Hi Shannon! The ano was a collective effort. I had to have parts disassembled to make them safe for ano, and then Ashley of Ashley Anodized It fame (find her on Instagram) did my bars, cranks, Silver shifters, Paul levers, chain rings, chain guard and handlebars. Velocity did my rims. The theme was Northern Lights, because I had been chasing them this summer and wanted to see if I could have those colors in a bike. It was a challenge to have two anodizers, each with their own interpretation, and with a difficult assignment. Their work came out beautifully complementary and all of us are in love with the end result. The colors are lively and shimmery and when those wheels whir it is a happy, colorful blur.
I think you’re right about speed and feel of these bikes. Even if it’s just that I FEEL faster, I’ll take it! On Friday, April 4, 2025 at 10:31:46 PM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > That ano is the business! Where'd you get it done? > > As to the Charlie as a bike, I didn't get it when I first saw it. It's > kind of a weird bike at first glance: semi-step-through frame, swept > bars... caliper brakes? It didn't make sense. Then I visited Riv WHQ, and > actually rode the thing. And now I grok. I rode all three step-throughs, > Clem, Platypus, and Charlie H. Gallop. On the springy and sprightly and > steel-y axis, it went Clem --> Platy --> Charlie, which is pretty much what > you'd expect. The Platypus was closer to the Gallop than the Clem in terms > of good-steel-bike "twang." (The Clem isn't a twangy bike, and isn't meant > to be.) On the Charlie, I was jamming harder than I'd thought I would... I > even tried a sprint or two. It is as described: a dropped top tube road > bike. > > None of which you needed me to tell you, since you actually own the > velocipedes in question, and I rode them in a parking lot. > > Back to rank speculation, I suspect that your Gallop will at least *feel* > faster than your Platy, although your watch might not show much difference. > > --Shannon > On Friday, April 4, 2025 at 6:18:56 PM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> Who has this bike and why aren’t we talking about it? >> >> I did start a thread about my specific Charlie, but that was all about >> looks and not about Charlies in general. It’s time for a communal Charlie >> thread. >> >> I have the gold 53 cm and am finally, FINALLY starting to get a read on >> this bike. We have had a horrid cold and windy spring, so I have maybe 100 >> miles on Charlie, which is not a lot. But early impressions are proving >> favorable, and I am happy to have him. Charlie is unmistakably male; I >> cannot help but talk about him as such, so play along. There are a lot of >> jokes between my husband and me, “I’ve run off with Charlie again, but >> don’t worry it didn’t MEAN anything” and so on. He says of Charlie, “Who, >> Chuck?” And then calls him a crass name that he derived from Charlie’s >> unfortunate-looking Bananasax. >> >> Charlie is a scoundrel. >> >> Charlie is my first try with Choco bars, and I’m committed, regardless of >> whether I like them, because they are ANODIZED and an essential part of his >> outfit. I saw a pair in real life one a RoadUno and thought they looked >> sporty. Luckily, I think I *do* like them. At first I thought they came >> back too far, but now I think they’re just right. I am also trying >> RapidRise and I like that, too. I do make shifting mistakes now and again, >> especially if I’ve recently been on a Platypus, which has the other kind of >> friction shifting. Charlie also has 38s for tires, which it nearly killed >> me to slim down to, but I knew I did not need another pair of 42s. The 38s >> are fun! They make me feel fast and they can handle a pothole well enough. >> >> We have had such wind! But even so, I’m feeling quick on this bike. I’ve >> been on 4 group rides so far and we did struggle in the headwind, but >> that’s to be expected early in the season. I’ve never been dropped or >> anything, but I worked hard to keep my pace. Like, 178-beats-a-minute hard. >> I’ve since decided to ride in windy conditions; it’s the only way I’ll ever >> get good at wind. >> >> People ask me if Charlie is faster than a Platypus. I don’t know. It >> feels easier on Charlie, but a Platypus is not hard. Does that make sense? >> I do notice how light he is because I lift him overhead to hang on a rack >> and I can do it no sweat. He feels quick and agile, but that could be >> because he is running around naked, rack-less and mostly bag-less. True >> knowing will be had when group rides get back up and running. Maybe I’ll >> bring a Platypus after awhile and see how hard I have to work. >> >> Who else has gotten a Charlie and is having wild times out there? Is your >> Charlie as scandalous as mine? I seldom hear from other people about this >> bike. It’s a new model, only one run so far, and I’m interested to know >> what experiences others are having. >> >> Also, we have another few days of crap weather coming up, I’ll be looking >> forward to reading about bikes if I can’t be out riding one. >> Leah >> > -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/09b13d91-fdd1-4391-b414-2034911d23f0n%40googlegroups.com.
