Bill, thanks for your informative and enjoyable postings about your six week long "adventure ride". Couldn't agree with you more about the Hillborne. It would be a nearly impossible decision if I ever had to part with the Sam or my Atlantis. Envious that you have the canti Sam!
Best wishes for fantastic rides! Richard On Wed, Aug 9, 2017 at 3:34 PM, Bill Lindsay <tapebu...@gmail.com> wrote: > Introducing Bike #5, another very dear old friend, my Samuel Hillborne. > This was my first Rivendell, and it marked a significant inflection point > in my cycling career. I bought it in December 2009, and my cycling life > could easily be separated into BH (Before Hillborne) and AH (After > Hillborne). Before Hillborne, I was a TTLZ, a Top Tube Length Zealot. I > would look at one number on a geo-chart, the effective top tube length. If > it was 56.5cm, it fit me. If it was not 56.5cm, it did not fit me. That's > what I thought. After Hillborne, I realized that you can't say anything > about fit from top tube length alone and in isolation. The biggest thing > for Rivendells, in my opinion is seat tube angle. Before Hillborne, I > slammed the saddle all the way back, on every bike, all the time, because > every other bike had a steep seat tube angle. I believe that in December > 2009 there was no other production 'road bike' on earth with a 71.5 degree > seat tube angle. There might still be no other non-Rivendell production > bikes on Earth with a 71.5 degree seat tube angle. Because the seat tube > angle is slack, you'll run the saddle 1-2cm further forward, right in the > middle of the rails, which looks great and fits. Voila! You're top tube is > 2cm shorter that you thought when you were a TTLZ. Anyway, here's Sam, on > my morning 40 mile commute through the East Bay Hills, with Fog-gust in > full effect. > > > <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_39duFv0CyI/WYtgLuB6T4I/AAAAAAAADe4/SRGSO5wCmLE5D18X55YhIIwOeCXCiMAZQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2038.JPG> > > Every time I contemplate on a Rivendell Custom, I invariably end up > defining a bike that is almost identical to my 56cm, single top tube, > cantilever Hillborne. For me in 2017, it is just about my perfect all-road > bike. 38mm tires + fenders is ample for a sensible road bike. After > Hillborne, that's my attitude. A road bike that only takes 32mm tires with > fenders is most definitely a "racing bike" in my AH categories. > > > News flash for everyone. This was my first 40 mile ride on Compass 38mm > knobbies, the Steilacoom, and they are freaking fast on the road. I could > hear a faint hum, but since I'm using strava for everything, I can say > these tires are not significantly slower than 650x42B Babyshoe Pass > Extralights, set up tubeless, on my Niner Seven Fiver. These Compass > knobbies are kind of a secret weapon, to me. They have great dirt and mud > behavior, and you sacrifice essentially nothing on the road. It's kind of > like cheating. I suspect they will also be much better for flat resistance > and cuts, because there is a thick chunk of tread between you and the stuff > on the ground. Unlike thick treaded tires, knobbies can still be supple, > because the casing between the knobs can flex. The knobs themselves are > wide and stout, so they don't squirm in hard cornering on pavement. There > is less rubber in contact with the ground, so I assume the limits of max > adhesion might be less, but on this foggy morning, I didn't push it. > > >> >> Bill Lindsay >> >> El Cerrito, CA >> >> >> >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/ > topic/rbw-owners-bunch/c5bbNOOgewI/unsubscribe. > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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. > -- 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.
