Seems like I talked to someone a while back that mentioned (if) the AHH was an American made (Waterford) one a heavier down tube could more easily be substituted for a little extra beefiness. Maybe this isn't the case as it might be considered custom. To me a simple substitution of tubing thickness for the down tube (if that were the only change from stock) would be easy, especially for $2000. O.k. maybe pay an extra $50 then. On a tall frame it would seem that they would do that anyway rather than the .8x.5x.8 mm.
I had this question about weight limits rolling around in my mind also as I am 255 and didn't really want an Atlantis and I am 99.858% a paved road rider and a careful one at that. It seems Rivendell is stuck on their buyers using their bikes on fire trails which in my area don't even exist, unless you want rocks, stumps, roots and generally gnarly surfaces. Not something I think the Riv folks would even consider riding on. I am not sure what those fire trails are like down in sunny Cali but I think Riv should make it a glaring point in their weight limit stats to point out that paved road riding is hugely different and less hard on a bike frame......generally! I think Riv might have lost some sales because of the emphasis on fire road weight limits. It gets confusing when you read the info, at least for me it was. I simply focused on the weight limit number and got discouraged. Maybe a clarification on the site would be helpful to other potential customers. In one of my frame building books it mentions that modern O.D. heat treated 8x5x8 tubing is fine for riders (over) 200 pounds. I assume they meant for smooth roads when making this statement. I only wish I had not purchased the other brand frame that I did and waited and purchased what I really wanted as it would have been fine on the smooth roads I ride on. Waaaaa!!!!! On Feb 21, 4:53 pm, Jim Bronson <jim.bron...@gmail.com> wrote: > I went out and did a 200K brevet on Presidents' day. It rained the > first 25 miles, which I was not expecting. So me and the bike ended > up looking like crap again. I need a bike that can accomodate > fenders. My Riv is a custom built with short reach brakes. I bought > it secondhand. Although I love it and I've probably put 20 or 25 > thousand miles on it in the last 4 years, it would really be nice if I > could mount fenders. At least I've found that I can mount the > wonderful Grand Bois 700x30 tires and still fit under the brakes. > > The thing is, I would really rather buy an off the shelf bike. But I > am 6'7" so my options are limited. So I got to thinking about the AHH > again. Last year I thought about the AHH and I called Riv and whoever > I talked to discouraged me because of my weight, probably 255-260 at > that time. But now I have slimmed down to the 235-240 range so I > started thinking AHH again. Rivendell's site says the weight limit is > 220 lbs on fire roads. But I am never going to ride on fire roads. > The AHH would mainly be my brevet bike. And that is one of the > recommended uses of it. > > Anyways, here is an email I sent to the friend that I rode with on Monday. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > I am thinking of a new bike. need fenders. > > I wanted custom Ti for a while but then decided the steel rust thing > really doesn't bother me that much. It's not like my current > Rivendell is falling apart from rust or anything and I've put it > through the wars. > > I called Rivendell. The A Homer looks like the best fit for a light > touring kind of bike, but they say the weight limit is 220 on fire > roads on their web site. I talked to someone a while back and they > tried to guide me more towards an Atlantis. Well I weigh around 240, > but I will probably never take it on a fire road. The infamous Kulow > Road will probably be the worst thing it ever sees. I know you > haven't done a Houston Randonneurs ride but if you ever do, Kulow is a > road not to be missed ;-) ;-) > > So anyways this time Riv said if I rode in on-road only that it should > probably be no problem at all. My current Riv Custom was built for a > guy that was 6'5", 190, after all. > > On the 67cm AHH, the seat tube is a cm shorter but the top tube is > actually a bit longer (64.5). So I would get stretched out just a > little more if I were using the same stem. Of course I could always > shorten up the stem a cm and that would leave things about equal. > OTOH, my go-fast Paul Taylor custom has a 66cm top tube and it's not > at all uncomfortable, although it does have a real short stubby > threadless stem on it. > > One sticking point is, the price on the AHH frame has gone up by $500, > to $2000. That's kind of hard to take, knowing it was $500 cheaper > not that long ago. But I know they raised the price because they were > getting squeezed by the exchange rates and they need to make their > business work. Still, the American consumerist in me just doesn't > like it I guess. > > I suppose I could maximize my economy by doing the bog stock complete > build. That is $3400. They descibed it to me on the phone about how > it was described on the site: > > Headset: Shimano Ultegra or just as good equivalent. > Seat post: Nitto Crystal Fellow 27.2. > Stem: Nitto Technomic Deluxe. > Handlebar: Nitto Noodle. > Saddle: Brooks B.17 or Selle An-Atomica. > Brake lever: Shimano Tiagra (BL-400). We use it on all the bikes. > Brakes: Silver sidepulls. > Shifters: Shimano bar-ends or Silver (about same price). > Front Der: Campagnolo Mirage or Champ, or IRD or Shimano. > Rear Der: Shimano LX Rapid-Rise. Others available, too > Chain: Shimano or IRD or SRAM. All about the same. > Cassette: IRD 8- or 9-speed, or Shimano/SRAM equiv. We recommend a 11 > OR 12-32 if you want the most versatility, for steep roads and trails. > Shimano makes the XTR ina 12-32, but that's like $150. IRD makes a > 9sp or 8sp for about $55. Basically, no diff between an 11 or 12. > They're both such big gears that you'll hardly ever use them, so they > just become space-takers, anyway. > Wheels: Shimano LX hubs, Synergy or Mavic rims, DT butted spokes, > built here by Rich, and they're poifect in every way. > Tires: Any you like, but we recommend the newly arrived Jack Browns. > Bottom Bracket: IRD or Shimano or Tange 113mm > Crank: Sugino XD-2 46-36-24. > Pedals: If you have your own favorite modern clipless, go with them. > > I think I might run my TA carmina in lieu of the Sugino, and I would > definitely want Tektro brake levers instead of the Shimanos, I have > them now and love them, they set up real nice with the Noodles. Maybe > I should try a 48cm Noodle. Haha. > > Well, we'll see how my taxes look... > > --------------------------------------------------------- > > thoughts appreciated. > I am not against the Sugino btw, but I prefer a 180 crank. I have a > real nice Campy Record alloy double that was originally on the Custom, > I could put it back on and use my TA on the AHH. Decisions, > decisions. > > -- > having a blood clot is a sticky situation --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
