I don't have a lot of insight to add to this discussion - mostly interested in reading other responses for my own benefit. Here are a couple notes though:
1. Here's Peter White's description and comparison of the Ram and Homer, from when they were both offered and he was a dealer, with specific emphasis on touring capabilities. I've referenced this before in some other thread, but I still like reading it: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/rambouillet.asp 2. My Ram was my first Rivendell. Like Andy, I bought it to augment my RB-1, specifically to use for light touring. All things are relative and, compared to that bike, the Ram is really well suited. As life has happened, I haven't used it quite the way I'd intended. But I did set it up as something that would work for at least some luxurious credit card touring and have kept it that way. I've loaded it to the gills for long day rides, family picnic outings and grocery errands, and taken it on a week-long supported tour in this configuration. Neither I nor the bike has had any complaints whatsoever, no matter how much I load on it. I'll try to attach a picture below, but basically: - I have a HUGE (Caradice Super C) saddle bag, that could hold a several days worth of clothing and food, and a light bedroll. - I have a medium-sized, high-riding handlebar bag, which I regularly load up with cameras, food, wallet, tools, phone, light, etc. (This probably doesn't distribute the weight the same or as well as a lower bag like Riv sells would. I don't know if this is a benefit or a detriment, for this particular bike, but the effect on steering hasn't bothered me - even coming down from an 11,000 ft mountain pass at 50 mph.) - I now use fenders and have bottles in all three cage locations. - I'm a fairly big guy at over 6'-1" and 200 lbs. - I'm still running 28c roughy toughies. I'd imagine that Jack Browns would work even better, and it sounds like they'd fit but, honestly, it feels so good that I'm reluctant to mess around with it. <https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_JmHERVh-mo/VRC9DzDMaII/AAAAAAAAAGY/fWnFdu5axGI/s1600/RamBags.jpg> But here's the interesting thing: A couple of years ago, I got a used 26" All-Rounder, complete with full racks. I thought I'd want to make THAT my touring bike, and make the Ram more of a go-fast bike. But after spending lots of time on both, I feel completely the opposite. The AR is more nimble and quicker, and the Ram is more stable and relaxed. Every time I get on the Ram, I'm blown away at how steady it is. (For me, I had to embrace the Rivendell fit philosophy, and set my seat back further than I would have previously, and I think that's critical for this particular bike, since they intentionally made the top tube short.) So as my kids get older and want to participate, and loaded, self-supported touring becomes a possibility again, the Ram will be the bike I turn to first! I do wish it had some rack brazeons on the fork but, once again, maybe I stumbled into the correct setup and would be stupid to change it. -- 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.
