Everyone, First, allow me to thank all of you for the incredibly thorough and well-conceived responses and opinions. This was my first time posting in this forum, and I truly am impressed with the collective knowledge/ passion of this group.
For what it is worth, I'm 34 years old, 5'10", and weigh around 155. After I wrote my post, I received an email recommending that I check out Boulder Bicycles Randonneur Brevet model, which, like the AHH, is built by Waterford, but intended to be a bit lighter and lively. And from what I can tell, this model takes 32mm tires with fenders -- so I can't go with super fat tires with this bike like the AHH, but I imagine that 32 is sufficiently large. Coincidentally, Boulder Bikes is about a ten minute walk from my house, and until I received this email, I had no idea they existed. So I'm going over there tomorrow to check things out. No lugs -- but I'm excited that they are local, which will likely make the build up and the on-going service a nicer experience. I'll let you know how it goes, and whether I go with the AHH, Roadio, or the Boulder Bicycles Brevet. If any of you have thoughts/knowledge of this bike or BB's reputation, any tips would be appreciated. Thanks again! Erik On Sep 1, 4:18 pm, Rick <richardholc...@yahoo.com> wrote: > This is largely a repeat of what others have said, but I already typed > it, so here you go. > > "My largest concern is this: most of my friends and neighbors go on 3 > - > 4 hour rides up into the mountains on their super-light carbon > frames. Is there a way for me to set up the AHH so that it is > functional on mellow gravel roads, but also keeps up with my friends > on the steep climbs? " > > Short answer, as above, is: it depends on your friends. But the > description sounds like they are dedicated race-enthusiasts. Most > folks who have shelled out the money for the super-light carbon to > ride 3 plus hours in the mountains have not "let go of their race > fantasies." This is no insult to your friends, bicycle racing is a > really amazing thing that humans do, but it's a narrow activity by > definition with pretty specific equipment. > > And it's no insult to the AHH (disclosure: my purchase of same is in > the works). I fully subscribe to the arguments made here and > elsewhere about the relatively narrow differences in personal time for > fattier vs. skinnier tire front, or the fact that it's the engine, not > the bike, or the relatively small percentage of weight the bike is > when you add in the rider to the package. But fast cyclists go faster > on those little carbon things. And the AHH, while as close to all- > purpose as a bike can or should be, isn't really designed to chase the > peloton. > > Haven't had the honor of being in the presence of the Roadeo, but if > you intend to follow your friends on the weekends as a primary > purpose, I'd definitely give it a look. You can still get tires on > that thing that will be fine in the gravel. But your intrigue on the > camping front/multi-day trip will probably remain intrigue on Roadeo > and definitely would on a super-carbon bike. > > Personally, I'd rather be able to pack a lunch and hit the gravel > whenever I felt like it, or put on a rack (which ain't happening with > any of the super-light carbon bikes I've ridden). Boulder, I'd > imagine, would be a nice place to do that. > > Rick > (whose bleriot was dropped by the peloton on Thursday, but who had a > nice spritely ride to the lake on Sunday.) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
