Hello, I didn't get any takers on sharing their 59+/-1 Riv for a test ride the last weekend. However, I was able to borrow my friend's 60cm Surly LHT. He's about 6'3" and rides with his handlebars even with the saddle. When I lowered the saddle to fit myself, the handlebars were way too high. As luck would have it though, the bottom of the drops were about level with the seat which is where I've wanted to put the hoods on my own handlebars. So I road around on the bottom of the drops and all things considered feel I got a pretty good taste of what a 60 would feel like. Consider this an imperfect review of someone riding Grant-fit for the first time.
The long and short of it is I could see myself able to get used to a taller frame, but it's not something that felt like the solution to any of my problems. If I rode mostly longer, rural weekend rides I could probably get on with it just fine. As one that mostly urban commutes, the larger frame made me feel less able to finely control the bike over and around obstacles. Of course separating how much was from the differing geometry of the LHT and how much was from the longer top tube and wheel base is unclear to me. The biggest and most immediate difference I felt was a lack of ownership over the front wheel. I suppose this is going to be especially the case on the LHT with it's notoriously long wheel base, but while the "contact points" were roughly the same the front wheel felt quite a bit further forward. It wasn't just that the steering was slower (though it was), it was that I didn't feel like I could hop the front tire around any way I chose. Having it at the end of a longer lever reduced my ability to feel like I could arbitrarily lift and place it. Being able to lift the wheel over bumps, curbs, potholes, and cut sharp lines around traffic is pretty important. Next was the stand-over. Strictly speaking I had an inch or two to spare. On the other hand, it was a little disconcerting. If I had to step the bike up curbs or whatever it would have been difficult. This is probably more what I've become accustomed to than anything else. Having a few inches of stand-over is probably more psychologically important than physically important. In the end, what struck me was the irony that if I rode the industry- typical-for-my-size, 57, I'd need an "uncool" high stem to get the handlebars where they would be comfortable. If I rode a Grant- suggested, 60, I'd be on a "cool" down-sloped stem to place the handlebars at a comfortable height. YMMV, -Allan -- 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.
