. Hoping 30mm
setback will do the trick.
Bryan
On Friday, October 17, 2025 at 4:03:46 PM
UTC-4 Ben Miller wrote:
Cal,
Thank you for sharing such a gorgeous Ram
build! Ritchey Logic cranks, centerpull
brakes, front and rear dynamo lights,
plump Ultradynamico tyres, and a big
handlebar bag! Build after my own heart.
Do you have some support to keep the bag
off the front brake cable? I hacked
together something from a Gilles Berthoud
decaleur, but it's not perfect and still
my bag interfers with the front light a bit.
Below is how my Ram looks currently. The
drivetrain changed almost completely. I
rode it yesterday after seeing your post.
It is such a great ride. And I believe I
saw a fellow Rabouiletter out on the new
SF Sunset Dune's park. Almost as cool as
that Rivendell St sign ;)
PXL_20240713_012533835~2.jpg
On Thursday, October 16, 2025 at
1:35:32 PM UTC-7 Cal Patterson wrote:
I see that this is an old thread but I
wanted to contribute my Ram which is
also a 64 and also green. I've got
650b wheels on it and 48 tires that
barely fit (crimped the chainstay a
smidge). 2x8 shifting, 44/28 in the
front and an 8 speed XT in the back,
12-28 maybe?
On Saturday, February 20, 2021 at
8:57:25 PM UTC-8 Ben Miller wrote:
A couple folks commented on my
workbench, thanks! I got it
partially restored from a friend,
but now it's mostly used as a
table. Attached is a photo of it
in front of the workbench I built
and use as such. A modern take on
the french Roubo workbench. Makes
for a more cluttered photo, but oh
well.
As far as the bike, I wrapped the
handlebars in leather sewn wraps I
got from Walnut Studiolo. I also
put on some MKS/Simworks Bubbly
Bronze pedals. Both the wrap and
the pedals look super nice to me,
really completes the look. The
pedals are amazing, so smooth and
love the wide platform. The wraps
seem good so far, though I
normally like a thicker one. I
also shortened the brake cables,
per Mark's suggestion. And I was
having some shifter issues if the
Silver DT's (as noted on another
recent thread). I removed them and
packed them with teflon grease
which seems to be a big
improvement. Overall I am really
loving this build! This bike just
disappears under you in the best
possible way.
Also including a photo at sunset
on Twin Peaks in SF tonight, you
can't really see the Ram all that
much, but that is okay cause it is
a beautiful photo.
On Thursday, February 18, 2021 at
6:11:13 PM UTC-8 Jay LePree wrote:
Thanks very much for the
information. I started
researching painters in my
area, and was surprised to
find how many autobody shops
will paint bicycles on the side.
Best to you,
Jay LePree
Demarest, NJ
On Monday, February 15, 2021
at 7:23:17 PM UTC-5
Fullylugged wrote:
Jay: I had mine painted
in Pelham AL by Nathan
Barnes
(https://www.instagram.com/nate_barnes81/).
He paints cars and
motorcycles during the
week, bicycles (and
sometimes plane parts) on
the weekend. I think he
does great work and he is
very reasonable in cost. I
have a PDF of the decals
and had them made by a
decal shop in MS. It was
pretty reasonable and
there are two clear coats
over them on my bike. My
color is actually a past
Ford Mustang color called
Autumn Gold. I didn't like
it on the cars but I think
it's very nice on the
bicycle. The cream is
standard RBW same as came
on the bike. Msg me if you
want more info on decals.
I've helped someone else
here on the list as well,
but am getting old and
forgetful so I couldn't
say who.
the Old Slow Guy
On Monday, February 15,
2021 at 8:17:23 AM UTC-6
Jay LePree wrote:
Ben: That is
beautiful. I have one
of the last orange
white 54 cm that we
sold. (I purchased it
in 2003). I have been
looking for a painter.
Where did you have
your bike painted?
How did you get the
new decals?
Jay
Demarest, NJ
On Friday, February
12, 2021 at 5:31:58 PM
UTC-5 Ben Miller wrote:
Hello Fellow RBW
Owners,
Wanted to do a
little update on
my Rambouillet
build in progress,
now that it is
actually taking form.
First, a little
bit of background.
I've been lucky
enough to have
built up four (4!)
Riv bikes already,
but this is really
shaping up to be a
truly unique one
for me. This Ram’s
story started (for
me) way back in
late 2017 with me
purchasing it off
fellow list member
Keith as a F/F/HS.
Unfortunately a
number of not so
great life events
happened shortly
after that,
including
fracturing my leg,
taking me off the
bike for nearly 6
months. The frame
moved with me down
a new path in
life, but mostly
collected dust in
my garage. Not
forgotten or
abandoned, but
definitely a bit
lonely while I
worked on 2 more
bikes that were
more recently
acquired. During
this time I
quietly acquired
used parts and
ideas that
eventually
coalesced into a
build for the
Rambouillet.
The Ram frame
itself is 64 cm
painted with a
beautiful sage
green with a bit
of pearl
iridescent to it.
It has a couple of
small paint chips
on the non-drive
side seatstay, but
otherwise in
pristine
condition. It was
included with a
Tange headset.
Previous Rivendell
builds had mostly
involved me
purchasing brand
new components
(not having a
large parts bin to
work off of), I
think these builds
were still fun and
interesting, but
really been driven
by new or recent
bike component
technology. My
vision for the Ram
build is really to
focus on
used/vintage/NOS
stock parts as
much as possible,
but also fun and
practical to me. I
know, not a
revolutionary
design principle,
but this is my
first time
executing it.
The heart of this
began around the
idea of setting it
up as a DT
friction shifting
using a vintage
Huret Duopar Eco I
got off eBay. The
Duopar was
originally
introduced in 1975
with the Eco being
released in 1981.
These 40 year old
derailleurs were
originally
intended for 6
speed freewheel,
but through the
magic of friction
shifting and a
little finessing,
seem to work just
fine with a 9
speed cassette.
The big thing
about the Duopar
is it was one of
first (perhaps the
first?) derailluer
to handle up to a
36t cog and 40
teeth of
chainwrap. My
understanding is
that these RD’s
are slightly
controversial in
terms of either
loving or hating
them (lots is said
about their
maintenance
issues), but part
of this was trying
to find out for
myself. As I am
just starting to
learn about these
derailleurs, it’d
be nice to hear
from others about
their experience!
Over the last
couple of days
I’ve been able to
get the Duopar
dialed in and
shift through a
Shimano HG 11-36
cassette using
Silver DT shifters
and paired with a
Sugino triple that
I converted to
44/30. Today I
finished mounting
a pair of Paul
Racer centerpulls
that I got off a
list member and
got strung
together to the
NOS Mafac levers I
got off eBay.
These are mounted
on the Crust Shaka
bars (my new
favorite bars),
which is so far
the only brand new
part on this build
besides the Velo
Orange seatpost (I
did have a vintage
seatpost I had
been planning on
using, but the
mounting plates
have a lot of
corrosion that is
preventing them
from providing a
tight hold). With
brakes on and
functional, I was
able to take it
out and test the
shifting in real
conditions. And I
have to say, it
feels really nice,
couldn’t be
happier at this point.
The eventual plan
is to swap the
700c wheels for
650b (but the 650b
wheels that I had
planned to go on
here ended up on
my girlfriends
Rambouillet!) and
put on 42mm BSP’s.
I know this is a
long write-up, but
it’s been a long
road to this
build. But it is
finally nearing
culmination. I
have to say, what
a time to be alive
and into bikes,
with so many
different options
and ways to
approach a bike
build. I feel
pretty lucky and
excited for how
this is gonna turn
out!
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