Thanks for all the replies! I was at Riv yesterday and asked them for a steep hill or two to climb. Tho' I'm just on the other side of the Culture-stop tunnel :-) I'm not terribly familiar with the area, like, how to get to that little known hill known as Mt Diablo. So who got on a bike to take me for a ride but Grant himself. He was on a single speed of some kind, cruiser style, but double top tube to be sure, and I took out the same 52 Sam I'd take out before. And we went up some very steep hills, paths, and a road to a nearby water tank with views of hwy 24 and Walnut Creek. I've been off my bike since early Feb and I could barely keep up with him on some ascents, and I'm in decent shape (just not bike shape). He's clearly in more decent shape.
I think it doesn't climb quite like my Trek, but it's far better than the LHT. I just needed to be sure, as later I did the deed- Yikes! (The last time I bought a road bike was in 1986, and I spent 10%-- non- inflation adjusted). I decided to get the front rack and cream longboard fenders to get a really good swallow of the koolaid. So I left with a cake of pine soap, a Riv-branded plastic change purse, my credit card a bit lighter, and, later, growing feelings of anticipation. On May 4, 6:30 pm, EricP <ericpl...@aol.com> wrote: > I don't find the Sam Hillborne bad at hill climbing. Although with > the longer chainstays, it isn't the quickest thing in the world. Will > probably feel slower than your Trek. And, like Patrick, I can feel a > bit of wheel flop at certain speeds, and with certain tires. With my > style of riding, it really doesn't become an issue. Spent Sunday > climbing quite a few hills and at no time did the bike wander to the > point where I felt unsafe, even on roads with traffic and minimal > shoulders for riding. > > And compared to the LHT the Rivendell is a more spirited climber. > Also happen to own a 26 inch wheel LHT and while stable and > predictible, it will definitely not win any hill climbing contests. > Unless of course, your opponent is on a Bakfiets. > > Eric Platt > St. Paul, MN > > On May 4, 9:53 am, TSW <tsesun...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hi all, > > I've searched all over forum archives and can't seem to find much > > discussion on this question: how does the Sam climb? > > > I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a 52 (ideally I'd ride a 54, > > and 56 is just a tad too big), my 26 yr old Trek 560 ready to retire, > > and I'm used to a more aggressive geometry for climbing the hills > > around here. I'll need to to test ride a Sam again, as Riv HQ isn't > > too handy to a steep hill. I took out a Surly LHT (52/26 in) recently > > up a fairly steep hill and found it sluggish. > > > But in the meantime, I wonder what're folks' thoughts on how the Sam > > does on hills. > > > TIA, > > TS > > Berkeley -- 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.
