It's funny, the same thing happened to me when I first changed my carbon paradigm for the Rivendell steel/fit paradigm, and now see myself increasingly attracted to the Traveling Bike concept that is friendlier and more versatile than the S&S system which I've had in the past.
I had an S&S coupled Gunnar CrossHairs and only traveled with it 3-4 times in the span of 2 years as I found the whole assembly/disassembly to be quite a hassle, although byt hte last time I was getting it done in about 30 minutes. That meant that I hardly took it on trips with me, and as expected, couldn't bring the rear rack I used (no front rack capability). The reason I sold it, however, was its fit and that happened after I got my AHH. Current decisions to be made regarding the BF are: - Pocket Llama (2.0 Big Apples and BB 1" higher) vs. New World Tourist (1.75" tires and lower BB). Getting either of them with the heavy rider upgrade, which offers the choice of the standard looking frame or a diamond frame. - Drivetrain: Using Sheldon's gear calculator, I've established that the widest gear spread with the highest high and lowest low gears can be achieved with a triple MTB crankset (22/32/44) and a Capreo 9 speed cassette. This gives me a higher gear than I have on the AHH and almost as low as I have on the Atlantis, that sports a 24/34/46 Sugino crankset and a 12/26 9 speed cassette. With the MTB/Capreo setup, my lowest gear is equivalent to the granny/3rd cogset on the Atlantis which is plenty low. I was considering the Sram dual drive combo, but not only is the gearing ratio not as wide, I'm reluctant to have any potential mechanical problems while on a trip plus the added weight is also a consideration as I've been told by others that packing the heavy upgraded BF on the suitcase gets close to the 50 lb limit for overweight luggage. - Handlebar/shifter choice: Debating between a flat handlebar with bar-ends, a BF H-bar vs. a drop bar. The flat bars are easier to pack (and split in the middle) where the drop bar would be a bit more cumbersome. I've seen several pictures of H-bars with bar end shifters and road brake levers, but am concerned about the leverage needed as the BFs use V-brakes. I find the BF concept fully in the Rivendell spirit as well, but don't want to upset the spirit of this list if this is considered off-topic. René -- 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-bunch@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.
