Great question Yes Consistent adherence to versatility,durability and quality. Beautifully crafted,rugged frames that ride wonderfully and have a classic appeal Wider tires are really good Fenders. They make riding in rain so much better. Everyone should have at least 1 fendered bike Moustache and Noodle bars NITTO Non-racer philosophy Twining Beeswax Really intelligent product selection Making Mixte and lady's frames....getting more people on bikes Not so much Totally retention-free pedals. In the early 90's I went clipless for a while. In 1999 I bought 2 pairs of those lovely Sidi touring shoes...and I like the MKS track style pedals with toe clips and straps. And there I stand. Kickstands. Maybe more for aesthetic reasons...even when I did loaded touring I still managed to find a way to securely prop my bike against something Shellac 650 wheels...is this a solution looking for a problem? Not sure. Anyway , 650B is sort of difficult to source locally in Winnipeg Festooning a really , really good-looking bike with bags and baskets...but to be fair...I don't do S24s and don't care much for camping anymore. Don't sleep well. Also prefer commuting on my less glamorous X0-1 and old Peugeot...little less attractive to thieves. And if I did grocery-getting, I'd use a less fancy bike Dual top tubes, although, for the larger sizes and Rivendell's emphasis on practicality and durability, I understand why they did this. All in all, I love the company, love my Rivs, and enjoy the discussion on this group and internet-bob Cheers...Ryan in Winnipeg On Tuesday, November 19, 2013 11:05:09 PM UTC-6, Michael wrote:
> Thought hearing from you all would make an interesting thread. > I have been enjoying my Sam for a long time now. > I call these RBW ideas because that is where I first heard about them > (thought I know they have been around for years, just not embraced so much > these days). I was an alu/composite race bike kinda rider until I started > to fear carbon failures and wanted to look into an all metal bike. > > I'll start: > > *RBW ideas that worked for me:* > *1. Wider tires.* This has made a huge diff for my quality of riding. I > used to own a typical race bike with 700 x 25, 120psi tires. > It was great to ride, but hard to handle as it banged and bounced and > tires got yanked around on gravelly, busted up shoulders. Not to mention > the fear of getting the narrow tires caught in longitudinal road cracks. > Got my Rivendell bikes and have used 32mm-40mm ~55psi tires on them and > what a difference. > No more bike bouncing. Slight rumbling and I am through the rough road > parts. Tires stay on their straight course through the bad patches and I > feel so much safer. Cush to boot. Very stable handling. > I cannot see myself ever going back to anything narrower than 32mm wide > tires. They seem dangerous to me now. > *2. Fenders.* I never woulda dreamed of putting these on a bike in the > past. But now I don't see riding without them making any sense to me. It is > just good to be prepared and not have to worry about grunging up the bike > with the street scum. They look great to boot, and are standard equipment > on my bikes. I love the ultra coverage of the longboards. > *3. Leather saddles.* No more butt pain. yay! What a smooth surface to > sit on. I did have a little break in for a coupla weeks, but another dab o' > proofhide broke her in and now its great. > *4. Steel bike/lugs/cream headtubes/metal head badges.* Such a stable > ride, beautiful to look at, and no worries about "did I tension that bolt > 1nM too far?". Feels good to not have to wonder about failures. The lugs > and paint jobs are intoxicating. > *5. Smaller chainrings/bigger cassettes/Triples.* Healthiest pedaling I > have ever felt in my legs. The Sugino toothcounts work great for my neck of > the woods. I would never want to go back to 39-52 or 30-40-54 cranks again. > And, I have discovered that compact cranksets aren't for me. I love triples. > *6. Big Saddle bags.* I love that I can carry lunch, repair > kits/tools and a jacket in my Carradice, etc. So convenient. No more > wondering how will I fit everything into my small nylon wedge. > *7. Cotton tape/twine and shellac.* I balked at the idea as just taking > things too far. But when my Sam arrived with it, it just looked so > beautiful and natural and much better than electrical tape. Its fun to do, > too! > *8. Bar end shifters.* At first I thought that it was ridiculous not to > have the convenience of brifters on a bike. But when I got my first Rivbike > with bar ends, it was love at first shift. Just makes it so much more fun > to play with those things than brifting. I think it also encourages your > hands to move around more on the bars and I think that helps keep the > numbness at bay. A quiet friction shift is a very satisfying sensation. And > trimming is fun, too. > *9. Platform pedals/ditching the click-ins.* I started using MKS Touring > pedals and cannot see myself ever going back to click ins. It is so nice to > be able to move the foot around and to just hop off the bike and walk > normally and not feel weird in public duck walking. Starting up at green > lights, all I have to do is just stand on the pedal and go. I don't have to > fumble across the intersection anymore to click in. And think of all that > cash I save by not having to buy expensive click in shoes and cleats/pedals. > *10. Kickstands.* Having previously viewed these as bike anchors, I > started realizing it just makes things sooooooo much easier when parking > the bike in the garage, hopping off the bike for breaks/taking pictures, > and they are just fun to install and look at. I love the rat-at-at-at-at > sound the Pletscher makes when it is flipped. > *11. 650b.* At first I thought: "........why?......". And then: "Aw, man! > Now I am forced into getting these smaller wheels if I want a Rivendell. > Why is this guy messing around with these bikes like this?". But the > clearance allows me to enjoy the convenience of fenders and safety and cush > of wide tires. > *12. Ponchos.* Air circulates. Less sweating under cover. > *13. Wool.* In summer, any material will be drenched and sticking to my > skin. But come seasons of 75 degrees and less, the wool dries out so > quickly that things don't stick anymore. A Nice feeling to ride off after a > break - dry and warm, rather than clammy and chilled by the breeze. > *14. Flat ramps drop bar setups.* Very comfy. Stem extension in line with > bar ramps and brake levers is just pretty to look at, too. > > *What doesn't work for me:* > *1. High bars.* While riding drops up high on a Technomic is tops, my > body likes drop bars below saddle, or else sitting *bolt* upright with > Albas. That in-between, high drops, where you are still leaning forward > just kills my lower back. I've either gotta be straight-up, or bars below > saddle. Not in between. Took a year to figure out it wasn't me or the bike, > just the position that was killing me. Be glad if it works for you. Riding > drops up high on a Technomic is a great experience if your back can take it! > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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