Bill, I think that originally Bombadils larger than 48cm had twin top tubes, my 52cm does, though a single top tube 52 changed hands on the list a while back. The Bombadil grew the mid stays in the rear triangle after the Hunqapillar came out. This coincided with the shift from parallel TT to diagatube. I think the update also involved increasing tire clearance some. The junction of the diagatube and the mid stays is labor intensive. I think I heard Waterford didn't want to do it anymore and they were now sending frames from Waterford to Nobilette to have the stays added. I suspect that sort of thing has something to do with the last published Bombadil price being higher than the rest of the models (excepting cutsoms). If you really want the 650b wheels you might want to ask RBW if they would do a 52 Bombadil for you without the diagatube and mid stays. If the answer is yes, then you ask how long it would take and what it would cost. If you are lucky the wait won't be too long and the cost might be a bit less than a regular gen 2 Bombadil.
All that said, I think both models are great bikes and you wouldn't go wrong with either one. On Saturday, July 12, 2014 12:28:52 PM UTC-7, MobileBill wrote: > > Spent many years thinking about it, but finally have set aside enough > money to consider a dedicated mountain bike/heavy load tourer. It would > supplement my Saluki, and actually get a lot of use in my work, which often > involves surveys in national forests and other areas with many miles of > poor roads, paved, gravel and single track. And because of a new contract, > I'd need to purchase before the end of the year. > Now I need some hand-holding. > I've got almost enough money now to outfit a hunq complete, and I am > certain it's a great bike. But even though I'm snug as a bug on my 58 > Saluki, Keven and I suspect I'd end up on a 51 Hunq, with 26-inch wheels. > Problem is there's already two 650b bikes in the family, and I've gotten > quite comfortable with that wheel size, have parts to boot, and there's a > lot more 650b products coming. I've also convinced myself that given my > long torso, the cockpit might be a bit small and just a little less > comfortable on a long haul. > I'd be all over the Bombadil 52, which has the requisite 650b and longer > top tube and seems at least a slightly better fit for me, but I'm not yet > sure I can excuse myself for spending another grand (and it may take a bit > longer to accumulate that). > I doubt there's any difference in the sturdiness of these bikes. It all > comes down to fit and comfort over long distances and occasionally very > rough roads; I would hope sheer looks don't count for more than 10 > percent, but I'm told the new Bombadil 52s have the rear tentacles. > Those familiar with Hunqs and Boms, think I'll see a difference in fit > or ride? > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
