Seth, I'm going down that path exactly. I'm having a low-trail fork built for my 1984 Trek 610 to try it. With cheaper materials it's quoted around $200 painted, with rather stout Dediaccia blades and a crown that fits. We looked at the Heine-offerred blades, and with crown they cost nearly what my whole fork is quoted - not right for a geometry trial. Only problem is, the fork is taking as long to build (a local LBS owner has an on-again off-again frame shop) as my current fave custom builder has quoted me for a whole rando frame. It will maintain frame height, have 6.5 cm offset, and have fender/rack braze ons.
But then I can rationally decide, Riv v. rando. I hoped to have the refitted Trek available this summer, but it's not working that way. One thing to keep in mind: high-offset forks have long blades, and move the wheel considerably away from the original crown position. The brake reach requirement will be longer, and you'll probably need either cantis or long calipers. If you go canti or center-pull, you'll need to arrange for a cable hanger, which can affect what kind of bag attachment or decaleur you'd use. Simultaneously there is a stack height. There are a bunch of moving parts in this decision tree. Need to see if your designer/builder can manage this planning process, which would even become more complex for a full frame. So far I've found two (in a highly non-exhaustive search) who can. As far as new rando-style frames, I'm also looking at Boxdog Pelican and Boulder, and hoping more information comes out regarding the under-development Rawland Nordavinden in both steel and Ti (so far Rawland have used Lynskey to build their Ti products). In customs I'm leaning toward either Alex Singer or Tom Matchak, but all of these are investments I won't make without knowing the concepts will work for me. I'm reacting to the fact that Grant, whose judgment I respect though I don't own a Riv, does not see the strength of the low-trail concept. Need to evaluate it for myself. If I wanted a full tourer, Bruce Gordon is promising great service and price right now, but I want a rando not a tourer. On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 1:57 PM, Seth Vidal <skvi...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 1:48 PM, Frank <pguil...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Well said Brian. I remember years ago when you were thinking about a > > new bike and you came by the house to ride mine. We met through a > > mutual work acquaintance, and I felt a bit odd in revealing that I had > > a number of Rivendell bikes in the garage given that I didn't know you > > that well (nor you I) - seemed like it might smack of excess. I recall > > that you rode the Quickbeam, Saluki, and maybe the Romulus, and we > > discussed 650B, single speed, and the rationale for the price of a > > Rivendell and what you got for the money. I told you what I knew, why > > I'd bought each bike, and I tried not to do too much selling, rather > > letting the bikes speak for themselves. You ended up with a fantastic > > AHH, and it's been fun to vicariously watch you explore equipment, > > configurations, and techniques that exceed my breadth of experience > > (e.g. that harlequin wrap thing). > > > > When people ask me for bike advice, I always explain what I ride and > > why, and then follow-up with some of the axioms from "tips for happy > > riding"; there's no such thing as a bad bike. Rivendell's aren't > > inexpensive, and they're most certainly not cheap, but they're what > > I've chosen. It is about more than a bike. A Rivendell is an > > investment in utility, function, form, in a way of doing business (and > > the 12-14 people behind the business), and an entree to a community. > > Since I bought my first Rivendell (Romulus #17, first batch) a decade > > ago, I've been impressed with the company and the products, and I've > > told that story when asked. Today I ride with friends who weren't > > cyclists before, and when we meet I see Bleriots, Hilsens, etc., and > > we often talk about "what's next". I don't "need" this many bikes, > > but I ride them all, and I will until I'm too old to swing over the > > top tube, or until my kids take them off to wherever. > > > > Every once in a while I think about a custom. Each successive trip to > > Portland, my original hometown, leads me to look afresh at Ira Ryan, > > Tony Pereira, and Joseph Ahearn in particular. And while those guys > > are doing some innovative, beautiful work, I come home and look at my > > Saluki, AHH, and other bikes, and I'm satisfied. > > > > I have a lot of the same feelings as you articulate here. There are 2 > things which hang me up recently: > > 1. I really wanna try out a low-trail bike for "the next bike". I'm > intrigued enough to want to try it for a while and I > completely understand that it is not riv's deal to do a low > trail-designed bike. So I have been looking around > for a production low trail bike. Right now it seems likely either a > pelican from boxdog or one of the boulder cycles. But If there was a > way to > relatively easily convert my romulus to a low-trail geometry without > butchering it, I would definitely investigate it. > > > 2. tandems. Gotta have them.. > > -sv > > -- > 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. > > -- Ken Freeman Ann Arbor, MI USA -- 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.
