I just became a Rivendell owner last fall when I bought a new Appaloosa. I was so impressed with that bike, and loved riding it so much, that I wanted to replicate that super comfortable, smooth ride on my long-distance road bike. I wanted to try a more road-ish Riv, and when the pre-sale for the new canti-Sams opened up, I couldn't resist. I had intended Sam to be a straight up replacement for my current drop bar road bike that I really do like, but that I had struggled to get comfortable on. Sam had other ideas, though...
I first built it with 44cm Noodles that I had on hand, but even with the Riv-recommended 8cm stem (that I worried would be too short), I felt way too stretched out and uncomfortable. The first few rides I took on this setup were not fun. I thought the bike handled weird - the front end felt sort of squirrely. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed. After a quick mock up with some old Nitto moustache bars I had, I decided to order a set of Albastache bars from Riv. Sam Hillborne with Albastache bars is the most comfortable, fun bike I have ever ridden. (Right next to my Appaloosa, of course.) I love the more upright position, the sweep, the angles, the width, everything. The curves are great to sit and grind out the miles, but the ends offer a very comfortable upright position to alternate with as well. I was nervous that my enthusiasm would be squashed once the rides got longer, but I've done enough long rides in the last few weeks to be confident that these are the bars for this bike. I have no desire to go back to drops. These bars changed the bike, and my whole outlook on bikes in general. I realize that I don't have to have drop bars to ride long distances, or to be a "serious" cyclist (whatever that means). This is such a big deal to me, because my biggest struggle since I started riding has been fit/comfort on longer rides. This bike was originally intended to be just another road bike. I feel like what I have is so much more. At first I was worried, because I was not as fast on the Sam as my lighter drop bar bike, but who cares? Now, I only want to ride the Hillborne. When I ride this bike, I find myself not caring how fast I'm going, or about anything except enjoying the ride. When I'm on it, I just want to keep going. I can't think of a better compliment for a bike. This bike (and these bars) have completed my transformation to unracer. I realize after re-reading the above that it might sound like I am saying Sam Hillborne is a slow bike. It is not. The Sam that I built, with heavier touring style wheels, and upright-ish bars is definitely not as fast as my more traditional stripped down drop bar road bike, but it's a heck of a lot more comfortable, useful, and fun. How fast is Sam Hillborne? My answer after putting a few hundred miles on it: Fast enough. <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2zow66nUWdA/WyGoWHD0lOI/AAAAAAAAI2Y/CZFyLe12ES0Wf6PV8ulnWKhwUhMzmiyyQCL4CGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_20180613_060732404.jpg> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b1V_CfptcC8/WyGoWH4NVxI/AAAAAAAAI2Y/5Icf5TDtSGs92dH_IkGzCDVZyy5roW5kwCL4CGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_20180525_103238167.jpg> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qGaJKMqRvzk/WyGoWEmCLnI/AAAAAAAAI2Y/l9YfW-CJ_2keXQl10-WtPy8mTsqGcRGfACL4CGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_20180613_055247721_HDR.jpg> -- 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.
