I wanted to spite you, Aaron :) I was just thinking that 650B was available in the smaller & middle- sized Hilsens. But now that you mention it, and we are talking pipe dreams here, why not all sizes!?
Upon riding the 35mm Paselas the last couple of months, I was convinced that the 650B ride could be closely replicated on that tire or the 37mm (which I haven't ridden). But upon riding the Grand Bois, and looking forward to the new offerings, I think 650b is still special and different enough. Esteban San Diego, Calif. On Jan 14, 1:02 pm, Aaron Thomas <[email protected]> wrote: > Why only sizes 58, 60, 62? Why not 54 or 55 (i.e. my size)? > > Or for that matter, as long as we're talking hypotheticals, why not a > Taiwanese-made, more affordable Legolas, even in 700c? > > +1 on horizontal top tubes, by the way. > > Aaron > > On Jan 14, 11:33 am, Esteban <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Jimd - you will, most likely. The Honjos curve in pretty close. I > > used 50mm Berthoud with a little crude surgery at the chainstays -- > > I'll do a new post when I get some photos. > > > I know there are lots of pipe dreams out there - remember how long > > people talked about wanting Riv to make another road bike? Well, we > > got one, an exceptional one, with the Roadeo. So, here goes: > > > Wouldn't it be great if Riv offered a small batch (alá Legolas) of > > lightweight (Roadeo tubing?) 650b "event" (fast, steeper angles) bikes > > in sizes 58, 60, 62? Horizontal top tube, 42mm with fenders, etc... a > > lighter, more race-y Saluki? > > > I've already got my Protovelo, so not much use to me... but wouldn't > > that be cool for some folks? > > > This is why I don't have my own bicycle business. Again, a custom Riv > > would do the trick just fine... would be pretty boss, actually. > > Someone should order one so we can see how it looks. > > > Esteban > > San Diego, Calif. > > > On Jan 14, 11:22 am, [email protected] wrote: > > > > Well this is the testimonial that likely is going to break the camel's > > > back for moi. > > > > I've got a 62 cm Saluki and have been flirting with the idea of trying > > > the Hertes. > > > > Now you've gone and done it. > > > > Unfortunately I think I'll have to take off the Honjo hammered 45 fenders > > > to make those fat boys fit. > > > > ;>) > > > > -Jimd > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Esteban" <[email protected]> > > > To: "RBW Owners Bunch" <[email protected]> > > > Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 8:41:44 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific > > > Subject: [RBW] Re: 650b Rambouillet was: Feeling Abondoned > > > > MichaelH wrote, "the Ram. is designed to be optimized with 28 mm tires. I > > > didn't see any point in trying to make that frame into something it > > > wasn't intended to be." I agree with that. When I think of my Romulus, I > > > know it was designed around the Shimano medium reach brakes and for 28mm > > > tires with fenders or up to 37mm without. That determined the design > > > details of the whole bike. As it is, that's pretty darn versatile! It is > > > a "road" bike, afterall. I run mine with 28s and fenders, and I've been > > > riding 35mm Paselas, and those are a dream - I would say almost equal to > > > a CdlV. One can always get another bike built around 650B - and the > > > producers mentioned earlier are not the only ones - seems like younger > > > Rando riders and custom builders are really going after the "classic" > > > 650B rando bike. All this being said, I just did my first long-ish ride > > > on the Hetres now on my 650B Custom Protovelo (kinda like a Saluki). Wow. > > > Those are some fast, smooth tires. Its like they're not even there like > > > you're floating along -- and fast! And with the 38mm Grand Bois and the > > > Pari-Motos coming down the pipe, they should offer some very nice 650B > > > performance options for distance events and general distance/ camping > > > riding. I really do wish Rivendell offered 650B in the larger sizes, up > > > to 62cm. I don't know whay I like 650B so much - it doesn't make much > > > sense. True, there's nothing in 700c that can equal the Hetre, and the > > > same will probably be the case for the new 650B tires. One can always go > > > Riv custom for that Grant magic! I heard a rumor that there is a 650B > > > Pasela in the pipe... Esteban San Diego, Calif. On Jan 13, 6:01 pm, EricP > > > wrote: > Interesting. As I just inflate the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme > > > 700x40 > to whatever the mood is. Usually about 45 front and 60 rear. And > > > > after about 2,400 miles on them last year, do perfer them to the CdlV > > > > in 650B. Those were good tires, but I didn't find them in the same > > > > quality league as the Schwable. At least for my riding preferences. > > > > > Again, that's probably just my preference and my weight. If I were to > > > > lose a lot more weight, things might be different. > > No matter, right > > > now, 40 is about the narrowest tire in the lineup. > Although maybe my > > > 700C studded on the Hillborne are not so wide. But > that bike hasn't > > > been out yet this year. Weather too crummy. > > The differences in folks > > > getting tires to fit in the Ram make me > wonder if there are either rim > > > issues involved or - and this is highly > unlikely - one batch might be > > > slightly narrower in the stays? > > Eric Platt > (who has cabin fever and > > > the Atlantis on the "road to nowhere" trainer > isn't helping) > > On Jan > > > 13, 11:05 am, Steve Palincsar wrote: > > > On Wed, 2010-01-13 at 08:52 > > > -0800, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: > > > > I remember the article > > > that Mike mentioned. I think the point was that > > > Riv bikes already > > > have good clearances, so why bother (not to mention > > > BB height > > > issues...) In the early days of RBW's promotion of 650B, a > > > lot of > > > people were converting 27/700 bikes for no clear reason, since > > > many > > > of the conversions already had ample tire-space (many 1970s bikes > > > > > > had loads of room). Of course, if you have an early 80s Italian racing > > > > > > bike or something else with minimal clearance, then there are clear > > > > > > benefits to the conversion. We did many of these, which were well > > > > > > received by their owners, and made the bikes much more useful and > > > > > > interesting. > > > > On Jan 13, 10:17 am, Mike wrote: > > > > Jim makes a > > > really good point here. The Rambouillet works fine with > > > > fenders > > > and 32s so why bother with 650b. If you don't use fenders you > > > > can > > > fit a tire up to 37mm. There was an article or note in one of the > > > > > > > RR, I can't remember which one, where Grant mentioned that their bikes > > > > > > > weren't good for 650b conversion. > > > On the other hand, if you > > > can fit it, there is a WORLD of difference > > between a 650Bx40 Hetre > > > and any 32mm tire. There's even a world of > > difference between a 38mm > > > CdlV and any 32mm tire. I have all these > > sizes, and I speak from > > > experience. > > > Also, I've used 35 and 38mm 700C tires in the past > > > (although not the > > current gen. Pasela 37mm, which by all accounts is > > > the best wide 700C). > > In my opinion, based on my experiences, there is > > > simply no comparison > > between the plush, velvety ride of the wide > > > 650Bs and the harsh, > > unpleasant, heavy-feeling ride of the wide 700Cs > > > I've tried. > > > And the best of the wide 700C lot, the now-defunct > > > Bruce Gordon Rock 'n > > Road knobby, had other issues: very fast wear, > > > and a wicked rebound. > > Hit a good sized bump with it, and it was like > > > slamming a basketball on > > the ground: BOING! Hang on to the handlebar, > > > lest you lose it. > > > In my experience, the wide 700Cs just aren't the > > > same as the wide 650Bs. > > They're generally much higher pressure (in > > > some cases, labeled "inflate > > to" 90 or 100 psi) than the > > > corresponding width 650Bs, which often are > > labeled 50psi max > > > pressure, with much stiffer sidewalls and beefier > > construction all > > > around. Supple, they're not.- 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 athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
-- 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.
