I love the sticker on the downtube! Perfect message for people less inclined to "get rad".
On Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 4:14:21 PM UTC-4, Ed Carolipio wrote: > > I've built up and have been riding the Bubbe "Mountain Mixte" (aka "Step > Thru" for the purists) for a couple of weeks now so it was high time to > share with the group. Plus I noticed that Riv is offering to do another run > if they get a commitment of 8 so here's more info for the curious. Build > list is at the bottom, and I think that's where the photos end up also. > > TL;DR: rides like a Riv - the bike has met or exceeded my expectations, > and I'm absolutely happy to have gotten it. > > The Bubbe is my second Riv - I got a 51 cm Appaloosa last year - and as my > PBH is 78-ish cm, I'm right at the low end of the recommended range for > this 54.5 cm frame. With the parts I used, I've got about 3 fingers of seat > post showing. Of course standover is not a problem... > > My plan for the Bubbe is as a fair weather commuter + urban adventure > bike, and I've wanted to build up a step thru since seeing both the Cheviot > and the Clem L. I chose the Bubbe over the Cheviot for the fat tires and I > knew I wouldn't resist blinging out a Cheviot. I chose the Bubbe over the > Clem L - that was a tough one - since I didn't need uber hauling > capabilities and for the character and uniqueness of the Bubbe mixte. > > The Bubbe's maiden voyage was at the Venice-Culver City CicLAvia, which > was 15 easygoing miles of semi-rutted pavement. I put a rack on afterwards > and have been doing my 10 mile, relatively flat commute on it ever since. > Sadly, no hills or dirt involved with my rides, nor can I comment on the > utility of the lift-a-tube. > > I paired the bike with 55cm CrMo Boscos, and the two seem to be made for > one another. The "grip" portion of the Boscos goes on for days, and I take > advantage of that by using tape rather than grips. My riding position goes > from "beach cruiser" upright with palms on the bar end nubs (where the > shifters bend down) to "touring bike lean" with palms over and index > fingers hooked in front of the brake levers. There's an "aero tuck" > position with palms on the straight portion close to the stem but I haven't > tried that out yet. > > As for hauling stuff, I care about two things: how does it handle with a > load in the basket (the errand use case) and how does it handle with a > stout (~20lbs) load only in one rear pannier (the commute use case). The > bike does both well, and does so without noticeable noodliness. I did have > an issue with rear tire rub with a small saddlesack due to how low my > saddle sits and the 50mm tires, so I need some external support (e.g. rear > rack) to run one. A cm or two more seat post and it clears fine. > > [BTW that deep Wald 198 + shopsack combo on a Bosco is straight fire: I > love, love that, specially for an errand bike.] > > As for the ride, well ... it rides like a Riv - but let me expand on that > a little. As a step thru with skinny tubes, no surprise it's pretty > flexy. But isn't flex inherently a bad thing? "Vertically stiff, laterally > compliant" as the literature claims. > > What I found with the Bubbe is that the flex is only an issue when I'm > simultaneously being abusive and using poor technique, which is especially > true for me when I stand up to pedal. It's like the bike is telling me, > "You're doing it wrong." But the bike isn't unstable. The best way I can > describe it is that it goes "off" but wants to come "back." The bike > *wants* me to do the right thing, and rewards me with a connectedness and a > resonance when I do. > > Given that it's got that character plus it handles those loads, I'm sure > there's some kind of bike design wizardry going on beyond my ability to > comprehend. Whatever it is, it's good, and flex seems to be part of that > plan. > > > Build: > > - > > Headset: IRD Technoglide > - > > BB: (Riv Standard) > - > > Cranks: Origin 8 CX710 46/34 > - > > Cassette: Shimano HG80 SLX 9sp 11-34 > - > > FD: Shimano Sora 3500 > - > > RD: Shimano Deore M591 > - > > Shifters: Microshift 2/3x9 (BS-A09, F friction only, R index only) > - > > Chain: SRAM 9 speed PC-971 (1 + a handful of extra links) > - > > Brakes: Shimano T-4000 > - > > Brake Pads: Kool Stop V-Type Holder with Dual Compound Pads > - > > Brake Levers: Avid FR-5 > - > > Stem: Kalloy Uno Road Quill 80mm, 77deg, 25.4 clamp > - > > Handlebars: Nitto Bosco CrMo (55cm x 25.4 clamp) > - > > Bar Tape: Neubaum's + twill + shellac > - > > Hubs: Shimano Deore HB-T610 > - > > Rims: Velocity Cliffhanger 650b 32h, Black with MSW > - > > Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 27.5x2.00 > - > > Seatpost: Kalloy 26.8x350mm, 25mm setback > - > > Saddle: Brooks Cambium C17 > - > > Pedals: Wellgo MG-1 > - > > Kickstand: Pletscher Zoom ESGE > - > > Basket: Wald 198 > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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