Didn't want to hijack Dave's post about his new Rodeo - congratulations Dave; I hope it brings you a gazillion miles of joy, even more in the riding than admiring it's beauty. BTW, I think you'll like the fazik tape; I've been using it on my Ram for the past 6 years and have found it quite comfortable, without the spongy feel of some cork tapes, and extremely durable. White does get dirty though, so just relax about that.
I have ridden a triple on at least one of my bikes for more than thirty years and for the past ten years pretty much exclusively. But this summer I refitted my Ram with a 44/30 CD: http://web.me.com/mhechmer/Mikes_Bikes/Ram_Redux.html here's why. A CD certainly isn't for everybody, and I wouldn't want to pull a loaded tourer around Ft. Collins with one, but for an unloaded bike in the Green Mountains where I live it makes a lot of sense. I fitted my Ram with 44/30 rings and an HG 9 speed cassette in an 11/28 configuration. This gives me the high gear I want, a good low gear, a really nice shifting pattern, easy shifting and much easier cleaning. The high end gear is 108 GI, the same as a 48/12 and the low gear. 30/28 (29 GI) is the same as a 28/27. What motivated me was the shifting pattern, which gives me a range of 108 all the way down to 48 GI without a front end shift; and the small ring extends from 29 to 62. The probability of over shifting is greatly reduced so I can throw the left hand lever around much more briskly. I also find a double much, much easier to keep clean. In reality, it has worked out even better than I had hoped. My new Campy FD is so smooth that I actually prefer shifting it when I want to jump 2-3 cogs at a time. (Vt has lots of rolling terrain which calls for this) The only downside I have discovered, because I have a preference for close gear ratios, is that one of the shifts is just a bit wider than I am use to with a 12/27. What's done is done, but if others are thinking about a Rodeo, or retrofitting a nice Rondonee style bike, I strongly recommend a CD. Michael, moving into great Autumn riding in VT -- 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.
