Bill, thanks for all the informative reporting on your 'Leo'. I've admired this bike from afar and you are making it very difficult for me to resist. The Roadini would be a replacement for my Nordavinden, which has not been ideal for purely subjective reasons. I was taken aback when you reported the Leo frameset weight of 7.75 lb (my 56 Nordy is 6.25#), but your ride report has offset this concern and made me a bit ashamed of my latent weight weenie-ism. Awhile ago you mentioned the possibility of a lighter, custom frame built to the geometry of your BMC Road. Does that still hold true, or would your custom road frame now be more along the Roadini lines?
Jack Seattle On Thursday, June 21, 2018 at 10:38:12 AM UTC-7, Bill Lindsay wrote: > > Followup ride reporting. I did my 40 mile 3000ft commute to Union City > today on the Leo, and I did it "Full Send" as the kids like to say. In > other words, I got after it. The executive summary is that the Leo is > definitely a keeper. I set PR times on numerous sections that I've ridden > many many times. I definitely had a very good day on the bike, and I'm > still feeling that nice euphoria of putting a really good ride down. At > worst, the Leo did not prevent me from having a great day. The objective > fact is, the Leo today (with me on it) was faster than my Black Mountain > ever was (with me on it). Qualitatively, the Leo today spun up faster than > the Black Mountain ever did. I think that's mainly because I had a good > day, but I report it because so many people on this board claim to be able > to make nuanced comparisons between bikes as if their body and fitness was > a constant. I assure you that my fitness, strength and attitude are not a > constant, and that makes it hard for me to make comparative judgments about > bikes. Some people on this board make nuanced comparisons between bikes > they haven't ridden in decades. That depth of recall amazes me, and I > don't have it. I will say my Leo was a rocket today with me on it. That > came into play on the descent of Redwood Road as well. It's a 28-33mph > descent, and the pavement is mediocre. The bumpiness tended to scrub speed > on the Black Mountain, but Leo appeared to roll over the roughness with > more stability, less speed-loss, and better comfort (with the identical > build kit that had been on the Black Mountain. I highly recommend the Leo > for a non-racing road bike. > > It is still kind of shocking to walk the bike, because the bars are SO > high when I'm walking the bike. I'm accustomed to them being lower. The > fact that it's more upright doesn't seem to make it slower. It does have a > 'vibe' or 'attitude' about it that made me feel a wee bit weird getting on > it in 'kit'. Conversely, I felt a wee bit weird getting on the Black > Mountain Road *without* kit. Both were fine in the costume or in > civvies, but the difference in vibe is notable. > > BL in EC > > On Friday, June 8, 2018 at 12:24:16 PM UTC-7, Bill Lindsay wrote: >> >> Austin asked for more nuanced comparisons than I have the vernacular to >> describe. So my short answer is that I have not found any discernible >> differences in 'Sportiness'. >> >> With stouter tubing, is the Roadini less flexible than the BMC? I don't >> know that the Leo has stouter tubing. If it does, I do not discern it to >> be less flexible >> Does either the BMC or Roadini spin up/accelerate faster (neither are >> racing bikes, nor do I intend to race). Not that I can say. They both go >> faster the harder I pedal. I don't run a power meter, so I don't know if >> one accelerates more quickly per unit power input >> Which one has quicker steering? Neither that I can discern. They both >> go where my hips tell them to go >> All things being equal, is one more "fun" to ride (might be hard given >> they are set up differently) Both are fun >> >> >> -- 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.
