Comparing it to the Hunqapillar and Atlantis, the most interesting thing about the Appaloosa geometry to me is that it appears to be intended for use with a smaller maximum tire size. Perhaps this suggests that it is slated to be even more of a touring-specific bike, than the jack-of-many trades bike that the other two are? The Hunqapillar says 60mm (2.4") max, while the Atlantis and Appaloosa both say 55mm (2") max. We know, of course that people successfully run 2.5" even on the Atlantis - but it shares the same, huge, 80mm bottom bracket drop that the Hunqapillar has (or vice versa). The drop on the Appaloosa, on the other hand, is 2 to 3 mm less, so it sits higher.
So even if you could squeeze a bigger-than-rated tire in there, it's going to raise the center of gravity and the top tube as well. As a mountain bike, this might actually be better, but the sizing would effectively run a little larger. As a touring bike, a higher center of gravity would seem to reduce stability - but maybe the longer chainstays compensate? Or maybe 3mm is not enough to be noticeable, and my thinking is exactly opposite of correct, and it would be even MORE of a jack-of-all-trades. Either way, it seems to be a bit of a departure from existing Rivendell philosophy, where even the recent Clem has the same drop as the Atlantis and Hunqapillar. Tire size listed is kind of curious too, given the fact that most of us tend to try to squeeze in the biggest tire we can fit, and that fatter tires are becoming available regularly. I would have expected the beautiful new crown to take an even wider tire. -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
