Leah, my son’s limeolive 55cm Platy is the same year as your mermaid, and I measured it from tire edge to tire edge front to back at 6ft 4 in without tilting the handlebars, with Soma Shikoro 48mm tires on Atlas rims. I doubt your mermaid one is any shorter than a 52cm Clem, especially if your sister has one from a while ago. I was measuring to give my sister an idea if the one she is hoping to buy this summer will fit in her bike shed.
On Friday, April 18, 2025 at 7:17:57 AM UTC-7 Paul S wrote: > I live in a 4th floor walkup in NYC and a Clem would just not be > workable. I actually own a 59 Clem L that lives with family out on the > west coast where it makes more sense, but getting those long chainstays > around the corners on the stairs each day would be a real pain. If I had a > bike room/basement/low floor apartment I think the Clem would work great in > the city and would love to ride it here. > > I currently ride a 58 Hunq for about half my commutes and a ~60 cm steel > 650b conversion for the rest. The extra length and weight of the Hunq is > noticeable going up my stairs, but is manageable. I think if I had to pick > a modern (upright) Riv for my specific commuting circumstances, it would be > a 60 Platy, which would hopefully be short enough to be manageable. > > Paul > BK, NYC > > On Friday, April 18, 2025 at 9:15:00 AM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> An Appaloosa is pretty stout…might be a lot to lug up those stairs… >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On Apr 18, 2025, at 9:10 AM, Maeve Gately <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I am in NYC and thinking about getting a Riv--probably a Homer, Apa or >> Roadini. Any other city owners have these and find them manageable? I have >> a four floor walkup with narrow stairs so that's my main concern >> >> >> >> On Friday, April 18, 2025 at 8:35:44 AM UTC-4 Coal Bee Rye Anne wrote: >> >>> Although I am not a big city dweller I am faced with similar size >>> constraints with my big 65cm Clem and a small 2bedroom condo with shared >>> basement storage. The Clem is great for the open road/trails and my local >>> riding but too big to bring anywhere by car and cumbersome to get in/out of >>> the apartment and/or basement storage. Fortunately, I get to just park it >>> via kickstand on the open basement floor alongside my other large bikes in >>> the locked basement with enough space to wheel it around but still need to >>> navigate the turn through the door and stairs, which is doable but >>> noticeably more challenging than my smaller frames. >>> >>> Any chance they could rotate the bars 180deg to turn the wheel/fork and >>> shorten the wheelbase for parking? Likely depends on >>> fender/rack/bar/cables whether this is possible but maybe just enough to >>> better fit the racks? >>> >>> I do recall the Clems being intended as less precious lock up Rivs but >>> still think the design was more reflective of their local trails and >>> somewhat of an interpretation on Grants solution or substitute to old MTB >>> conversions with Riv sourced parts rather than ‘city’ bikes. >>> >>> That was part of my initial interest in the Clem… a large and properly >>> fitting replacement to my old rigid mtb I kept trying to update and sinking >>> funds into parts. Rather than replacing it, it supplemented it and I still >>> keep the smaller 90’s mtb around and is my bring anywhere bike being easier >>> to transport. >>> >>> Hope it all works out! >>> >>> Brian >>> Lawrence NJ >>> >>> >>> On Thursday, April 17, 2025, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> My sister lives in NYC. She has a 52 cm Clem L and her husband has a 59 >>>> cm Clem L. They just bought a lovely apartment and it has a luxurious bike >>>> room, complete with Saris racks to hold everyone’s bikes. This is the >>>> model >>>> of rack in the bike room, seen here on Saris’ website: >>>> https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/8-bike-rack-double-decker-72-w-x-63-d >>>> >>>> She just moved the bikes in today, and when she went to park them, they >>>> are, you guessed it, way too long. They do not fit in the beautiful, >>>> provided Saris rack; the rear wheels stick out into the aisle. >>>> >>>> The only thing we can think to do is get some Voile straps (she ordered >>>> some today) and try to rig them up so they don’t tip over. They owned >>>> these >>>> Clems while living in a different city, and space was not at a premium >>>> there. She said had she known they would live in NYC she would have given >>>> her Clems to our brother and his wife and started over with a shorter >>>> Rivendell model for NYC. >>>> >>>> I hate to see her have to do that, though I agree it is maybe the best >>>> option. But I was thinking, I KNOW there are a lot of Riv owners in NYC >>>> and >>>> other populous cities in the US. Who owns Clems and how are you managing >>>> them in the city? They don’t fit on buses or Amtrak. They probably don’t >>>> play well in your building’s bike racks. How do you live with your big >>>> long >>>> Clems? What are your secrets? >>>> >>>> I have thought of offering her my mermaid Platypus. The wheelbase of a >>>> 52 Clem is, I think, 52 inches. And the 55 Platy is, I think, 47.5 inches. >>>> That is just so much more manageable. If her husband got a Platy (he loves >>>> a mixte so he doesn’t rip his suit pants swinging a leg over), it’d have >>>> to >>>> be the 60, and I don’t know how long that one is. We might run into the >>>> same issue if the 60 Platy is much longer than the 55… >>>> >>>> Thanks in advance, >>>> 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/cabf859d-3954-4f1d-8e23-362142bbe844n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/cabf859d-3954-4f1d-8e23-362142bbe844n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/ZEJIPqBgGK8/unsubscribe >> . >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >> [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f36fbc59-62d0-4d9c-8546-6ebb47bf209an%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f36fbc59-62d0-4d9c-8546-6ebb47bf209an%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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