Leo Roadini may be "the most versatile bike in the Riv lineup if your weight and setup allow for it to be (hot take?)."
It's a pretty hot take, but I also think the versatility resides mostly in the rider. It's a common exchange at the bike shop, when the customer says "I just want a bike, how do I choose?" The first question from the salesperson asks is "what kind of riding do you do?" Some people are super narrow in what they do and how far they want to expand their envelope. Other cyclists want to do and actively pursue doing everything or a huge swath of things. The Leo Roadini in the hands of an intrepid rider can do most things a bicycle can do. The rider makes the versatility, and the bike just doesn't get in the way of it. Now some riders need encouragement of some kind to expand their envelope. Like if there was a strictly pavement rider, who was scared of trails, I doubt the Roadini would significantly force them out of their comfort zone. Give the Roadini to a fearless off-road rider, and they'll do great on the trails. I think what it comes down to is the human looking for a reason for the bike to limit them. For example, you NEVER hear of people doing Randonnees on a Clem. Why? Because it's really easy to look at a Clem and decide it's not suited for a 200k brevet, so nobody tries. I'd bet the price of a Clem that any experienced randonneur could do it and it would be fine. They may not hang with their normal group, but it would be a lovely ride. They may not choose a Clem as their primary rando-bike, but the versatility is in there. It's mostly determined by the human. I like Mark's analogy. Bike is hardware, person is software. Bill Lindsay El Cerrito, CA On Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 10:31:34 PM UTC-8 nics...@gmail.com wrote: > I had a similar question a few weeks back (new Roadini owner) and from > what other folks said there are Roadini owners who happily treat the frame > like a hard tail MTB and have no problems. Some claim it's the most > versatile bike in the Riv lineup if your weight and setup allow for it to > be (hot take?). > On Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 5:15:54 PM UTC-8 Jay wrote: > >> If I add a third wheelset the focus would be comfort and handling. I >> don't like feeling tossed around on a gravel ride. On my local >> mixed-surface / mixed-use trails, I've had 32mm tires all the way up to >> 2.2". They've all worked, but I've felt the best with the wider tires. >> It's just the bike that fits them is only half as comfortable as the >> Roadini. >> >> On Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 4:48:20 PM UTC-5 Brady Smith wrote: >> >>> I've used my Roadini on a fair amount of gravel. With 35mm tires it's >>> pretty comfortable on forest roads. The limiting factor is probably hand >>> fatigue on long dirt descents. I'm rim brake for most things, but gravel in >>> the mountains is where hydro discs really make a difference. >>> On Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 9:39:25 AM UTC-7 brenton...@gmail.com >>> wrote: >>> >>>> I ride my Roadini all over. I'm on a 57 as well. 6'1" and 185lbs. I >>>> have 32H dyad hoops. Only used Ultradynamico Cava 42s on it so far. >>>> >>>> I have thrown the rear wheel out of true after getting "air" off some >>>> roots on familiar trails. That's about as crazy as I get, and I've learned >>>> not to beat on it the way I can do with my Sam. Sam has 36 hole Atlas >>>> wheels. >>>> >>>> On Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 6:10:35 AM UTC-8 rmulc...@gmail.com >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> Looking forward to answers to this. I have a Hilsen set up for road >>>>> riding, with slicks and a dark-boston-winter-inspired dynamo, and I love >>>>> it >>>>> -- it's fast and so comfortable -- and have no plans to make any big >>>>> changes. >>>>> (Except maybe to Paul brakes -- big for the wallet.) >>>>> Thinking of getting a Roadini or an Atlantis next, for trail riding >>>>> but also, sometimes, commuting. On first glance, it seems like the >>>>> Atlantis >>>>> would be the smart choice, but I like the geo of the roadini better, like >>>>> that it's a little lighter, like that the lugged version seems more rack >>>>> friendly, and I'm just not convinced that a somewhat experienced (def not >>>>> expert) rider needs anything bigger than a 43/45 tired unless he/she is >>>>> hitting mountain trails. (For which a mountain bike will always be >>>>> better.) >>>>> I have a crust bombora, which I would gift to my son, and on all kinds of >>>>> trails I've never felt any ride-feel difference between a 42 tire and a >>>>> 50. >>>>> So curious about others' experiences. >>>>> Jay, thanks for asking this questions, and as far as tire advice, I >>>>> really love the soma cazaderos for what you're describing. >>>>> Cheers! >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 7:50:23 AM UTC-5 Jay wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> I have the 2023 Roadini, size 57. I LOVE the bike and how it feels, >>>>>> every time I get on it after a long break (riding another bike on >>>>>> snowy/salty roads) I'm reminded of just how good it fits, handles, and >>>>>> feels. >>>>>> >>>>>> I'm thinking of adding a third wheel set, for mainly unpaved riding >>>>>> (more below). *I'm curious as to your experience with this bike on >>>>>> gravel roads, trails, etc.* I realize bike configs will differ, as >>>>>> to the specific riding conditions, but to me this is not a road bike >>>>>> like >>>>>> the ones I've had previously, so I want to push the envelope and see >>>>>> what >>>>>> terrain I can ride, somewhat comfortably. >>>>>> >>>>>> *Recap*: Bought it a year ago and had two wheel sets from the start, >>>>>> one with Dura-Ace wheels I already had, and 30mm tires for road rides >>>>>> with >>>>>> a friend, who is faster than me (me and the bike can keep up! so it has >>>>>> replaced my road bike); the other with new 105 hubs and H plus son >>>>>> archetype rims with 43mm GKSS tires for every other ride, which includes >>>>>> rail trails, short sections of gravel paths connecting roads, and 100% >>>>>> paved rides when on my own (I like the added comfort and versatility >>>>>> over >>>>>> the 30mm tires). Swapping wheels is so easy, pop the quick release on >>>>>> the >>>>>> TRP levers and on the other one on the brake callipers, swap wheels, >>>>>> barrel >>>>>> adjuster on the calliper to adjust pads to rim, done. I'm always >>>>>> playing >>>>>> records when messing around with the bike, and this is a "one song" >>>>>> adjustment lol >>>>>> >>>>>> If I was to add a third wheel set, I think I would want go tubeless, >>>>>> with supple 43-45mm tires with an aggressive tread. I want to maximize >>>>>> comfort and also have a tire that can corner on loose gravel, and ride >>>>>> comfortably over choppy gravel roads (on longer mixed surface rides). >>>>>> The >>>>>> 43mm GKSS tires are great, and I run that at 30psi if mixed surface, but >>>>>> they lack comfort on chunky terrain and don't handle my twisty gravel >>>>>> trails very well (where as my Salsa Fargo with 2.2" tubeless tires, >>>>>> smooth >>>>>> centre / knobby corners, is great). >>>>>> >>>>>> Looking for your input about this bike's capability unpaved/off-road, >>>>>> our experience, and recommendations for TLR rims, and tires as described >>>>>> above. Thanks! >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- 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. 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