After the untimely demise of my Rambouillet, I have decided that the way to go is with a SH.
I am fortunate that my LBS has both a 60 cm orange frame and a builder who actually worked for RBW. I am having a great time contemplating that build and Shawn has offered to let me essentially test ride all sorts of components, permitting a test ride with different pedals, tires, bars, etc. That being said, I hate to abuse the privilege and would like to narrow things down somewhat before going nuts. I am open to suggestions for specific gear that people love, as well as things that never worked the way they should. To give you some idea of how I expect to ride, I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so there are very few flat roads. I am a life- long cyclist. My favorite rides are solo. I am not fast. I am a big rider, 6'3" and 270 lbs. I ride on roads, fire trails and a great rail-trail system that we have here that is very similar to riding on gravel roads. I climb because I have to, descend like a penguin, and have a 10-mile commute (each way) that involves about a 1,000 feet net descent on the way to work. The parts of the build that are already set are the frame and fork, 700mm Velocity Synergy and Dyad rims and a rear Nitto rack that will accommodate two vintage panniers and a Baggins saddle bag which was the only thing to survive the death of the Ram. I had a Brooks B17 on the Ram and intend to do that again on the SH (yes, the rails of the saddle are bent beyond repair). Tires are tentatively 35 mm Panaracer Pasela Tourguards. I had two-sided pedals on the Ram (one side for clips, the other for platforms) and I so rarely clipped in that I am looking for a good platform that will work with my clown shoes (size 13E). I am intrigued by Mustache bars, but not certain that I can leave the drops (maybe Noodles) behind. I am not at all worried about the weight of the build. I figure that any poundage problems are my fault, not the bike's. Other considerations: I have a Voodoo Rada, from their 1998-2000 incarnation which answers for any occasion on which I feel the need to go "fast," a clearly relative term. For the true single-track in the area, I have a nice Kona Kula. (My lab actually reacts differently when I get the Kona out, which means that she gets to come along). Just because there are never enough bikes, I also have an old Trek 400, which is the bike I loan people so we can ride together and a 1950's single-speed steel tandem that probably weighs 50+ pounds. I want the SH to be the all-arounder and go-to ride, as my Ram was . . . the one I take for my long rides, which for me means 6-8 hours with breaks as I see fit at a glacial pace. Anyone who made it this far is clearly a fanatic and worthy of expressing opinions. -- 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.
