on 1/23/09 6:51 AM, Larry Powers at lapower...@hotmail.com wrote: > I randonneur on a Rambouillet with a large Berthoud handlebar bag. Most of > the time there are no issues with this but when I am tired and climbing steep > hills I can notice the affect of the bag. For this reason and because I would > also be able to run bigger tires with fenders, I have toyed with getting a new > fork for the bike. If I did would this still be a Riv Rambouillet? Riv/Grant > intentionally build high trail bikes so modifying one of their bikes to a low > trail bike goes against their philosophy and In my mind creates a bike that is > no longer a Rivendell. > > This is merely a philisophical question I am pondering while at work. Many > people love to tinker and there is nothing wrong with that. When my beautiful > orange Rambouillet finally needs a paint job I may decide to modify it by > changing the fork and adding canti studs but when I do I am not sure that I > can say it is a Rivendell.
I worry a little that this has the potential to become one of those "winter" theoretical arguments. ;^) Among other lists, trail theory has become a bit divisive. It seems that some people feel that fork rake is the only determining factor in performance. (Personally, I doubt that sincerely - there are just too many other variables in frame design.) This seems to be influenced by the mainstream cycling aftermarket fork market, which is quite significant. The fact that most of the bikes for which those are marketed are largely similar in dimensions, despite the wide variety of manufacturer claims and paint jobs. Specific to your question, for me, it seems that adding a different fork would be the same as chopping the chainstays to shorten the wheelbase. It's essentially a "hot rod" mod, making the Rivendell you started with similar to the Model A that became the Roadster. (And I'm not making the analogy based on speed differences between the two.) They would be related, but they would be different bicycles. You certainly couldn't expect someone who has a similar bike with original spec's to hop on and not notice a difference. - Jim -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com Current Classics - Cross Bikes Singlespeed - Working Bikes Workshops of the iBob's Send In Your Photos! - Here's how: http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines "My nighttime attitude is anyone can run you down and get away with it. That's why I don't even own a bike light or one of those godawful reflective suits. Because if you've put yourself in a position where someone has to see you in order for you to be safe...you've already blown it." -- Neal Stephenson, "Zodiac" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
