Well, it may be exactly that as far as you're concerned: ridiculously overbuilt. But I'm sure glad *someone* makes a well-designed bike with good clearances that can feel light and fast when rider-only (as light- and-fast as any bike with a 245lb rider can feel, I guess) and stable and rugged when loaded all over (it's amazing to me that it also feels this way with that same rider!). So I certainly don't agree it's ridiculously overbuilt or silly in general.
Isn't it RBW's most popular model? I wonder if that'll change with no single-top-tube models available. I seem to remember some hinting at a lower-priced "city bike" coming from RBW sometime in the next year or three. Is it hoped that it will satisfy the no-two-top-tubed-Hillborne- for-me market? Yours, Thomas Lynn Skean On Jun 6, 4:11 pm, Justin August <justinaug...@gmail.com> wrote: > It would annoy me. As someone who'd buy a 56cm Sam I'm no longer > considering it at this point. Ridiculously overbuilt and kills the > bike for me. I it was a Hunqua or Bomba I'd be okay with it. Just > silly I think. Grant has too many beefy bikes currently. The same > seems to correspond more to the AHH than Bomba but is getting the > extra tube treatment. > > -Justin > > On Jun 6, 3:56 pm, Thomas Lynn Skean <thomaslynnsk...@comcast.net> > wrote: > > > > > > > > > Well, if you don't like the look... sure, it could be a deal breaker. > > That's entirely up to you. But if the bike works for you in general, > > and if you either like or are neutral about the double-top-tube look, > > why *would* it be a deal breaker? > > > The only meaningful effect I would expect is that it stiffens the bike > > somewhat (at your weight, probably unnecessary as far as durability is > > concerned). Could that be a bad thing? Doesn't seem so to me. Don't we > > all want a "laterally stiff yet vertically compliant" bike? :) > > > It might interfere meaningfully with bottle cage usage. I have no > > problems like that with my double-top-tube 60cm Hillborne, though. > > 56cm might be tighter or looser, depending on the placement of the > > bottle bosses. > > > The undertube and its lugs do add weight to the frame. Ounces not > > pounds, surely. 10? 15? I don't know. I think that won't matter > > physically unless you race. And I don't think the Hillborne was > > intended for racing anyway; so you might be better served by something > > else, regardless of the number of top tubes. > > > But if psychologically the 2nd top would bother you in some non- > > aesthetic way (e.g. the inelegance of its non-essential-ness; the > > knowledge that adds weight, regardless of that weight's actual impact; > > the fact that other people probably think it's a "utility" bike), then > > sure that could be a deal breaker. > > > For me, the 2nd top tube is elegant; it probably helps the bike > > tolerate me better (at 245lbs). At my weight it might even have an > > actual positive effect on the way the bike handles (less "slop" in the > > steering?). I don't know since I've never ridden one without one. All > > of the psychological factors work in *favor* of the 2nd top tube for > > me, including the aesthetics (of the Hillborne's parallel tube, > > anyway). Well, maybe I don't care one way or the other that people > > might think it's a "utility bike". In fact, it *is* a very useful > > bike. It's also fun and easy and stable and comfortable to ride. > > > An don't lose track of the brake differences. Maybe you don't care. > > But the $1050 Taiwan frames do not have canti-studs; the $1500 USA > > frames do. > > > Yours, > > Thomas Lynn Skean > > who is currently trying to decide between a 62cm Hunqapillar and a 2nd > > 60cm canti-studded Hillborne > > > On Jun 6, 2:05 pm, Bill Pustow <bpus...@aol.com> wrote: > > > > It would be a deal breaker for me. > > > Bill > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On Jun 5, 2011, at 2:56 PM, Jay <robin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Does this make any sense in a 56 cm Sam? Should it be a deal breaker? > > > > I almost ordered one the other day until I found out all the new one's > > > > have the "undertube". > > > > What does is collective wisdom of this group? > > > > > BTW I weigh 165 lbs want the bike for commuting and the occasional > > > > tour. > > > > > Jay > > > > > -- > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > > Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > > > For more options, visit this group > > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
