Well, do you have to choose one or the other? I’ve ridden a Betty as my main (ok, only) bike since 2012. I love it; it’s nearly perfect and feels like an extension of my own body. I have a deep affection for the Betty Foy, but when my mother in law got a Clementine I fell in love with her bike, too. My son rides a Clem H, my husband has a Clem H (that he neglects in favor of his ugly ebike) and my brother in law has a Clementine. So, we have a real love affair going on here with the Clems. I’ve ridden both the Clementine and Clem H enough to offer my perspective.
That said, I would have a difficult time choosing one bike over the other. If Grant incorporates the strong suits of both in his rumored and highly anticipated Anniversary Mixte, I could maybe commit to just one bike. Until then, I’d want both Betty and Clementine. Of these two models, here are my impressions. 1. I prefer the step-through of the Clementine. 2. I feel like I go faster on the Clementine. Maybe it’s fatter tires. Maybe it’s momentum on a thicker-tubed frame? I don’t know, but I feel faster. 3. I like the long chainstays on the Clementine. 4. I love the fully-lugged look on the Betty. 5. Betty is a bit more aggressive in position; I like that for hauling loads, which I do more often than not. 6. Betty has lighter, prettier tubing, she’s more aesthetically pleasing. Like a butterfly! 7. I prefer the fat tires on the Clementine. Those tires just eat up the road bumps and feel so stable. I had the opportunity to swap bikes with my MIL once, and I chose not to do it. There’s still something about that Betty that I cannot part with. In making my decision, I had ridden both bikes all over the little lake town in Minnesota where my MIL resides. I had just returned from joyriding all over town with the Clementine, and I was jazzed. I couldn’t believe how comfortable and fun the bike was. I decided to take my old bike out once more, just to make sure I could tell the difference. But when I threw a leg over the Betty and rode only a few blocks, I knew I was home. That bike is my legs. I love it. I can’t give it up. So, there you have it. The answer is BOTH. -- 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. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6e3f51ab-236b-44b3-b6a2-87e19690ef88%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
