Do we know the crank lengths on the forthcoming Appaloosas? Is it possible they'll be slightly longer, and that's what's bringing the BB up a few millimeters - frame designed with longer cranks in mind?
-James On Nov 22, 2015, at 10:29 AM, Bill Lindsay wrote: > Keith > > I went ahead and drew a 50cm Rambouillet, with a 46 Appaloosa and a 51 > Appaloosa on top of it. The three drawings all have ground zero at the > center of the BB. I can send you pictures, but photos of pencil on white > paper don't show up all that well. At any rate, I can tell you standover > height now. > > With identical 310mm radius tires (26x1.25), the standover of the 46 > Appaloosa is about 3cm lower at the back of the top tube. At the front of > the top tube, the 46 Appaloosa is about 1.2cm lower. At the middle of the > top tube, the Appaloosa is about 2.1cm lower. > > If you put 25mm larger tires on the 46 Appaloosa, then at the back of the top > tube, the 46 Appaloosa would still be about 5mm lower. At the front of the > TT, the Appaloosa would be about 1.3cm higher than the Ram. At the middle of > the top tube, the 46cm Appaloosa would be about 4mm higher. > > The insertion point for the handlebars also differ somewhat. The insertion > point for the handlebar stem on the Appaloosa is about 2.4cm farther away, > and about 1.2cm lower, relative to the Ram. So, if your handlebars have a > lot more rise and also have a lot more sweep back (like the choco-moose bars) > then the rider will still be significantly more upright on the bike than on > the Ram. You would almost certainly not run drop bars on the 46 Appaloosa. > It's too low and too far away. The bike is ideal for swept back handlebars. > > I didn't finish the 51 Appaloosa because it's quite a bit bigger. It will be > about 5cm taller everywhere along its Top Tube than the 46 will be. So, if > your wife has more than 2" of standover clearance, and is willing to > sacrifice a full 2", then consider the 51. I haven't seen her Ram setup, but > it sounds to me like the 51 will be quite a bit too big. The 46 will have a > full 35mm MORE seatpost showing than the Ram does, which you've said bums you > out. > > Bill > > On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 2:08:36 PM UTC-8, Bill Lindsay wrote: > I guess I would start off with stating the obvious that small bikes with > large tires are incredibly difficult to design and fit. That's a fact. But > I'm not suggesting anything about which size Appaloosa you should buy your > wife. I only wanted to bottom out on what about the BB drop had thrown you > for a loop. It sounds like it would be useful to draw your four bikes all on > top of each other on a big piece of paper. > > 1. Rambouillet > 2. XO-1 > 3. 46 Appa > 4. 51 Appa > > Grant did a great step by step frame drawing exercise on the predecessor of > the BLUG. Maybe somebody has it archived. That would be a great exercise > for you to walk through, possibly. Otherwise, if you are eager to buy an > Appaloosa on the pre-sale, then at least talk it over with Riv. Let me know > if you want help drawing your bikes. > > Bill > > On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 11:32:39 AM UTC-8, iamkeith wrote: > I guess I get that explanation. And that would probably suggest that the 46 > might be the best choice. The on-the-bike fit would feel familiar, even > though the seatpost would be extended a lot further than I currently perceive > as "correct," and she'd be higher in the air (the whole point of doing this > would be specifically to get her on significantly fatter tires, so she can > carry more and ride more comfortably on rougher roads), and there would also > be way more standover clearance than she needs. Hopefully, the sloped top > tube would yield a higher headtube than the 50 Ram, so that her stem could > even extend a little less. The 51, on the other hand, might not give her > enough standover clearance. Since there are (intentionally?) no standover > heights listed, its hard to know for sure. You guys who can test-ride are > fortunate. > > I guess, now that you point out the error of my thinking, what I'm really > still having trouble with is trying to relate the new limited/expanded sizing > system to the old system that had more increments and, in this case, looking > incorrectly to the bottom bracket drop and standover height for explanations > as to why they fit so differently. That's been hard enough to understand > even for me, but even harder trying to speculate on her behalf since she > doesn't think about this stuff enough to be able to articulate what works and > what doesn't. > > I've long felt like I had a good handle on what her next Rivendell would be, > based on this current bike that fits fairly well, combined with the thought > that I could ratchet it UP one more small increment. But I probably just > need to let go of those preconceptions. Not unlike my old WTB phoenix which, > numerically, is 3" or more smaller than would fit me on any other bike of the > era but actually works great, maybe the way to properly size a Rivendell > nowadays is NOT to get the biggest frame you can straddle. > > > On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 10:42:49 AM UTC-7, Bill Lindsay wrote: > OK, so since your small roadish 559 wheeled Rambouillet has 55mm of drop, > then all other Rivendells with 559 wheels throw you for a loop, because all > of those bikes take wider tires and all of them have 55-57mm of drop? I'm > with Grant that fit is about how your body fits in relation to the bike when > you are riding. BB drop effects how my body fits in relation to the bike. > BB drop is about fit. Tire size changes standover, to be sure, but tire size > does not affect fit, in my opinion. BB height is about clearances: your > pedals striking the ground, and your crotch to the top tube. These are > clearance issues, not fit issues, in my opinion. > > I know about the "on the bike" vs "in the bike" feel. That handling feel is > about how the rider's body is positioned relative to the bike while riding, > in my opinion. It is not about how your center of mass is positioned above > the ground, in my opinion. Jan Heine and Grant are the two who folks on this > group tend to respect the most. Jan thinks BB height and BB drop don't > matter at all. Grant thinks BB drop should be as low as practically possible > for the minimum tire width, and that you shouldn't get too hung up about > standover. > > More directly to the point. Have you ever seen a 559-wheeled frame with more > that 57mm of drop? The Surly Long Haul Trucker 26", a dedicated touring > bike, has only 47mm of drop. Maybe Alex Wetmore's Travel Gifford with 26" > wheels might have more drop, and the category that has inspired: the All-Road > Enduro, may evolve with 65-70mm of drop and will only work with Rat Trap Pass > tires. But I don't know of anything off the shelf that will do that for you. > > > Bill Lindsay > El Cerrito, CA > > -- > 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. James Warren jimcwar...@earthlink.net - 700x33 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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