Frankyn - I have ridden a portion of that several times on the Quickbeam. I live in SF, my son and his family live in Alameda. If it is a Sunday or a holiday (to avoid the truck traffic) I leave my home in SF, climb to the top of Skyline, throgh Woodside, drop down to Palo Alto, across Dumbarton, then north past Oakland Airport into Alameda. The ride is 74 miles. I usually meet my wife there and come back with her in the car. As you know, from Palo Alto to Alameda is virtually flat as a pancake, and I ride that section in 40x16. Frankly, even a slogger like me could go higher than that for a section of flats that long.
--- On Mon, 12/8/08, franklyn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: franklyn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [RBW] Re: 50 Miles on the Quickbeam today - thoughts on 40x18 To: "RBW Owners Bunch" <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> Date: Monday, December 8, 2008, 12:45 PM I sometimes commute on a relatively flat 16-mile route (from Palo Alto to Fremont via dumbarton bridge, for those of you living in the Bay Area) and with 40/17 I can get there just a shade under an hour. I am not so small (5'10", 195 lbs) but find that not having to work through upstroke on the fixed gear help me on most terrains. Franklyn On Dec 8, 11:21 am, RM <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I too ride my Quickbeam on that same coast route (from Coronado). I > use a White Industries 16 + 19 DOS freewheel and, for the coast ride, > always keeping it on 40x16. When I head to the back country (say > Honey Springs Rd, Lyons Valley Rd, or Sunrise Highway), I'll put it > down to 32x19 when I get too worn on a long climb. > > I Quickbeam up to Oceanside or Dana Point and back quite frequently > and even did the 300K brevet to Huntington Beach and back earlier > this year--and stayed on the 40x16. > > Go for a ride together sometime Esteban? > > Rob > > On Dec 7, 2008, at 6:55 PM, Esteban wrote: > > > > > I did about 50 miles on the Quickbeam today up the San Diego coast - > > from near Downtown to Encinitas. I usually take it a little slower on > > my Protovelo, set up with Albatross bars, B66, etc. I rode the same > > ride last weekend with my brother and he took my (now sold) Kogswell > > P58, and really kicked some butt. He's very fast, and there are > > usually racing (or racing-dressed) riders on this ride. I got the > > idea to take the Quickbeam (set up with Noodles) and ride it pretty > > hard for the coast ride today. The Q usually serves as my "getter" > > with a Wald basket and has seen 30-35 mile fun rides, but mostly 10-20 > > mile errand/transportation trips. > > > It was wonderful the whole time. I've gotten better at spinning as > > well as coasting - and I was passed on some of the big downhills. But > > I passed the same riders on the uphills. I charged up Torrey Pines > > road without too much trouble. I was exhausted when I got home, but > > thrilled with the simplicity and fun of the day. Never went down to > > my smaller chainwheel, but if I went up into Torrey Pines State Park, > > that would have been the call. > > > I just wanted to say how great the stock gearing is on the bike. When > > I first got it, I was frustrated about having to spin so much on flats > > and coast downhill. Now I really appreciate it, especially because > > 40x18 gets me up almost any hill, including those on this ride, and > > even up Potrero Hill in San Francisco. Actually, mid-grade ascents > > seem *easier* on the Quickbeam. I can't explain that. 40x18 also > > seems to be a great touring set-up. Its fun to learn to love things > > that you might initially shun. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
