Such an interesting topic. I think about switching out the wheel set on my 52 Clem L quite often. It is not a light or zippy bike by any stretch of the imagination. I, too, have the stock Riv wheels with the rainbow nipples. I find it absolutely necessary to have a 5-rail Pass & Stow rack with a Wald 139 basket to hold my Sackville SaddleSack, which adds quite a bit more weight. The GravelKing Slick 650/48 tires aren't meant for racing, but are pretty flat-proof in the city, and definitely faster than the stock Kendas that the bike came with. I consider myself lucky to have such an aesthetically pleasing, extremely comfortable, superbly handling, heavy-load bearing 2-wheeled Cadillac as my get to work bike and grocery-getter. I absolutely love this bike, and the overall ride quality. But there are days when I wonder if there is anything I could do to add a little zip. Thing is, I also have a 52 Clem H with no rack, a 1X11 setup, White Industries rear hub and Shimano front Dyno hub (both on Atlas rims and built by Mr. Lesnik). My Clem H, on which I'm running Ultradynamico JFF tires, Rosé up front, Cava rear, absolutely FLIES. One of the zippiest bikes I have ever ridden. Sometimes I feel like I'm floating up the hills in the Marin Headlands. The difference between the two bikes is extreme. I'd love to try a new wheel set on the L, but I am pretty sure I would be disappointed. Perhaps step-through bikes aren't as zippy because of the geometry? I'd also love to see what it would be like to ride my L with the exact setup that I have on my H, and I'd love to ride my H with a rack and basket, and a stock wheel set, but I doubt I will go to the trouble just to satisfy my curiosity. I've definitely seen L's out there that have been loaded up with camping gear, and it might be a wonderful bike packing rig, or maybe the perfect S24O bike. For me it's the perfect city bike. I'm okay with chipped paint and I don't worry about my stock wheels getting pinched. It may not be super fast, but it's comfy and reliable and I'm good with that. This probably wasn't very helpful, but that's my experience.
On Monday, March 21, 2022 at 7:01:52 PM UTC-7 Patrick Moore wrote: > And speaking of better tires: I don't know if Schwalbe ever made their Big > One (pre-G One) in 27.5 X 60 in the lightest weight model, but if they did > and you find some, buy them. I can tell you that the 700C X 60 Big One in > the lightest model weighs quite a bit less even than Rene Herse extra > lights: mine are 61 mm on 27 mm ID rims and just shy of 30" tall, but > weigh only* 450 grams repeated on digital scale for several tires -- *and > they wear very, very well. In fact, they roll as fast (judging by ease of > turning the crank in given gears in given conditions) as the ultra extra > light 175 gram 26" X 28 mm RH Elk Passes, otherwise the fastest "feeling" > tires I've ever ridden. > > On Mon, Mar 21, 2022 at 7:54 PM Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I expect that Rene Herse 42 or 48 or 52 mm tires will give you low >> rolling resistance, lighter weight, and plenty of cushioning -- even my 28 >> mm extra light Rene Herse Elk Passes at 55/60 f/r are surprisingly smooth >> over small bumps, and the 42 mm Naches Passes ELs ditto at 40/45 psi, >> >> Back to multiple wheels: IME, a pound or 2 or 3 really makes little >> difference to the feeling of speed, even uphill. Some of my fastest >> "feeling" bikes were rather heavy, and with rather heavy wheels. Tire >> quality makes more difference than wheel weight, IME. >> >> Also, bike setup and position makes a bigger difference in ease of >> pedaling than a few lbs of weight, particularly saddle position with >> respect to crank, IOW, torso angle at hips, which depends on proper saddle >> setback. A saddle too far forward, or a hip angle too small, can make your >> pedaling "weak" and awkward -- ie, you can't produce torque and it feels >> unnatural; I learned this 27 years ago from Grant -- long story often >> repeated. Moreover, a too-far-forward saddle will put *more* of your >> torso's weight on your shoulders, arms, and hands, and make your neck >> uncomfortable too, >> >> As for multiple wheels: the idea is not at all strange. I use to have >> bikes with 2 and even 3 wheelsets. For a while I would have one "main" bike >> with 3 wheelsets (plus a beater or two): offroad knobbies with wide >> range gearing, 38 mm road tires for commuting with close ratio road >> gearing, and "gofast" with 200 gram skinnies and very close ratio gearing. >> More recently my Fargo had a 700C X 60 mm wheelset and a 700C X 35 mm >> wheelset, with disc rotors adjusted so that I could just slide each wheel >> into place without fiddling with caliper adjustment, And my 1999 Riv Road >> custom gofast will, God willing (hubs and rims with builder), shortly have >> 3 *rear *wheels, the "main" one with a flip/flop 15/17 t fixed hub, one >> for longer rides in rolling or windy conditions with a medium ratio 2-speed >> internal gear Sturmey Archer fixed hub, and one for steeper hills with a >> wide ratio 2-speed internal gear Sturmey Archer fixed hub. >> >> On Mon, Mar 21, 2022 at 5:03 PM Sofie C <sof...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> ... Patrick: I've considered trying some new tires, and have been eyeing >>> some from RH. I currently have Schwalbe G-One Evolution tires, and they're >>> 57mm, so perhaps I should try some lighter tires. I love the cush of the >>> G-Ones, but they are probably more robust than I need. >>> >> ..... >>> >> Does anyone keep more than one set of wheels for one bike or is that >>> utterly ridiculous? >>> >> > > -- > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > -- 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/ce0f8f67-d8ba-4649-9e7f-266bfa24e5f2n%40googlegroups.com.
