The newest Rivendell Reader had a handy-dandy table breaking down all their current bikes they should really have on the site somewhere, it's a good, quick overview for where the different models fall:
http://imgur.com/UPvCmy0 The Joe is more of a road touring model, and uses lighter tubing and a much lighter fork than the Clem. It is fully lugged though, and has a slightly shorter top tube to make it easier to use with all bar types. The Clem inherits the Hunqapillar's fork, and like the Hunq is at its core a rigid mountain bike, and built for the heaviest uses. The longer top-tube on the Clems is inherited from the original long bike prototypes and was developed in tandem with what came to be called the Bosco bars, and the idea behind it is the Boscos on most bikes need the longest reach stem you can get, having the longer TT on the Clem lets you use a shorter reach if you like so you can dial in the fit on those bars better. I like my Clem, a lot. But I tried it originally with my albastaches, and never could get comfortable really. I finally broke down and am trying the Boscos, which didn't seem like my jam, and have been sheepishly eating some crow on that this week. They are a wonderful fit for the bike, and the ability to go from full upright to fairly relaxed and then down onto the flats for a fairly sporty position really do give the bike a very fluid feel I hadn't expected given how they look. I don't think if you haven't come to terms with the idea of bars near or above the saddle height the Clem is really going to be the right fit for you, conceptually and spiritually. I ride a saddle height of about 71cm, and the 52cm is exactly the right fit and size for me. I do have just the normal Boscos on a 100cm Technomic Deluxe, so, they're a little closer even than on the completes, where I'd be laid out just a little more. I think both frames though are supposed to be available as frame-onlies sometime down the road again, though? On Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 2:41:52 PM UTC-5, Doug Van Cleve wrote: > > Howdy folks. > > I am not sure I would buy either, I am more of a roll-it-yourself bike guy > and generally like "sporty" bikes, but I am intrigued by these (especially > the Joe A). I was reading up on them, and it isn't obvious to me why I > would pick one over the other, assuming cost isn't an issue. > > I gather the Clem is more heavy duty, and clearly sizing is or can involve > compromise. IIRC, my PBH is 79cm, measured by GP himself back in '98 when > I dropped by RBW world headquarters to order a Road Standard. Using that > number, it appears RBW would recommend the 52cm Clem and the 51cm Joe A. > My typical saddle height is 72cm, maybe a bit lower on a flat pedal bike > like these. What I see then is that the Clem will have such a long TT that > only bars that come back a lot will be viable and the standover is as high > or higher than anything else I have ridden. A 45cm Clem puts the TT in the > range of normal and standover would be great, but it is much smaller than > any other bikes I have/have had. > > I think RBW would put me on a 51cm Joe A, which has a relatively short TT, > shorter than the 45cm Clem. This would be drop bar compatible with a > reasonable length stem, not that I need another drop bar bike. I can't > seem to find it now, but something I saw led me to believe a 55cm Joe A > would really be a bit too big for me, but maybe no moreso than a 52cm > Clem. Also, I would probably be "slamming" the bar/stem on either of > these, don't see the need for bars any/much higher than saddle height, and > bigger frame means higher lowest bar height. Any thoughts or words of > wisdom? I assume a Joe A is lighter than a Clem, any idea how much in a > similar size? > > Thanks, Doug > -- 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 https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
