On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Murray Love <murray.l...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 12:29 PM, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: >> <stuff snipped >>
>> Here's why I tell about the tragedy. I replaced the bike with a Heron >> Road with full Superbe, building it up over months at a friend's shop and >> sneaking it into the house while we were out on Christmas Eve with the help >> of neighbors. She was shocked and delighted and, more than 10 years later, >> rides the Heron lots. But when I received the Heron frame from Rivendell >> and examined it closely and compared the two frames, I realized something >> about the XO-1. >> >> It was crude. The lugs were not attractive. They were not filed or >> thinned. Tube mitering was not good. The brazing was sloppy and incomplete >> around the BB shell. The paint was not well done. The Heron was a *vastly* >> better made frame. My nostalgia for the XO-1 as a bike vanished (although >> my nostalgia for what it meant- it was basically our engagement ring- >> remains). >> <more snipped> > Agreed 100%. I had a 1993 XO-3 (lugged, Japan-made, same geometry as the > XO-1 with slightly heavier triple-butted tubing). Actually, I had two, and > broke both in exactly the same way: BB shell broke at the base of the > seat-tube lug. > I've had many bridgestones (93 X0-1, 92 RBT, 91 RBT, 90 MB2, 91 CB-0, 93 RB1, 94 RB1, and a few other CB-x's passed through too) -- I agree with the assesment that these were pretty poorly constructed bikes, especially at the bottom bracket. I'm pretty sure they were machine brazed at the bottom bracket, and I'd love to hear Grant throw in on that, though I can understand why he wouldn't. That said, to this day, the RBT is still my all time favorite production bike -- a sensible, fast, light, tough bike that takes fat enough tires and has good-enough tubing. I race my 91 RBT at the local CX races and I take it trail riding multiple times a week. I love it. I have two RBTs and I abuse them, hack them, and repair them to no end. They're great bikes. I understand why people seek out XO1s too, for the same reasons: a great bike with a set of features that you simply cannot buy off the floor of any LBS today. I personally love the concept of road bike with 26 wheels and standard tubing. I wish the XO1 I had was a 55; I wouldn't have sold it. I secretly keep my eye out for the 1st Gen Riv all-rounders in my size. That said, for $1000-- you can easily find a good-enough builder to TIG you up a copy of the XO1 and paint it orange. If I were king of the world, I'd find the most pristine example of a 93 xo-1, put it in a bike museum, and then tax all other xo1 owners that didn't ride them regularly. I think these bikes should be ridden hard to be fully appreciated. -- John Speare Spokane, WA USA http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
