I see your point Steve and don't necessarily disagree....for me at 257 right now, two top tubes seems fine. In fact, the Sam feels more lively than my Surly Trucker. I own a standard diameter high end 80's race bike with Columbus SL and it flexes noticeably (for me) I only ride it on smooth roads in nice weather. If I were to own a frame with thinner tubing I would be concerned about eventual cracking. That is,if it were my daily rider. I thought of trying a Boulder tigged frame but didn't because I felt I was too heavy for one and would have to upgrade to custom tubing making it too expensive......would rather wait and buy a lugged frame when I am down another 30 pounds from a near all time high of 282. When youger at 175 my old Bianchi felt fine on 23 mm tires.... these days I would trash such a bike.
On Saturday, December 8, 2012 1:21:11 PM UTC-8, Steve Palincsar wrote > > On Sat, 2012-12-08 at 13:02 -0800, charlie wrote: > > Yea Marc's bike is typical.....weight wise. Not sure what my double > > top tube Sam weighs probably 8 ounces more though. The Sam in my > > opinion isn't 'overbuilt' or 'heavy'. I think the whole weight thing our > point > > is a little over emphasized and something Grant has some strong > > opinions about. > > Someone who says Riv's are "overbuilt" isn't necessarily talking about > their weight. They could very well be talking about their stiffness. I > certainly am when I say that -- and I do indeed say that. > > > > Even BQ magazine didn't find much difference in a Ti bike weighing 17 > > pounds and a steel one weighing 26 pounds (as far as performance). > > Your body position, fit and power output have more to do with your > > ultimate performance. I fail to see how less than five pounds will > > make a significant difference. Frame stiffness, performance and feel > > depend on rider weight and power. You can't put a 200+ pounder on a > > light tube bike and not expect it to feel like a wet noodle > > That's a common belief, but it's just not so. I have several bikes with > standard diameter tubing that's fairly light gauge: 8/5/8 throughout for > two, and one that's 7/5/7 with an 8/5/8 downtube, and I'm definitely 200 > + pounds. These bikes feel "sprightly," and "springy" and they're all > lots of fun to ride. None feel "like a wet noodle." > > The two 8/5/8 bikes are "frame upgrades" -- components switched over > from a Rambouilet and a Saluki -- so I have a direct comparison of the > frame alone. Although the Rivs were nice bikes, I much prefer the less > stiff replacements. > > And what on earth are they thinking when they add a second top tube? > That's got to add to the already excessive stiffness... > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/GiYy6phSjB8J. 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.
