Just another thought about how much a ride can change depending on wheels/equipment. I used to own a 1992 stone rb-2. It was a solid bike with cheapish parts on it, the worst being the wheels. I later took the hubs and had them laced to some light open pro rims, and the bike felt incredibly spritely after that. Ironically, a few years later I picked up a stock 1993 RB-1. Obviously a much praised racing bike of its era that I could never afford at the time. It felt like a slug compared to the RB-2. I always chalked it up to the wheels, and then later realized the RB-2 may have "planed" better for me based on the tubing.
Interesting to me how bikes have that feel depending on the parts and circumstances and relative differences to other things we might ride. Cheers, Addison Wilhite, M.A. Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology<http://www.washoecountyschools.org/aact/> *"Blazing the Trail to College and Career Success"* Educator: Professional Portfolio <http://addisonwilhite.blogspot.com/> Blogger: Reno Rambler <http://reno-rambler.blogspot.com/> Bicycle Advocate: Regional Transportation Commission, Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee<http://www.rtcwashoe.com/public-transportation-22-124.html> On Sat, Apr 5, 2014 at 12:55 AM, Joe Bernard <joerem...@gmail.com> wrote: > My Rambouillet story makes even less sense than most: I bought one from > JL, rode it for a couple months, and it was a perfectly nice bike. But for > some reason I just didn't 'click' with it. I'm a notorious "ok, that was > nice, let's try something else" bike buyer/seller (I don't get attached to > them), but I still have no idea why my interest in this one faded so fast. > > On Friday, April 4, 2014 9:54:20 PM UTC-7, Jim Bronson wrote: > >> I sold off a 68cm Rambouillet frame about 8 or 9 years ago, without ever >> building it up. The top tube just looked way too short and I was much less >> experienced with bikes then. Kind of regret never at least building it up >> and trying it. It was so pretty in that orange color! >> >> >> On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 12:44 PM, Jeff Ong <jeffon...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> So, I've got a lot of bikes and zero cars. Only two are conventional >>> "road" type bikes (a 2004 Merlin Fortius and an '84 Nobillette). Many are >>> mountain bikes, and my daily rider/commuter is a 1995 Voodoo Bizango that >>> I've added rack/fender eyelets to, converted to drops and 2 inch Schwalbe >>> Marathons, and basically made into a sort of Atlantis type ride. >>> >>> About a year ago, I bought a secondhand (or third- or fourth-hand, who >>> knows?) Rambouillet (from the first run of framesets, in pearl orange). My >>> idea was to have a sporty road/light tourer with fenders, since I live in >>> Portland, where it drizzles seven months of the year. I built this up with >>> a pretty Riv-like collection of stuff -- a VO triple crankset, platform >>> pedals, some nice wheels and Pasela 28s, Shimano 9-speed bar end shifters, >>> bars a bit above saddle height, etc. It's super pretty, everyone oohs and >>> ahs over it, etc. >>> >>> The problem is, I kind of hate riding it. It just steers like a pig, >>> wallowing through turns, and it feels super slow to accelerate. I get >>> terrible pedal strike unless I coast around every turn. I've really tried >>> to get used to the ride, but I always find myself getting angry when I'm >>> out on the bike... like "hurry up, man! come on!" I'm a decent enough >>> mechanic to know that there isn't anything mechanically wrong. I do think >>> this bike is bigger on me than I generally ride -- I'm 6' tall and this is >>> a 58cm, and generally I ride smaller than that, although it's difficult to >>> compare compact frames against this more traditional geometry. The bike >>> isn't super light (27 lbs or so with fenders and racks), but many of my >>> bikes are around that weight or heavier. >>> >>> Am I just not cut out for Riv-type geometry? Is it poorly fit to me? Is >>> there something about the Rambouillet that just makes it slow-steering and >>> ponderous? I would love to swap out this frameset with something livelier >>> and more fun to ride (but that can still take racks and fenders with 28mm >>> tires), and I'm just hoping to not make the same mistake. Any insights >>> would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! >>> >>> -- >>> 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-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>> >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! >> > -- > 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/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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