I kinda see the others' point about getting the model you really want, but I'm going to vouch for the Appaloosa anyway 'cause I own one and it's great. I consider the sloping toptube and long stays to be an evolution from the Atlantis, making Appaloosa the more "modern" interpretation of that earlier design, if you will.
The jury is still out on whether longer stays are an improvement for trail riding, but the better standover clearance *definitely* is. Based on your interest in a 51 Atlantis, I assume you'd fit a 46 Appaloosa. This one here is in the lovely blue I bought, which is a discontinued color. Of course there's mustard frames, too, if you'd rather go that way. http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/f-appa-complete-0001x.htm I think it's a wonderful bicycle with a very cool fork crown, and it's built to handle loaded touring. I'd ride it on fire trails any day, and intend to do so at Mt. Diablo this week. Yes, you should wait for an Atlantis if you have your heart set on one, but I don't think the Appaloosa sacrifices a single thing to that more expensive frame. In a couple ways my Blue Joe is the better bike. In my opinion. Joe Bernard Vallejo, 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 https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.