Re: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 20:41 -0800, Esteban wrote: All this being said, I just did my first long-ish ride on the Hetres now on my 650B Custom Protovelo (kinda like a Saluki). Wow. Those are some fast, smooth tires. Its like they're not even there like you're floating along -- and fast! I really do wish Rivendell offered 650B in the larger sizes, up to 62cm. I don't know whay I like 650B so much - it doesn't make much sense. I don't know -- looking at the excerpt from a previous paragraph I quoted above, it seems like it makes perfect sense to me. What part of like you're floating along -- and fast doesn't make much sense? True, there's nothing in 700c that can equal the Hetre, and the same will probably be the case for the new 650B tires. One can always go Riv custom for that Grant magic! I heard a rumor that there is a 650B Pasela in the pipe... First time I've heard that rumor. Source? -- 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-bu...@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.
Re: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
Well this is the testimonial that likely is going to break the camel's back for moi. I've got a 62 cm Saluki and have been flirting with the idea of trying the Hertes. Now you've gone and done it. Unfortunately I think I'll have to take off the Honjo hammered 45 fenders to make those fat boys fit. ;) -Jimd - Original Message - From: Esteban proto...@gmail.com To: RBW Owners Bunch rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 8:41:44 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned MichaelH wrote, the Ram. is designed to be optimized with 28 mm tires. I didn't see any point in trying to make that frame into something it wasn't intended to be. I agree with that. When I think of my Romulus, I know it was designed around the Shimano medium reach brakes and for 28mm tires with fenders or up to 37mm without. That determined the design details of the whole bike. As it is, that's pretty darn versatile! It is a road bike, afterall. I run mine with 28s and fenders, and I've been riding 35mm Paselas, and those are a dream - I would say almost equal to a CdlV. One can always get another bike built around 650B - and the producers mentioned earlier are not the only ones - seems like younger Rando riders and custom builders are really going after the classic 650B rando bike. All this being said, I just did my first long-ish ride on the Hetres now on my 650B Custom Protovelo (kinda like a Saluki). Wow. Those are some fast, smooth tires. Its like they're not even there like you're floating along -- and fast! And with the 38mm Grand Bois and the Pari-Motos coming down the pipe, they should offer some very nice 650B performance options for distance events and general distance/ camping riding. I really do wish Rivendell offered 650B in the larger sizes, up to 62cm. I don't know whay I like 650B so much - it doesn't make much sense. True, there's nothing in 700c that can equal the Hetre, and the same will probably be the case for the new 650B tires. One can always go Riv custom for that Grant magic! I heard a rumor that there is a 650B Pasela in the pipe... Esteban San Diego, Calif. On Jan 13, 6:01 pm, EricP wrote: Interesting. As I just inflate the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 700x40 to whatever the mood is. Usually about 45 front and 60 rear. And after about 2,400 miles on them last year, do perfer them to the CdlV in 650B. Those were good tires, but I didn't find them in the same quality league as the Schwable. At least for my riding preferences. Again, that's probably just my preference and my weight. If I were to lose a lot more weight, things might be different. No matter, right now, 40 is about the narrowest tire in the lineup. Although maybe my 700C studded on the Hillborne are not so wide. But that bike hasn't been out yet this year. Weather too crummy. The differences in folks getting tires to fit in the Ram make me wonder if there are either rim issues involved or - and this is highly unlikely - one batch might be slightly narrower in the stays? Eric Platt (who has cabin fever and the Atlantis on the road to nowhere trainer isn't helping) On Jan 13, 11:05 am, Steve Palincsar wrote:On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 08:52 -0800, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: I remember the article that Mike mentioned. I think the point was thatRiv bikes already have good clearances, so why bother (not to mentionBB height issues...) In the early days of RBW's promotion of 650B, alot of people were converting 27/700 bikes for no clear reason, sincemany of the conversions already had ample tire-space (many 1970s bikeshad loads of room). Of course, if you have an early 80s Italian racingbike or something else with minimal clearance, then there are clearbenefits to the conversion. We did many of these, which were wellreceived by their owners, and made the bikes much more useful andinteresting. On Jan 13, 10:17 am, Mike wrote: Jim makes a really good point here. The Rambouillet works fine with fenders and 32s so why bother with 650b. If you don't use fenders you can fit a tire up to 37mm. There was an article or note in one of the RR, I can't remember which one, where Grant mentioned that their bikes weren't good for 650b conversion. On the other hand, if you can fit it, there is a WORLD of difference between a 650Bx40 Hetre and any 32mm tire. There's even a world of difference between a 38mm CdlV and any 32mm tire. I have all these sizes, and I speak from experience.Also, I've used 35 and 38mm 700C tires in the past (although not the current gen. Pasela 37mm, which by all accounts is the best wide 700C). In my opinion, based on my experiences, there is simply no comparison between the plush, velvety ride of the wide 650Bs and the harsh, unpleasant, heavy-feeling ride of the wide 700Cs I've
RE: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
Congrats on the tandem. I had a custom Bilenky tandem built two summers ago. Very nice bike and they wer great to work with. Larry Powers Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live. - Mark Twain Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:18:56 -0800 Subject: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned From: mhech...@gmail.com To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com The last issue of Bicycle Quarterly reviewed a bike (name??) that has, if I remember correctly, a bottom bracket height of only 235mm. Jan Heine reported that he had no real problem with pedal strike, but could hit the rings taking it over curbs. I doubt if a Ram or Rom would be that low. I'm still looking forward to taking possesion of my new, custom Bilenky tandem this spring, but not too far down the road I want to convert my 25 1984 Trek 620 to 650B, with couplers. My Rambouillet still remains my favorite ride, but it's great to be able to have a variety of rides to choose from. Michael H 1983 SpecializedSequoia (My Wife's ride) 1984 Trek 620 1988 Custom Marinoni Stage Racing Bike 2000 Soma Dbl Cross 2004 Rambouillet 2007 Ebisu All Purpose 2010 Bilenkey Touring, Travel Tandem On Jan 13, 8:22 am, Steve Palincsar palin...@his.com wrote: On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 07:39 -0500, Larry Powers wrote: If I recall correctly the Rambo is not a could candidate for a 650b conversion becuase it has low bottom bracket to start with. Someone let me know if this is not true. The Rambouillet does indeed have a low bottom bracket -- and it was designed for 28mm tires. No matter which 650B you put in there, even the Hetre, there'd be additional drop; and I'm not at all certain there's clearance for a Hetre. On the other hand, it's not just bottom bracket drop, it's the combination of bottom bracket drop + crank length that causes the pedal strike problem. If you used shorter cranks, you could compensate to some extent. _ Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390710/direct/01/-- 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-bu...@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.
Re: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 08:52 -0800, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: I remember the article that Mike mentioned. I think the point was that Riv bikes already have good clearances, so why bother (not to mention BB height issues...) In the early days of RBW's promotion of 650B, a lot of people were converting 27/700 bikes for no clear reason, since many of the conversions already had ample tire-space (many 1970s bikes had loads of room). Of course, if you have an early 80s Italian racing bike or something else with minimal clearance, then there are clear benefits to the conversion. We did many of these, which were well received by their owners, and made the bikes much more useful and interesting. On Jan 13, 10:17 am, Mike mjawn...@gmail.com wrote: Jim makes a really good point here. The Rambouillet works fine with fenders and 32s so why bother with 650b. If you don't use fenders you can fit a tire up to 37mm. There was an article or note in one of the RR, I can't remember which one, where Grant mentioned that their bikes weren't good for 650b conversion. On the other hand, if you can fit it, there is a WORLD of difference between a 650Bx40 Hetre and any 32mm tire. There's even a world of difference between a 38mm CdlV and any 32mm tire. I have all these sizes, and I speak from experience. Also, I've used 35 and 38mm 700C tires in the past (although not the current gen. Pasela 37mm, which by all accounts is the best wide 700C). In my opinion, based on my experiences, there is simply no comparison between the plush, velvety ride of the wide 650Bs and the harsh, unpleasant, heavy-feeling ride of the wide 700Cs I've tried. And the best of the wide 700C lot, the now-defunct Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road knobby, had other issues: very fast wear, and a wicked rebound. Hit a good sized bump with it, and it was like slamming a basketball on the ground: BOING! Hang on to the handlebar, lest you lose it. In my experience, the wide 700Cs just aren't the same as the wide 650Bs. They're generally much higher pressure (in some cases, labeled inflate to 90 or 100 psi) than the corresponding width 650Bs, which often are labeled 50psi max pressure, with much stiffer sidewalls and beefier construction all around. Supple, they're not. -- 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-bu...@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.
Re: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 12:22 PM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery thill@gmail.com wrote: You may be right Steve. My 650B-riding experience is limited to some Fatty Rumpkins, which were fine, but not magical. Interesting that no tire makers have shown interest in a wider 700C that rides like the fat 650Bs reportedly ride. You'd think that just once some tire company would say, ya know, we don't need to add the 1,000th 700x23 to the marketplace - let's try something new! I have to think that such a tire is forthcoming, with the proliferation of randonneuring, gravel riding, and bikes that can handle that size. I'd like to think that, too. I've asked grand bois but they don't seem interested. Maybe I should try the 37mm paselas. I know the 35s are nice - so maybe the 37s are the bees knees. -sv -- 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-bu...@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.
Re: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 09:22 -0800, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: You may be right Steve. My 650B-riding experience is limited to some Fatty Rumpkins, which were fine, but not magical. Interesting that no tire makers have shown interest in a wider 700C that rides like the fat 650Bs reportedly ride. You'd think that just once some tire company would say, ya know, we don't need to add the 1,000th 700x23 to the marketplace - let's try something new! Nah, they're too busy making 700x23s in every color that matches bicycle paint. Can't afford those extra SKUs... I have to think that such a tire is forthcoming, with the proliferation of randonneuring, gravel riding, and bikes that can handle that size. I'll bet only if 'I' decides Grand Bois needs such a thing. After all, being market driven means you need more of those colored 700x23s... -- 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-bu...@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.
Re: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 08:56 -0800, clevewh...@gmail.com wrote: The answer to why is toeclip overlap. My 54cm Rambouillet has a terrible problem with this and it really is a problem when I'm trying to negotiate traffic with a heavy load of groceries That's certainly an excellent reason! -- 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-bu...@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.
Re: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned
On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 12:28 -0500, Seth Vidal wrote: Maybe I should try the 37mm paselas. I know the 35s are nice - so maybe the 37s are the bees knees. They are supposed to be the bees knees in wide 700Cs. I've never heard anybody say they're the equals of Hetres, though -- and, they've been very hard to find in the past year. -- 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-bu...@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.
