On Fri, Feb 28, 2014 at 10:55 AM, Chris Lampe 2 <clampe9...@yahoo.com>wrote:
> This should be a fun thread! >> >> > Indeed! I've acquired my preferences over almost 45 years of building my own bikes -- my first complete build, not counting modifications egregious or otherwise, was at age 15 in 1970 -- and modifying all the others, and making all the mistakes with them that it is possible to make. Long story short, I've come very much to like bikes designed and built for particular uses -- the all rounder type bike is the least desirable in my stable. But all the bikes have features and particularly fitting that is very, very close across dedicated gofast smooth pavement bike to sandy dirt road bike: low bbs, long stays, way-back saddle and a frame that accommodates this position and this weight distribution, and the sort of fit and handling that I can only define as what I've gotten from my 3 Grant designed road customs (with the Grant-mandated fit: saddle back, bar up and back, that cured some real weirdness in fit and handling at the time I ordered my first Road). (I sometimes find this same "feel", at least as to fit, on other bikes -- somewhat to my surprise -- but -- and this has been consistent over almost 20 years of riding them -- every time I get back on one of my Rivendells after extended affairs with other bikes, I feel as if I've "come home". This applies to the 3 customs, but also largely to the Ram, which isn't quite as "just right". That said, all my other bikes are set up to mimic as much as possible the fit and feel of the 2 remaining Riv Roads, with modifications according to use. Even the Fargo has saddle height and setback (ie behind bb) identical to those of the Roads, and bar reach the same, tho' higher bar. But back to a bike for each use: Gofast: no nod to usefulness; just gofast (that is a relative term), particularly for climbing in a highish gear. Commuter: Even though I no longer commute, my principal errand bike is just like the gofast but has fatter tires, fenders when needed, rack and lights. This bike was built 4 years after the Gofast and used for commuting for several years until I stopped working in an office. Errand: this one is a high end beater in my taxonomy and it has multiple gears. This is the Ram, and it does much that the Commuter does, but I don't need to worry about it as much and I can choose it when I am feeling lazy (tho' I generally ride it in just one or two gears). Off road, part A: dirt roads. Must have fat tires for sand and drop bars. Currently this is the Fargo, but I'd love to afford a Hunquapillar. Off road, part B: I should get a ss singletrack machine, probably 26". Upright bar of some sort. If I had more money than sense: I'd add a Rivendellian equivalent of a top ed 1970s racing bike: long stays, shallow seat angle, that Rivendell fit and feel and turn-in. Oh hell, why not? A fatbike. -- Albuquerque, NM, USA Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
