Hello All, First time poster, but I've been lurking for a few weeks now and really enjoy seeing the community you have here and all of your beautiful bikes.
I was hoping to gauge some opinions or get some suggestions from some of you on a Riv-style build that I am hoping to put together soon. Unfortunately, I'm not currently in a financial position to own a real Rivendell, but because I have such an affinity for the style of bikes and philosophy behind them, I'm planning on building something that can play the role until the day comes that I can have the real deal. Presently, I am choosing between two bikes that are listed for sale in my area: one is a 1983 Specialized Expedition and the other is a 1992 Bridgestone XO-2. In one corner, we have one of the most well-renowned, production touring bikes ever made, and in the other, a brainchild of the man himself. Ultimately, I don't feel like I could go wrong with either, but I wanted to present this to you fine people to see if you have any thoughts or have experience with either or both of these bikes. Because I already have a road bike that I would be more inclined to take for longer, faster rides, the purpose of this bike would mainly be for commuting and more leisurely rides around town with my partner. It would be outfitted with racks, fenders, and a dynamo set up. Also, regardless of whether I decide to go with the Expedition or not, I am planning on using some kind of upright or swept-back bars. Basically this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/35377964@N06/3337138600/in/album-72157614731857771/ Given that both bikes are my size and both cost around the same price, my pro/con list looks something like this: for the Expedition, it was not designed to ridden as more of a hybrid and so might not handle the way I would like with up-right bars. The XO-2 was, but it doesn't have some of the feature that I like in the Expedition (internal wiring for the dynamo, loooooong chainstays, mid-fork eyelets for the front rack, and of course a lugged frame without a unicrown fork--looks matter!). For the XO-2, I like the wider tires even if they are 26'. It might mean going a little slower, but this bike isn't being built for speed, and the added comfort of the larger tires would be nice. And then of course, it was actually designed by Grant Petersen to do the kind of riding that I'm describing. If my goal is to create a faux Rivendell, compromising with a prototypical version makes a lot of sense, but I would hate to be the person who sacrifices overall quality for the sake of some kind of cult appeal (even if I have bought in to a certain degree already). I'm open to any thoughts that you all might have and would love to hear about experiences with one or both of these bicycles. Thanks, Ray -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fb82e795-0fc4-4e0c-86ab-23d0251ce547n%40googlegroups.com.
