Fun thread. Reminds me of "It's All About The Bike" by Robert Penn.
I'm also a spreadsheet jockey (I recently said to a retired-actuary-biking friend, "If it can't be done in a spreadsheet, it's not worth doing."), and I have a column for component weights, but I haven't used that column in a long time. My process these days starts with the question, "What does this bike want to be?" From there it's a process of refining form, function, and parts availability, either from my inventory, new, or sourcing used stuff. A few of my spreadsheet columns are dedicated to identifying where the part will come from and how much it will cost. Almost all of my thinking begins with tire size. I'm surprised, Bill, that hasn't shown up in your chapters so far, other than a mention of RH Barlow Pass (622-38) , which appears to be what you've chosen for the build. I think 38 is an excellent choice for this sort of bike, a great balance of weight/comfort/speed. It happens to be the root of my next bike, though it will be 584-38. It's fun to pursue lightness, and I'll be doing that on my next bike. However, I went with higher-zoot-lower-weight on West Coast Sam, and lower-zoot-less-money-higher-weight on East Coast Sam, and I'm certain that if I put the same tires on each bike I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them. If you want light pedals, RBW Clem Smith / VP 538 pedals are 272g a pair, and the Lems sneakers I wear are around 500g for the pair. It's tough to beat that with any SPD system. Ted Durant Milwaukee WI USA -- 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 visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/9d834b0b-3a9d-41c2-9e1c-b9da4a2d55bcn%40googlegroups.com.
