regarding the narrow question of bullmoose vs noodle, when I bought AHH, Keven advised same thing. More hand positions with noodle. So I got noodle. i still wanted to try moustache, so i purchased pair 2nd hand from another list member. This is true, with noodle there are more hand positions. about 5 total. i will probably stick with the moustache for a while longer just to be sure, but i believe i will end up switching back to the noodle.
todd olsen On Nov 7, 9:26 pm, Orthie251 <orthie...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello, > > I'm new to the list, but I've been following it daily for the past > couple of weeks and have to say I've learned a lot about Rivendell and > steel bikes in such a short time. I am new to the whole Rivendell > philosophy, but discovering it has saved my cycling. For the past 7 > years, since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area from Venezuela and > taking up road riding in addition to mountain biking, I've never been > able to ride without pain. To shorten an otherwise long and familiar > story, in the beginning of the summer, tired of paying for fits and > changing bike frames with no real results, I discovered the Rivendell > website and poured all over it. It was radically different to anything > and everything I had read over the years, and when I discovered they > were located less than an hour from my house, I decided to go and > check them out, to see what they and their bikes were all about. > > I drove to Walnut Creek, spent about an hour or a bit more there > talking primarily to Mark, tested the A. Homer Hilsen, the Sam > Hillborne and the Atlantis, and drove back with an AHH frame (61cm > Waterford) after waiting for Mark to install the headset, as well as > some parts like 2 stems to fine tune the fit (100 & 90cm), the Noodle > bars (48cm), Cane Creek brake levers, Nitto S-83 seatpost and a front > Mark's rack. Rick adjusted my rear road Chris King hub from road to > mountain spacing and dished it. > > I have built the AHH with the Sram Rival 10 speed components I had on > my Gunnar CrossHairs but went with the Sram 10 speed bar end shifters > to preserve the character of the bike and to try them out as I'd never > used them before. I also installed a Tubus Cosmo rear rack, Brooks > brown saddle and bar tape, Honjo hammered fenders (40mm) with Schwalbe > Marathon Supreme 35 tires and a few other details. > > After riding the AHH for the past several weeks, I cannot begin to say > that not only have I been enjoying it extremely and have had no pain, > now I blame Rivendell for making it impossible for me to ride all my > other bikes! I've already sold the Gunnar CrossHairs (58) and the > Cannondale F600 (medium), and I'm seriously considering selling my > recently put together Specialized Roubaix SL2 with Sram Red > components. It pains me to get rid of all of them, but after riding > the AHH, getting back on these bikes only serves to highlight how bad > the fit was. > > Inevitably, I take another drive to Walnut Creek to discuss this > situation and what I'm feeling with Mark, and Keven joins in. After > translating my wishes into cycling lingo, I test ride an Atlantis (60) > and a Bombadil (60) after re-checking my PBH with Mark, and place an > order for a new Bombadil frame. You see, I have this dream of touring > and camping with my bike, but I don't really know how or if I'll ever > make it happen. I also have a 2009 Titus FTM Exo-grid titanium, 140mm > trailbike, but am beginning to consider going mountain biking with a > steel rigid bike as well. I'm not planning to sell that one just yet, > I think all that travel still has a purpose in my life, but if I want > to build up the Bombadil with all the parts I want, selling the > Roubaix would certainly cover that and more... Do I really need a 16.5 > lbs high end carbon bike when I have so much fun riding the 27 lbs > (fully racked) AHH on the road? Who cares if I'm a tad slower when I'm > having so much fun, even on the climbs? The Roubaix SL2 is a very nice > bike, but I can't get the handlebars high enough! > > BTW, I'm turning 50 in January and am also overweight, but so far have > lost 23 lbs this year. Still another 60 - 80 to go, and I can't think > of any better way than to continue to watch what I eat and commute > every day on my AHH... > > Keven and Mark both agreed that I should get the Bombadil frame > painted and not raw with the powder coat, as the wet paint will last > longer and protect the frame better. I like the raw look when it's > new, but have had bad experiences with powder coated paint coming off > very easily from the Gunnar, so I agreed. > > So many color choices... green and gold, blue and gold, Keven showed > me two painted Bombadil frames they have (not in my size) in silver, > and they look very nice. When I said I loved white bikes (my Gunnar > was all white), he showed me the 48 Bombadil frame they have in Cream > with Gold, and I just melted. I said that is the color combination I > want. We also discussed getting the Bullmoose bars painted to match, > but even though they felt very comfortable for the short test ride > there, I'm not sure how I'd like them for longer rides. Mark says he > prefers the multiple hand positions from the drop bars. > > I have until Wednesday morning to finalize my decision as Keven will > not be in until then, so here are my questions to the group: > - Is the AHH a good replacement for the Specialized Roubaix for me, > not a racer, not a club rider, just interested in metric centuries, > centuries and eventually as I loose weight and gain fitness, longer > rides? > - I am really into commuting, which the AHH is great for, and just > discovered what the term S240 means. I really want to explore that > dimension of cycling, but with a family (wife doesn't cycle) and work, > I just don't know how I'll make that happen, so the Bombadil is the > expression of that dream, but is it right for me or would a Roadeo be > more indicated for riding those centuries and if I ever manage to go > camping/touring with my bike, the AHH would fill that need? > - If I go with the Bombadil, should I spend the extra money on the > Bullmoose bar or should I save it and go with a Noodle bar or perhaps > a moustache bar? > > Decisions... decisions... > > My apologies for the long rant... :-) You can check out some pictures > of my AHH athttp://tinyurl.com/yjptb5q > > René Sterental (Orthie251) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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