> I guess that comes down to how you define "comfortable." For many, > like my friends and I, a "racing-style" bike is all we need. Since we > only do rides under 100 miles, actually closer to 40-60 miles, racing- > style bikes with 700x23/25 sized tires is all we need. I ride 700x25 > pumped up to about 80-90psi and find them really comfortable. I do > ride a carbon bike, but we all know frameset material is never a > factor in making a bike comfortable..... ;)
Unless you and your friends actually race, why do you need a race style bike at all? If your primary reason to have a bike is to get around with the occasional short fun ride, general use wide tire comfort bike seems a whole lot more appropriate than a bike designed for the sole purpose of getting from point a to point b as fast as possible. Although I do acknowledge that many in your state appear to view BMW 3-series as shopping carts, On Aug 18, 12:55 pm, bfd <bfd...@yahoo.com> wrote: > On Aug 16, 1:46 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > > > > > > > On Mon, 2010-08-16 at 13:04 -0700, bfd wrote: > > > I don't get it what's with all the randonneur worshipping? I know > > > people here consider "racing" to be a bad word as it represents all > > > that is supposedly wrong with bicycling. Yet, randonneur is consider > > > good?! > > > Yes. There's very little resemblance between racing and the riding most > > of us do, and almost no correspondence between the values of racing and > > ours. > > > Racing, remember, is a sport where there is one winner and everyone else > > is a loser, and a sport where it seems to be well known that the top > > performers -- elite athletes who have no resemblance to us at all -- all > > cheat. Randonneuring is done by people just like us, sometimes in fact > > us. It's riding like we do, taken out to the limits. It rewards self > > reliance, and everybody's a winner. > > > So, which of those two extremes is more worthy of respect? > > > > What I don't understand is both racing and randonneuring require > > > massive amount of time, commitment and training. You can't do either > > > well without putting in the time. > > > Yes, but if you put in the time, it's possible for an ordinary rider > > like me (as opposed to naturally gifted athletes) to do it. In fact, > > I've done it. I'll do it again. But on club rides, I ride with the > > CCs. Faster than the CCs are the Bs, the BBs, and the As. And this > > isn't a racing club; most of the A riders aren't fast enough or trained > > enough to race, even at the lowest levels. > > > Put it another way: anybody here who can do a 100 mile ride could do a > > 200K brevet, if they were interested. > > Thanks Steve. I think the issue is more of what use and what people > consider "comfortable." Unlike you or many others here, my friends > and I don't do long distance riding. Due to various time constraints, > i.e., family, work, other obligations, we only do "short" rides of > 40-70 miles, and then only on weekends or holidays (if we can get > out. So, doing a 200K "brevet" or longer is out. > > > But in the context of this discussion, you're confusing the sport with > > the equipment. When we're discussing bikes, we're discussing the > > equipment. > > > Why the interest in this type of bicycle? For one thing, bikes of this > > type make it much more comfortable and much easier to do the sort of > > rides we do. > > > A bike that's designed to be comfortable and easily controllable when > > you're very tired is a very pleasant bike to ride on a century. > > I guess that comes down to how you define "comfortable." For many, > like my friends and I, a "racing-style" bike is all we need. Since we > only do rides under 100 miles, actually closer to 40-60 miles, racing- > style bikes with 700x23/25 sized tires is all we need. I ride 700x25 > pumped up to about 80-90psi and find them really comfortable. I do > ride a carbon bike, but we all know frameset material is never a > factor in making a bike comfortable..... ;) > > > A bike that's designed to be ridden in severe weather is a pleasure to > > ride in the rain. > > We live in the SF Bay Area, so rain is not a big deal. Of course, > people like me who commute, have fenders, but for most rides it is not > needed. We don't need racks and bags as our rides are short enough > that we either carry a few powerbars (yuch!) or can stop somewhere to > get food and drinks. > > > A bike that's designed to be able to carry enough to sustain a rider on > > a brevet is equally capable of carrying everything I need to carry on a > > winter's day, when it might be 28 degrees at ride start time but it > > might get up to 45-50 before we're done. > > Again, we don't do "brevets" or the distance you do, so carrying > enough to sustain a rider is not an issue. > > > What is there to not like about all that? > > Agree. Nothing. I like all kind of bikes, so rando style works as well > as commuters, racers, cross, touring or any other bike. (OK, I don't > really care for those flying pigeon chinese bikes... > > > And for another, these bikes actually look like a bicycle. Unlike just > > about everything you find in a LBS today. > > You haven't been to my LBS where there are all kind of bikes and > styles - from the latest Euro carbon to classic steel framesets from > builders like Ron Cooper: > > http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Bike_Shops/A-Bicycle-Odyssey.htm > > In fact, Tony's shop iwas the US importer of Ron Cooper framesets, at > least until Ron retires! > > > > Further, it also appears to require bikes that can be costly. > > > There are quite a few Kogswell P/Rs - configured with drop bars, the "R" > > in the name means "Randonneur" - that have been ridden on brevets. Even > > fully tricked out with a top of the line lighting system and the best > > handmade wheels money can buy, a P/R cost less to outfit than the > > cheapest Madone. So too will a hand-made custom from most of the > > builders you see over at the VSalon. > > Agree, Kogwell was a nice frameset. Are they still in business? I > haven't heard too much about them recently. > > > > > > > > *True* > > > racing bikes can cost in excess of $5K to 10K or more, i.e., think top > > > of the line Trek Madone, Specialized S-Work Tarmac or even something > > > like a Pegoretti Love #3...OK, the last is suppose to be a joke as I > > > know there's a bunch of controversy about it :_P. Similarly, a *true* > > > rando bike can be just as costly, especially if you ache for something > > > French like a Herse or Singer. > > > You can spend as much as you like on a bike, that's certainly true. It > > doesn't mean you have to. These days, a crankset on a high-end racing > > bike is a thousand bucks, and I'm not sure that includes the bottom > > bracket bearings. I've seen ultra-lightweight racing brakes that cost > > more than five hundred bucks a pair. Wheels go for upwards of a couple > > of thousand dollars. So by your standards, shouldn't you be griping > > about club riding bikes, the sort of thing you see posted on the Serotta > > forum every day? > > > By contrast, randonneuring equipment is dirt cheap, even top of the line > > equipment. A top of the line randonneur wheel set will be more than a > > thousand dollars less expensive than a racing wheel set -- and it will > > be far more durable. You probably won't find carbon bars and carbon > > stems and carbon seatposts on a randonneur. Spending big bucks to shave > > grams doesn't make much sense when you're planning to carry a 10 lb load > > of clothes and tools and supplies. > > > > Is the attraction that you can ride a bike that is custom fitted for > > > things like racks, lights, fat tires and fenders? Couldn't a cross > > > style bike with fenders, lights and racks work just as well? After > > > all, you can race/train/rando on just about anything, right? Thanks! > > Agree, racing parts are outrageous and I bet those fancy builders like > Lightweight and Reynolds, to name a few, that sell wheelsets in the > 2-5K range, sell out! > > > Why would I want a bike intended for cyclocross racing when I don't do > > that type of riding, and nothing that makes a bike especially suited for > > cyclocross makes it specially suited for anything I do? And what's > > wrong with a custom frame? > > Sorry, should have specify "touring" bike, not cross. > > > I ride centuries, sometimes even 200K brevets. And on those long rides, > > I get plenty tired. I'm sure there have been centuries where I've been > > as tired at the end of the ride as some randonneurs are finishing a 600K > > brevet. I see a lot of benefit in a bike that's comfortable and that is > > easy to control when I'm that exhausted. > > Again, what's comfortable for you may not work for others. My friends > and I don't ride 600K brevets, so our "racing-style" bikes work for > us. We're comfortable, or at least I am, and can do our 40-100 miles > rides. > > > I sometimes ride at night. > > OK, you got me there, I rarely ride at nights, if ever, and don't need > things like lights. I do have a rear reflector on my commuter (cross > bike) and can add a light if I really need it. > > >I ride when the weather is dodgy, and am > > willing to risk getting caught in the rain. I like to be comfortable, > > and I like to be self sufficient. That takes a certain amount of stuff. > > Agree. on my commuter I have fenders. It helps alot on days where the > streets are wet from rain or heavy fog. But if it is raining hard, > you're still going to get wet and comfort is questionable, at least > for me. > > > I don't have a team car following me with supplies, and if I called my > > wife to come get me because I had a mechanical I wouldn't ever hear the > > end of it. > > Agree. A mechanically sound bike - no matter what type is important! > That's one of the reasons why I ride durable 32h spoke wheels with > regular spokes and rims that can be repaired at "anybikeshopusa" if > needed. I stay far away from wheels with proprietary rims and spokes. > That's also a reason I also use Campy ergos shifters as they are > easily rebuildable, small parts are readily available and reasonably > priced. Good Luck!- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- 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.
