After finalizing the build of my new Rosco yesterday, I was able to get out for more than a ride around the block today - I got ~15 miles in cruising around the neighborhood, through potholed downtown Silver Spring, through a wooded parkway and on some unpaved bike trails.
First, build details: Wheels: Parts bin Ultegra/Open Pro Tires: Compass Snoqualmie Pass 700x44 Fenders: Cream Longboard Cranks: Shimano Deore FD/RD: Shimano Stem: Nitto Tecnomic ~130mm Handlebars: Nitto/Riv Choco Norm Brakes: Silver Seatpost: 26.8 stock (Kalloy?) Saddle: Brooks B17n hand-carved Shifters: Silver on Paul Thumbies Racks: Nitto/Riv Hub Area Rack, Mark's Rack Chain: nothing special, SRAM something, but to note, brand-new standard chain needed a few extra links from surplus chain for me to feel it was a decent length to run down the long chainstays and to route through the long cage RD. Everything came out of my parts bin except for the handlebar and tires, and most had been installed on my since passed on Hilsen. I've mentioned that I'm either a drop bar guy or otherwise stretched-out riding position guy. This is my first pulled back bar bike since I carted the kids around on a Surly Big Dummy that was fitted with Albatross bars some years ago. I've flirted with mustache and Albastache bars since, and I've never been able to get them to work for more than very short rides. So, having a bike that pretty much requires this type of bar was a bit concerning. My initial short test ride had me feeling like the front end was squirrely, but I think I just had the bars too low - I bumped 'em up a tiny bit and that sensation went away. I rambled through mixed suburban, urban, wooded parkway and off-road, hard-packed gravel and clay trail, and I have to say the Rosco feels great. I can cruise at a comfortable pace easily and pick up the pace and/or charge up a hill either by standing and holding on to the hand grips or by leaning forward and grasping the outer front segment of the Choco bars where they begin to curve back - this is actually a very comfortable position. When I came home I wrapped this forward segment of the bars with some leftover leather bar tape I had as I think I'll spend a good bit of time up there. Rosco has the Rivendell magic feel to it. What is that? It's the feeling that the bike goes where you want it, there's no fighting or disagreement, no frustration. It's cruises easily and synchronizes with and rewards extra effort when you want to pickup the pace. Here comes the blasphemy: I didn't get that feeling from my Romulus or my Hilsen, as such they're no longer with me, but I do get that feeling from my Hillborne. I guess interestingly enough, from a sizing perspective, I'm technically on the small side for the Hillborne and Rosco using Riv sizing guides - I'm in range, but the bottom end of the range, whereas I was in the middle or high end of the sizing range for the Hilsen and the Romulus. My Hillborne is a 60 and the Rosco is a 55.5 though the TT is super long at 66cm, where the Hilsen was a 58cm and the Rom I think was a 57. I'm not sure how I feel about taking a non-drop bar bike out for all day rides, long distance or whatever, as I really love the multiple hand positions I get from my Nitto Noodles, and, I'm not sure how much I'll like sitting up a bit taller/straighter, though I guess the forward position on the Choco bars can let me stretch out, but I may trade out the B17n for my other favorite saddle, a Cambium C17 carved for the slightly wider sit bone area. What's next for Rosco? I'm going to commute on him this week, with my commuting load settled in the hub area bags, vs. my standard saddle-attached Carradice camper, so I'll get to test it out with more weight on the front. I'll also probably put a Nitto rack on the back and take it for an s24o on the C&O in a few weeks. I'm also going to get a more appropriate set of wheels, with a generator for the front - probably will run up to Gravel & Grind in Frederick and have James lace something up. The Compass tires are great. They feel similar to the 700x38 Barlow Pass tires I run on the Hillborne, and that similar feeling is amazing. If you're not running the largest Compass tires your bike will handle, you're really doing yourself a disservice. Here's a pic and a link to a folder with more pics from yesterday and today: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6fp2AmAnZgmLTBDRURJQUQyM0U Jeff Silver Spring, MD -- 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.
