Jeff, How did the 38mm tires work out on the Roadini? I have the first generation/shipment Roadini (gray/silver color), and I did not think that the frame would allow 38c tires. Cheers, Karl
On Sun, Jan 30, 2022 at 9:56 AM Jeff B <jeff.burke...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I own a Roadini that I bought from the other Joe who replied in the thread. > > I wouldn't consider my Roadini heavy, for what it is. I've certainly built > lighter bikes for customers including an S-Works Utralight Tarmac, which > tipped the scale just under 13lbs. I ride a 54 Roadini at 5'11" but always > thought it would be fun to ty a 57. > > The general weight of most club ride bikes (specialized tarmac, Roubaix, > venge, cervelo s & r series, etc) I've weighed come in at 16.75lbs WITHOUT > saddle bags or bottles. > Some of those riders use a saddlebag but many put their flat kit, phone, > arm warmers, etc in their jersey pocket. I think of it though that I'm > riding the horse so why should the lumber be on my back so, I use a Swift > Industries handlebar bag which can carry ample supplies. > My Roadini comes in at 25lbs with 2 tubes, a multi-tool, tire lever & mini > pump. I routinely carry my wallet & phone in there too along with house/car > keys, sunglasses, snacks and anything else that might be helpful on a ride. > > Like Johnny said, you can make a bike feel pretty light with a good wheel > set and ironically the club riders who add aero wheels to their bike end up > adding an extra few pounds because there is simply more material there. I > just use excellent aluminum wheels (HED Belgium with DT Swiss 240 hubs) to > keep the weight down and keep the bike feeling spry. I am also geared down > compared to most road bikes. > > My 11 speed setup is a 14-30 cassette with 44/28 chainrings. This gives me > a low gear inch of 25.5 and a high of 86.1 on 35mm tires. This came to be > from watching people's cassettes who's gearing was the standard 11-28, > 50/34. They were always in the 50 tooth chainring but cross chained up in > the19 or 21 tooth in the rear so they could spin the cadence fast enough. I > find that my gearing allows me to spin pretty fast on the Roadini, which > makes the bike feel lively to me. I've never needed the 100+ gear inches > that usually comes with the standard 11 speed road bike set up but a do > really appreciate having a .933:1 (sub1:1) gear ratio for climbing so again > I can spin seated up a hill while most are grinding away out of the saddle > at 10 rpm. > > Like Karl said, I've also hit close to 50mph on a decent to Estes Park CO > and the bike felt so stable it's miraculous. Some of the other guys, > especially the one riding a Venge with aero wheels, were getting blown all > over the road because the tall profile carbon frame & wheels were like a > sail catching the wind. Maybe because the Roadini had more weight it was > more planted and glued to the road so I was able to concentrate on the ride > & not fighting the bike to stay straight. I found the steering to be really > easy on that ride too. > > To me it really is about having a bike that offers so much more from the > normal club racer. The geometry, sloping top tube, ability for wide tires, > quill stem to adjust handlebar height throughout the day without silly > steer tube extenders, braze ons for simple racks, ability to run multiple > gear configurations (sti or downtube shifters), larger tire ability > (Largest I've used is 38mm) and a bike that will last forever means I > probably won't get rid of this frame for a long time. However, I'm nt sure > I'd get the latest batch with the longer reach calipers. A few people I > know with those longer calipers say they lack the power needed & I think > there have been a few instances in BQ where Jan found them substandard. I > have no experience with them though so I cannot confirm. > > If I did want to expand on my Roadini though and get something lighter, I > would look at David Kirk. He built himself, what he calls, a Montana Road > Bike which is probably closer to a Roadeo in terms of geo and non threaded > steer but his craftsmanship is beautiful & I'm sure it weighs loads less > being made from stainless tubes fillet brazed. He has an instagram post > from Dec 3, 2021 about that bike which really sums up what I think a road > bike should be. > > And lastly, If you are looking for Roadini inspiration with alternate > bars, just google image search for "bluelug roadini". There will be a few > photos of them with albatross, mustache and even chocomoose bars. > > Jeff, Woodland > > On Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 6:04:31 AM UTC-8 nlerner wrote: > >> On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 9:19:13 PM UTC-5 jmlmu...@gmail.com >> wrote: >> >>> Neal, >>> >>> I’m the one you sold the Roadini to and I’m happy to report that I’m >>> loving it! I swapped the 80mm stem for a 60mm and it put me in a slightly >>> more upright position which causes no pain whatsoever. Every other drop bar >>> bike I’ve owned just didn’t feel right after a few hours of riding. Thank >>> you again! >>> >>> Joe >>> Los Angeles, CA >>> >> >> Joe, that's great to hear. And a great example of how >> individual/ideosyncratic the fit and ride qualities of any bike might be. >> Ride in good health! >> >> Neal Lerner >> Brookline MA USA >> >>> >>> >>> On Jan 29, 2022, at 3:43 PM, nlerner <lern...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> I owned a Roadini for a relatively short time before selling it to >>> someone on this list, I believe. I liked the aesthetics a lot, but did find >>> it on the sluggish side and have other bikes that fit the “country bike” >>> theme that I found myself riding instead. Previous to that, I owned a >>> Romulus, which saw many miles and lots of brevet riding, but also was >>> always a bit on the sluggish side, particularly when climbing. Still, it >>> was a really comfortable rig, and well suited to distance riding as long as >>> the hills weren’t too brutal. I sold that once I got a Black Mountain Road, >>> which checks all of the boxes for me: great fit, room for 35mm tires, great >>> climber, planes like the dickens, super comfortable and versatile. So no >>> I’m Riv-less (even sold my ‘94 RB-T!), but I enjoy reading this list. >>> >>> >>> Neal Lerner >>> Brookline MA USA >>> >>> On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 1:46:17 PM UTC-5 Jason Fuller wrote: >>> >>>> The tubing spec needs to be matched well with the geometry to provide >>>> what Jan calls planing - the flex in the frame needs to match your power >>>> output and rhythm to give you a small but important "springboard" effect >>>> with each pedal stroke, in order to feel fast. It really has little to >>>> nothing to do with the weight of the frame, but about how it is tuned to >>>> the rider. >>>> >>>> However, Jan tends to think that this basically requires superlight >>>> tubing, but I don't think that's quite true - I think the "rhythm" can be >>>> found in multiples, like harmonics, but if the stiffness of your bike lands >>>> between these harmonics, then it'll feel like you're trying to bounce on a >>>> trampoline where it's out of sync with your jumps. My wild theory is that >>>> the Rivendells that ride like magic despite being objectively quite >>>> overbuilt for a "fast" bike manage to land in the next stiffer "harmonic" >>>> for the average rider. I think my Sam does this for me and I think the >>>> Roadini could very well end up in this zone too. >>>> >>>> On Friday, 28 January 2022 at 13:21:45 UTC-8 kwi...@weimar.edu wrote: >>>> >>>>> The Roadini is a very nice looking bike, too. I hope this does not >>>>> sound superficial, but I enjoy the head badge, the decals, and the painted >>>>> cutouts on the seat lug more than if it were just 2 pounds lighter! Also, >>>>> I rode a 'Redwood' (tall Romulus) frame back in the 2000's and really >>>>> liked >>>>> it, but the Roadini is a more advance frame design in general (long head >>>>> tube, sloping top tube, wheel clearance, and more.). I have an old Calfee >>>>> carbon frame I got used. It is very light. But I hardly ride it. Why? >>>>> Hard to say, but I suspect that it has a lot to do with how the Roadini >>>>> feels 'planted' or secure (words fail me here), but on the human level, I >>>>> just prefer the look of the Roadini-- it has character and a timeless >>>>> beauty that makes the sum of all its parts more than just a 'fast bike', a >>>>> 'super light frame', or even a practical 'get the job done' machine. And, >>>>> of course, it is always comfortable! This is key: the Roadini does not >>>>> cause neck pain, back pain, hand tingling or stress from the worry of >>>>> going >>>>> down if I hit a pot hole. I won't be selling mine. >>>>> >>>>> On Friday, January 28, 2022 at 12:48:36 PM UTC-8 Patrick Moore wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Well said, Karl. Add to that the probably (I've not ridden one) >>>>>> signature Rivendell handling of the Roadini* and the pros may well >>>>>> outweigh >>>>>> the cons. And of course, weighing the balance between pros and cons is >>>>>> largely a matter of individual taste. >>>>>> >>>>>> Patrick Moore, ruthlessly botton-trimming his replies, in ABQ, NM. >>>>>> >>>>>> * I certainly loved this in the customs, and found it in the Ram and >>>>>> even in the Sam, tho' the same had too much wheel flop for my taste. >>>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, Jan 28, 2022 at 1:31 PM Karl Wilcox <kwi...@weimar.edu> >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> It might be helpful when considering a Roadini to observe that frame >>>>>>> stiffness or compliance are not the only things that matter. I find my >>>>>>> Roadini stiffer than I prefer, but the >>>>>>> Roadini offers other features that I just can't find in other >>>>>>> production frames. For instance, the roadini fits me perfectly and I >>>>>>> can >>>>>>> get my bars up higher without making the bicycle appear silly or handle >>>>>>> funny (my bars are exactly 1 inch below my saddle height). Also, I can >>>>>>> ride 33c tires (I have the 2018 roadini), and the long wheelbase is >>>>>>> wonderful. The Roadini is also versatile: I ride it on trails and on >>>>>>> pavement. I can ride with fast club rides and I can do light touring, >>>>>>> too. I have a 1977 custom Mercian that is wonderfully compliant, but on >>>>>>> fast descents it can be scary and it cannot carry any kind of load. My >>>>>>> point is that the Roadini has many virtues, but no individual frame can >>>>>>> be >>>>>>> any other frame. >>>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>> >>> 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-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/41fba8dc-754a-4b68-a8db-ed83ab3751b9n%40googlegroups.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/41fba8dc-754a-4b68-a8db-ed83ab3751b9n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >>> -- > 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 view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b370e149-c06e-49f4-8332-16e86a6f3b76n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b370e149-c06e-49f4-8332-16e86a6f3b76n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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