I have both, and I agree with the Deacon. From the standpoint of pure joy when riding I like the Homer more; it feels lighter and more responsive when riding, although it's also smooth and stable. After my first ride on it I told my wife that I ever had to reduce my N to 1, the Homer is a strong candidate to be that one.
Having said that, the Sam is a bit heavier-duty, which I think would suit you better for the type of riding you describe. The Sam's not as zippy as the Homer, but it's hardly a slug. It feels more tour-ish, but it's still responsive and is a smooth, comfortable ride. As the Deacon said, both would fit the bill, but in my opinion the Sam would fit it a little better. I've set up my Sam as a light tourer and carry loads on it, and use the Homer for unloaded recreational rides. Others have mentioned the differences in availability and cost, which you can evaluate easily on your own. One other consideration I'll mention is that the Homer is available is more sizes, while the Sam has more limited selection. I've discovered that I don't like to be on the edge of Rivendell's recommended range of PBH for a model; I want to be toward the middle. If you're on the edge of Sam's range then I recommend a test ride if possible to be sure it won't feel too big or small in the available sizes. Dave -- 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.
