IMHO it's not the size but the quality of the wheel and how much abuse it sees. Two of my touring buds have identical bikes, REI Safari with 26" wheels. One is about 1-1/2 years old, the other 3-4. Neither rider is particularly careful. The older bike gets a trip to REI once a year for service. The newer one came up with a destroyed rear wheel on tour this summer. The difference? The guy with the older bike weighs 170 & the guy with the newer 210. So there are places where weight matters, & it ain't the bike.
If you're going to ship a bike a lot, smaller wheels make the packing easier. I've had times I wished I had 26" instead of 700 on my Atlantis. FWIW one of our SoCal Riv group has an Atlantis with 26" wheels with Schwalbe Marathon Expedition (?) tires, big honking monsters (2"?) next to my 35mm Marathon Supremes. He has no problem keeping up, and is kind enough to wait for me at the tops of hills. dougP On Jan 4, 1:49 pm, 42MuskhamSt <[email protected]> wrote: > For years I believed 700 wheels were faster and better. I've now > ridden my Marinoni from Canada to Colombia (11,000km) and the SLX > Handbuilt lugged Colombus frame has been comfortable - Brooks saddle, > no bike shorts. I'm carrying around 50lb of gear. The rear wheel has > received much attention and now the rim is cracking. Guys on 26" wheel > rigs are not having these problems. I'm finally a 26" wheel devotee > trapped on a 700 body. The next bike I build up or buy will be with > 26" wheels. Maybe even with cable pull disc brakes for the mountains - > heresey? > > Should have bought that 56cm Atlantis when I had the chance. If wishes > were horses.... > > Not to change the subject but on the offchance anyone have an idea of > where I can find a touring rim between Cartagena and Bogota? > > On Jan 4, 3:58 pm, Steve Palincsar <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > On Mon, 2010-01-04 at 13:41 -0700, PATRICK MOORE wrote: > > > > On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 12:40 PM, Steve Palincsar <[email protected]> > > > wrote: > > > > I think GEP is a lot more driven by market forces than "I" is. > > > > Quoting from memory, from an ancient Rivendell text: "We are a product > > > driven company, not a market driven company." > > > > I have quoted scripture; there you have it. > > > I said a lot more driven by market forces than Grand Bois, and I still > > believe it.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
